Young People F---ing director energized by TIFF reception

First-time filmmaker Martin Gero is having a ball with the warm welcome his new film, Young People F---ing, is getting at the Toronto film festival.

The cheekily titled comedy recounts five different tales about attractive young people struggling with relationship issues of all kinds, dominated by — as the title spells out — various dramas in the bedroom.

Gero, who attended both the film's kickoff of TIFF's Canada First programand a subsequent screening, said he felt they went well, with some viewers even applauding after scenes "like it was a play," he told CBCNews.ca Arts.

"The film is a comedy so you know how you're doing the whole way through because if they're not laughing, you're in trouble," he said.

Gero, who is a co-executive producer of Vancouver-based TV show Stargate: Atlantis and has a background in live comedy, said he had forgotten "what it was like to actually experience a piece of work with a live audience.

"It's a weird kind of cathartic, communal experience, watching a movie like this, and I think people are really, really enjoying themselves," he said.

The 30-year-old writer, director and producer is set to share some of his tips about the business with a set of aspiring filmmakers this week. On Tuesday, he is schedule to speak to students entering their final year in the film program at Ryerson University, which Gero attended briefly about a decade ago.

"It's a little strange because I don't feel that far removed from university," he said.

Gero, who has also spoken to film students in Vancouver, where he's based, did say he was hoping to answer practical questions about the reality outside of school and about how to make a living in the industry, topics he thinks film schools don't look at in enough detail.

"This is a business; you have to have a business plan to make a film. It costs an enormous amount of money to make these movies. If you don't have a firm idea of how you're going to get it back, you don't have any business making a film," he said.

First film nets international distribution

Young People F---ing — tentatively set for release in early 2008 — is one of the rare first films that entered the Toronto festival with full international distribution, he said.

Gero, who said he began dabbling in filmmaking in his first year of high school, "learned pretty quick that you had to figure out how to get people to give you money and explain how they are gonna get it back. It's always been front and centre in my mind."

Having spent months flying between Vancouver and Toronto while finishing the latest season of Stargate: Atlantis and Young People F---ing, Gero had been looking forward to some downtime.

However, being at the festival has helped energize him to finish what he hopes to be his followup to the film.

"It's been so exciting getting this film in front of people that all we want to do is just do it again."