Tinkham shoots a scene for a short film using a 16 mm film camera. Cinematography, he says, is one of his favorite parts of the filmmaking process.

Photo courtesy of Todd Tinkham
Photo by Mary Cates

By Hillary Vandewart
Carrboro Commons Staff Writer

Todd Tinkham always knew he wanted to be a filmmaker, he just didn’t know the first thing about making films.

He grew up in a small fishing community in Massachusetts, and after graduating from high school, Tinkham worked on a commercial fishing boat for two years.

“I would write poetry on the fishing boat and dream of something else,” he said.

It would be years before Tinkham made his very first film, “And Then There Were Nun,” a four-minute-long dark comedy filmed in one weekend in Carrboro.

In between working on the fishing boat and becoming a successful filmmaker, Tinkham received an English degree from Long Island University and worked with at-risk children and incarcerated men in various outdoor and residential treatment programs.

After both his parents died when he was in his early forties, Tinkham realized that he wanted to pursue his dream before it was too late.
“I didn’t want to die without making at least one film,” he said.

Tinkham took various film classes in Maine and North Carolina before settling down in Carrboro in 2000. And though he recently moved to Chapel Hill, he still does much of his filmmaking work in Carrboro.

Since his first film in 2005, Tinkham has started his own production company, TinkhamTown Productions, and made 21 short films—about 10 of which he has sent to festivals. Those 10 films have been screened at more than 250 festivals worldwide.

The Third Annual Carrboro Film Festival will be accepting submissions until Monday, Sept. 22. Films must be no longer than 20 minutes (including title and end credits). For other submission guidelines and more information regarding the festival, please visit the Web site at www.carrboro.com/carrborofilmfestival. If you have a film that you would like to submit, contact Selena Lauterer directly at selena@pogopromotions.com.

For the most part, Tinkham works with a core group of people in the Carrboro film circuit—writers, directors, musicians and actors. This group, which includes Carrboro Film Festival founder Nic Beery, shares ideas, equipment and support.

At least every other weekend, Tinkham said, “We are shooting something for someone.”

He attributes his success to the local filmmaking community and his relationships with the people in it.

“I couldn’t do it without them,” he said.

Selena Lauterer, chair of this year’s Carrboro Film Festival, calls Tinkham “a force.”

“He is one of the most inclusive, enthusiastic filmmakers,” she said. “He is hugely about the people in this community.”

Tinkham has entered four films in this year’s festival, though the judging committee has only officially selected one so far. The film they selected, “Sadie Turns Seven,” is about a little girl finding out some hard truths about the real world on her seventh birthday.

The 2008 Carrboro Film Festival, which takes place on Sunday, Nov. 23, will be the 74th festival to screen the film in the past year and a half.

Nine-year-old Sadie Zimet of Hillsborough makes a birthday wish in Tinkham’s “Sadie Turns Seven.” This film will be shown at the 2008 Carrboro Film Festival in November.

Photo courtesy of Selena Lauterer

Despite the fact that Tinkham’s films have been accepted to such large-scale festivals as Slamdance, the Rhode Island International Film Festival and the Heart Of Gold International Film Festival, he still gets excited to be included in the Carrboro Film Festival.

“It’s a thrill every year when Carrboro says, ‘We’ll take a couple of your films,’” he said.

At last year’s festival, Tinkham won the award for “Best Cinematography” for his film “Four Minutes on An Abandoned Bridge,” an experimental short full of natural shots. The competition, however, was not to be underestimated. He said he was “blown away” by the amount of quality films that were submitted. His only wish for this year’s festival is that more students get involved.

As for his current and future projects, Tinkham is in the process of starting his first Web series and he hopes to someday make feature films.

But his love affair with short films will not likely be ending anytime soon. “A short film is a different animal,” he said, describing his passion.

“By the end, you are left wanting more. That’s the beauty.”