Paul Boge, Movie-Maker

Paul H. Boge, P. Eng. is the writer, director and co-producer of Among Thieves, an independent feature film that premiers in Winnipeg on April 21. In his day job 35-year old Boge works for his father’s company Boge and Boge, travelling frequently to Northern Manitoba as a project manager for industrial clients.

Q. Why did you get involved in making films?

I think film is a fantastic medium. It’s one of the languages that our culture speaks today. And it’s very accessible to people.

Q. Is Among Thieves the first film you have made?

Our company FireGate Films did a short film three years ago called Espresso Junction. But Among Thieves is our first feature length film.

Q. What ‘s your dream for this film?

We’re hoping that a distributor will pick up the movie. But the more immediate goal is to start a conversation about some of the aspects to the war in Iraq that were not covered much in mainstream culture.

Q. Why this story in particular?

It’s unique and it’s current. And I’m fascinated with the actual events. I sat down with Chris Radtke and Tim Horch, the co-producers. We thought about doing this story about three friends who happened to reunite after 10 years and who uncover one of the reasons for the war in Iraq.

Q. Were you driven by political convictions?

It is not so much political as a desire for the truth to come out. I think there needs to be a wider debate about the motive for the war in Iraq. As a culture we spend so much time focusing on what is happening and don’t spend enough time trying to understand why it is happening. We were content to say, Oh, it was oil, it was big business. But it is also an issue of currency related to Saddam Hussein’s decision in 2000 to switch his oil sales from U. S. dollars to Euros. That was one aspect that was not talked about enough. I’m not there to point fingers at anybody.

Q. Do you feel driven to write and make movies?

Absolutely. I love it. It’s been said that a writer is not someone who writes, but someone who can’t not write. I started making short films in high school, and began writing scripts in university. It’s been a real blessing to be able to share stories with people.

There is a similarity between engineering and running a film project. There were about 80 people involved in this production. We shot at over 30 locations, and we were shooting only on evenings and weekends. Coordinating all the people, equipment, work and resources was an engineering project.

The prolific Boge is also the author of two biographies, two novels, and writes on engineering issues for professional publications such as Canadian Consulting Engineer. His published books include the best-selling biography Father to the Fatherless: The Charles Mulli Story (2005: BayRidge Books), and The Cities of Fortune (2006: Castle Quay Books). He is currently writing a biography about Winnipeg inner city pastor Harry Lehotsky, due out this year. For a trailer of Among Thieves, seewww.firegatefilms.com