Caitlin Byrnes was tired of seeing the same film over and over again. You know, the one where non—North American actors hardly figure into the equation. "I wanted to make a film with a character that I didn't see a lot in Hollywood films."
Visiting Hours, based on a year teaching English to Korean students in Vancouver, tells a timeless tale for newcomers to Canada and hints at a bright future for a local filmmaker.
When I showed it to him, there were tears in his eyes.
Byrnes wanted to be an actor in high school. The daughter of blues musician and actor Jim Byrnes, the art and film scene was a natural part of her life growing up in Vancouver. It was not until a second-year film course at The University of British Columbia that her aspirations shifted.
Byrnes' first film was about her father and her connection to his music. "I was really nervous about showing it to him once I'd completed it ... but when I showed it to him and there were tears in his eyes and he said to me, 'Thank you.'" At that moment, Byrnes knew what she really wanted out of a career. "Film was the way I wanted to tell stories that were important to me and the way I wanted to express myself."
Citing everyone from directors Woody Allen and Jean-Pierre Jeunet to writers Jonathan Safran Foer and Betty Smith, Byrnes' influences are wide-ranging. Of course, if famous filmmakers and writers don't cut it, everyday people in coffee shops suit her just fine. "I'm a big people-watcher. I'm one of those people who can sit in a cafe for probably twelve hours and be entertained by watching people and listening to their conversations and just writing down things that interest me."
A genuine awareness for people's stories is what sets Byrnes apart, but how accommodating is the film industry for female filmmakers?
The New York Times recently reported that out of approximately 600 films reviewed by their paper in 2009, only 60 claimed female directors. The numbers hardly fazes Byrnes, who shares the sentiments of Kathryn Bigelow, winner of the 2010 Oscar for Best Director: "What she said, I recall, is that she doesn't even think about being a woman on set. Film making is so challenging and it's hard enough to make it as a filmmaker at all, so I don't really think of it in terms of me being a woman and it being harder."
No matter who you are, the film industry is a tough business. "But I'm prepared for that," she says with a smile.
Visiting Hours, written and directed by Byrnes, follows Jinnam Kim (Martin Jung), a Korean exchange student in Canada. Tired of listening to audio tapes of English lessons and seeking some company, he decides to volunteer at a retirement home. After meeting Edna (Anna Hagan), a cantankerous resident, visiting hours are anything but pleasant. However, as Edna and Jinnam struggle to negotiate each other's culture in, an often hilarious, series of visits, an unlikely relationship develops.
The film is based on Byrnes' experience of teaching conversational English. With classes of predominantly Korean students, she noticed that most had a solid grasp of the language but did not have anyone with whom to practice. "I ended up being more of a therapist than a teacher, I felt. I taught them idiomatic expressions and that kind of stuff, but more than anything I sat and talked with them about their experiences in Canada and the challenges they were having."
Creating a Korean protagonist in a North American film is uncommon, even in multi—ethnic Canada, motivated Byrnes' to translate her students' stories into film. "Vancouver is such a multicultural place and there are many people from all over the world, but you rarely see films about people who aren't from North America." After class, Byrnes would quietly write down the stories that had resonated with her—anecdotes that eventually convened in the character of Jinnam Kim.
I really owe the film to them. It's their story more than mine.
Because she had not experienced the challenges of being a newcomer herself, capturing the experience correctly was pivotal. "I was so worried it would come off as though I'm making fun of the culture. That was my biggest concern." To make sure the film was loyal to the stories she had heard, the filmmaker enlisted the help of her students and sent them the script. Later on, some of them even auditioned for the film.
I ended up being more of a therapist than a teacher.
Visiting Hours is a story about the difficulties of navigating a new culture but it is also about the unlikely friendships that form along the way. More than anything, Byrnes is successful in conveying what many Schema readers already know: regardless of where you're from, we're more alike than we think. 
Reception to the film has been excellent. After being showcased in Washington D.C.'s "DC Shorts" Festival in August, it traveled to the Montréal World Film Festival in September. Byrnes is currently preparing to show the film in the upcoming Vancouver Asian Film Festival: "I want to invite as many of my old students as I can to come see the film because I really owe the film to them. It's their story more than mine."
Given the success of Visiting Hours so early in her career, what is next for Byrnes?
"I just hope that I can continue making films and having people see them and going to festivals." After graduating in Spring 2011, Byrnes hopes to apply to graduate programs in film studies and fulfill her dreams of moving to New York City. Film festivals and Big Apple aside, Byrnes is an artist who wants to keep doing what she loves. "I just hope I can tell stories that are important to me."
