history

When North Winds Blow (no relation to Walter Emerson's book) began as an idea in the early 1990's, but it wasn't until the year 2005 that the idea was placed into script form. After a number of rewrites, the script was finally ready for production.

In the fall of 2006, the movie was scheduled for production in Bangor, Maine. Unfortunately, a sudden car accident in December 2006 left Writer and Director James M De Vince unable to be involved in the production. This left the team no choice but to delay the production until James had recovered.

After six months of physical therapy and three more months of lingering conditions, James was ready to look at the project once again. Unfortunately, the season was already late, and trying to put the production together while working as a Hotel Manager to recover lost funds left the project out to dry for at least another year.

In the spring of 2008, James faced other personal setbacks that made it look like the production of a Full Feature Film was going to be impossible by the fall.

Unwilling to wait another year to complete the project, James decided to step out in faith, and began filming When North Winds Blow with absolutely no financing whatsoever.

James is quoted as saying, "Who in their right mind tries to make a Full Feature film targeted for local theaters and television with absolutely no financing? I've gotta be crazy."

Crazy or not, James began the daunting task in October of 2008 looking both for actors who would work on residuals only and locations that would not cost them anything, initially, at least.

Amazingly, by the middle of November, talent and locations began to manifest. The shoot schedule became real on November 28th, 2008 when shooting first began for the film. The only thing missing was the lead character, Justin Fryer.

"At first, I was planning to play the role of Justin Fryer," James says. "But then we decided that I would focus on Directing alone and we began looking for another Justin. After two months, we had no one who both fit the part and could devote the time necessary for the role. As the time came closer, it was decided that I would have to play the Lead AND Direct the project."

Not only was the project short a Justin, but the team also could not find a qualified Director of Photography, which left James the tasks of Director, Lead Actor, and DP.

After a grueling winter and spring of shooting, the project finally began taking shape. By September, the film was produced, registered with IMDB ( www.imdb.com ), and scheduled to show in the local theater in October of 2009.

When North Winds Blow's Red Carpet Premiere was on Thursday evening, October 8th, 2009 in Wallingford, CT. The film was then placed on the theater's public showing the following week. During that week, When North Winds Blow placed 8th out of 12 films; not bad for a local independent No-Budget film!

And finally, (well, at least for now), the film was released to the public on DVD on December 18th, 2009.

In reflection, James is quoted as saying, "The talent and other crew members have been outstanding. When I look at how hard they've worked, as well as the Town of Middlefield (CT), and other organizations who have helped us along the way, I am flabbergasted and can only thank God. Without Him and them, this project would never have gotten off the ground. They are the reason for the movie's success, not me."

Although, James' words may be true enough, "without a vision, the people perish". It only takes a man or woman with a vision that people can get behind to make something happen. And, despite overwhelming odds, James has certainly held fast to this vision, thus placing the film into position to become one of the most successful No-Budget films of its time.