This is Where you will Find Information and Updates on The Film/Mini-Series

Part of our long-range planning includes working towards producing a film or mini-series based on the upcoming book of Joan’s life, both on and off the racetrack. Together with our partner producer, award winner Brenda Shenher, (“Corner Gas“, “The Gordie Howe Story“, “Between“), we have embarked on a mission to get this story out there because we truly believe that Joan’s life is the stuff of inspiration and a testament to the tenacity of Canadian women whose values and passions are so under-represented in our media.

On so many levels the project speaks to many of today’s relevant and timely issues: the athlete’s story of instant success and a career tragically cut short with the ensuing  fall-out and struggle to re-invent your life, fighting for women’s rights and gender equality in a world that still drags it’s heels on human rights issues, a gay woman’s struggle and triumph in the ’70’s  in a homophobic and male-dominated profession,  shining a light on the  global stigma that still marks our societies concerning  mental health,  and  our remarkable ability as a society to turn our back on homelessness and poverty.  Our unsung heroine – Joan – takes it all on. That’s what makes her story remarkable.

For as much success as Joan enjoyed on and around the racetrack, her personal life was often the opposite as she struggled with obstacle after obstacle that would dwarf the average person. As each chapter of her life unfolds, we find ourselves thinking, “No way. How could all of this happen to one person in one lifetime!?”

We are a long way away from the screening of our film, but we believe that the time for Joan’s story begins now. It’s all in the journey, right?  And we want to share it with you.  The ups and downs of our journey from idea… to script… to screen… will be documented here.

www.thejoanphippsstory.com under THE FILM/MINI SERIES header/menu.

Hang on for the ride of your life.  We all (you and our entire team working on the project) will most certainly experience the frustrations, the joys, the leaps, the setbacks,  the disappointments along the way, and the dream of our vision coming true   – the whole package. As Brenda says, “We’ll see you at the Premiere.”

There is a phrase that is representative of the Film/Television world: “Hurry up and Wait.” No one can escape its truth. It applies to everyone: funders, investors, producers, directors, production crew and actors. Even you. For those of you with little knowledge of the film industry yet, this project will be years in-the-making and we mean YEARS. IT WILL BE THE ULTIMATE TEST OF OUR COLLECTIVE PATIENCE.   We hope, like all of us here, that you are willing to stay the course right along with us.

As we begin the process of attracting interest in our story, we felt we needed some kind of visual for marketing our project to potential producers, filmmakers, and funding agencies.  NOTE:  This is NOT the poster for the actual film/mini-series.  It is for early-stage marketing only. It’s “Our Home-Made Saskatchewan Marketing Poster” and a budget-friendly baby step since we have literally no budget to date!  It is costly however in ‘sweat equity’ thanks to our marketing artist, Kathy Jackson!  We hope you like it.  Here it is…

created by Kathy Jackson, our Marketing Artist and a member of our Creative Team.

We extend a sincere and deep thanks to our virtual communities, both on our website and at our facebook page, who show support by sharing their stories, photos, and memories and thereby making an invaluable contribution to the development of the film and book. If you have archival photo’s, please feel free to share them with us. We will make sure they are uploaded here.  Also, we would love to hear from you and get your comments on how we’re doing on the website, any and all questions you might have, or suggestions that would make our site better.  Your comments can be submitted at the bottom of this page.

If you like our website, and we hope you do, the most important thing that we can ask of you is to please share it with your friends in conversation and on social media. Join our Facebook Page, The Joan Phipps Story and follow us on Instagram.  You will find links at the bottom of the page. We would be forever grateful if you would help us build our family of supporters.  Nothing impresses funding agencies  and attracts producers more than seeing a large built-in audience when they visit our sites. This is how you can effect change, and make sure a project like this doesn’t go unnoticed.    

FILM/MINI-SERIES  UPDATES

“One Day at a Time; One Small Step at a Time.” 

UPDATE #1: (Summer 2018)

First and foremost, we are exploring our options:  whether our project will be best served as a feature film or a mini-series. The verdict is still out. Time will tell. Either way, one thing we know with certainty is – it will be a winner.   This has nothing to do with us, and everything to do with the story.  We are only the messengers. We are adamant the story will sell itself.  It is too good not to. Speaking of a story… read our next update: Update #2.

UPDATE #2: THE FILM DESCRIPTION  (July 2018)

This remarkable true story of hope and courage chronicles the life of Joan Phipps, a gay female jockey and trailblazer in the male-dominated thoroughbred racing industry in the ’70’s.  From her abusive childhood, she gallops fearlessly toward TWO Ladies International World Championships and her triumphant historical ride as the first woman to take on New Zealand men at their own game – winning by a nose no less.

But what happens when fate steps in and destroys a dream at 28 years old? 

Triumph meets tragedy as her life begins to unravel.  Fighting clinical depression and other mental health issues, she retreats into near obscurity, Finally, she collapses on the front steps of a hospital.  After a lengthy stay, she is released. Poverty and homelessness follow.  With a sliver of hope and all the grit she can muster, she digs deeper than she ever thought possible because she knows that somehow she must find the courage to carry on.

based on a Quote by Walt Whitman.

And with every step, she learns.  She learns to stand a little taller, with her head a little higher.  And she discovers… she really can endure. She’s the perfectly flawed tragic heroine who, like us all, lives her life the best she can.

We guarantee you will cheer her on to the bitter end in the ‘fight to the finish’ race of her life.

UPDATE #3: OUR FILM VISION  (July 2018) 

July and August were dedicated to creating marketing material and solidifying our vision and approach to the film. Take a look…

In terms of the structure of a film, think “Fried Green Tomatoes” (Film).  Think “This Is Us”(TV).

In our approach,  Joan’s story would be revealed in a non-linear fashion, which is why it is difficult to explain and complicated to write.  Stick with us here. Her story takes place in 4 interactive timelines:

Timeline 1: Breaking Free (her Childhood)

Timeline 2:The Will to Win (her Triumph and Jockey Career)

Timeline 3: Life After Racing (Re-inventing Herself)

Timeline 4: Finding Home (the Salt Spring Island Years from 48 yrs -present day) 

The through-line of the film would be Timeline 4: Joan’s life from 48 yrs to present.  In this timeline, the film would then intercut to timelines 1-3, much like flashbacks that accompany a patient suffering from PTSD.   These flashbacks would happen in an instant to reveal insights that have had far-reaching implications on her life.  This is when the story would become fascinating as we piece together the psychological puzzle by shedding light on the experiences, motivations, and choices that have shaped who she is.  In the end, this approach would reveal the woman behind the mask – our perfectly imperfect heroine and, by some God-given miracle, a true survivor.

UPDATE #4: OUR MARKETING BROCHURE (August 2018)

During the months of July and August, Gaye Burgess completed a nine-page-full-color brochure for the project – both for the book and the film.  This was created to market our project within the film industry and to support our current fundraising efforts to help self-publish Joan’s book (yes, self-publishing can be costly if you want to do it right).  We felt we needed marketing material that would share Joan’s story and present it in a professional and exciting way, so others might wish to help us realize our vision.  That is now complete and the process of distributing it has begun. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

UPDATE #5: BRENDA AND GAYE MEET (Sept. 2018) 

Brenda, our film co-ordinator and Gaye managed to meet in September.  Sadly it was not under the best of circumstances as originally planned. Brenda’s mother was admitted to the hospital here in Saskatoon and passed away peacefully Saturday, September 8th.  We did manage to discuss plans moving forward early in 2019 when Brenda will be applying for start-up grants and speaking with some of her film connections to get the ball rolling.  We’re also thinking of having a fundraising event in the spring in Saskatoon.  Stay tuned. In the meantime, Brenda is now off to Winnipeg to shoot a Hallmark-type Christmas movie for the next 7 weeks.  Bills must be paid, right?

Gaye continues to work on updating this website and eating bonbons, with the help of Kathy Jackson.  Kathy and Gaye have also sprung an Instagram plan.  Currently, Kathy is creating some unique and amazing photography from Joan’s photographs.  Check out our Instagram account where photos will be posted.  Let us know what you think.  Keep spreading the news…