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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, July 9, 2015 | 44 Learning to Ride up for best Canadian film at ReelHeART Oakville native, director Michael Hanley's first screenplay has Toronto premiere tomorrow at international film festival by John Bkila Oakville Beaver Staff Artscene It's a film about first love and, more specifically, early relationships. All relationships, whether gay, straight or of different religions, deal with the same issues: about time, money, family -- all of those things. And that's what became more interesting to me. Writer and director of Learning to Ride "Connected to your Community" I t's never an easy choice: do you pick a career that pays well or one that follows your passion? Former Oakville resident Michael Hanley chose filmmaking over accounting -- and it's a good thing he did. The 30-year-old's first feature film, Learning to Ride, is nominated for Best Canadian Film at the 11th annual ReelHeART International Film and Screenplay Festival and will be having its Toronto premiere at Magic Lantern Carlton Cinema, 20 Carlton St., tomorrow (Friday). "What draws me to filmmaking is more about telling stories about people and less about swinging camera shots and what looks cool," said Hanley, who now lives in Toronto, but whose parents still reside in Oakville. "I have a real genuine interest about different people; what their life stories are; what I can learn from them and their perspectives. I think filmmaking is a way to do that. "You can experience life through somebody's eyes in an hour and a half, and then move on and experience life through somebody else for another hour and a half. There's not a lot of ways to do that. And it just excites me," he said. Inspired by Hanley's own rela- tionship, Learning to Ride tells the story of two people a year after they have broken up. The pair bumps into each other in the street and memories of being together come flooding back, causing them to think about rekindling their old flame. "It's a film about first love, and more specifically, early relationships," said Hanley of his original screenplay, which he wrote and directed. "All relationships, whether gay or straight, or of different religions, deal with the same issues: about time, money, family -- all of those things. And that's what became more interesting to me." The film was shot in Hanley's old apartment in Etobicoke and around Toronto's west end. Hanley, who studied directing at the New York Film Academy, says he was very happy Learning to Ride got nominated at the upcoming festival, which runs until Saturday (July 11). "This is sort of at the end of our (the film's) run," he said. "I thought ReelHeART does a really great job of highlighting truly unique films that have a voice. So, when we were recognized... I was thrilled. I felt that the film was unique and sometimes (because of that) it might not get recognized.... (It) made me feel good to know that we're in the right festival." Tickets to Friday's screening of Michael Hanley Learning to Ride are available at www.reelheart.org/friday-july-10/fri930pm, while the film's trailer can be viewed at www.learningtoride. ca -- a copy of the movie can be purchased there, as well. But this isn't the first time Hanley's film has received accolades. When it premiered at the 2014 Orlando Film Festival, it was also nominated for best screenplay. Hanley credits his older brother Jeff, also a filmmaker and the director of photography for Learning to Ride, with getting him into the movie-making business. "If it wasn't for my brother, I wouldn't be in film," he said. "My brother went to the Toronto Film School and once he graduated, I piggy-backed onto his group of friends and people he met in film see Second on p.45 Director and former resident Michael Hanley holds the script to his screenplay, Learning to Ride, in the backyard of his parents' Oakville home. | photo by Graham Paine ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog) BIG MOVIES, SMALL PRICES! 171 Speers Road (at Kerr) Oakville 905-338-6397 www.film.ca facebook.com/filmca @FilmCaCinemas General: $8.50 Children ( 3-13): $6.50 TerminaTor July 1 minions July 10 anT man July 17 VaCaTion July 29 mission impossible mpossible July 31 seniors ( 65+): $6.50 Tuesdays: $5.00