A Burnaby filmmaker and his “baby momma” are celebrating this week after winning $50,000 from STORYHIVE, a TELUS initiative that awards grants to emerging content creators in Western Canada.
Joel Ashton McCarthy will use the money to create five more episodes of the web series Inconceivable, which is based on McCarthy’s life, specifically finding out he and friend Rachel Kirkpatrick are pregnant. “Josh” is a career-obsessed commitment-phobe while “Rita” identifies as a “strong, independent lesbian.” The “shocking news” comes after a broken condom and a failed morning-after pill.
Earlier this year, STORYHIVE awarded the pair $10,000 to produce a 10-minute pilot episode. At the time, McCarthy was very hopeful about going further and winning the top prize so they could continue filming.
“I thought there were a few front-runners, but I definitely thought we had a chance, which made it all the more intense leading up to it,” he told the NOW, adding the final decision was a result of a people’s vote and a jury of television experts. “It’s very exciting news. We’re all still, like, super giddy, and it’s still setting in. ”
The storyline’s raw honesty is what McCarthy believes resonated with viewers.
“A lot of millennials feel they’re ill-prepared to have children. It’s next to impossible to buy a home these days; it’s next to impossible just to take care of yourself the way society is structured now,” the 25-year-old explained. “There’s a lot of fear of having to take care of another human being, especially when it’s not in your plan. Both her and I thought it would be something that would happen to us more in our 30s.”
STORYHIVE has given the writers until April to complete the remaining episodes, which cover the first trimester of their pregnancy. After that, the goal is to eventually bring the show to a larger TV audience.
“We have so, so much content,” said McCarthy. “Having to make that first episode only 10 minutes long was the hardest aspect of this project. We couldn’t write scripts that were short.”
Meanwhile, with Kirkpatrick’s due date looming – somewhere around Sept. 17 – McCarthy noted the journey so far has been unique, scary and a life-changing experience.
Asked what the couple’s status is, whether they’ve decided on co-parenting or being together in a romantic relationship, the local moviemaker didn’t want to say.
“You’ll have to watch more of the show,” he said with a laugh, adding that “quite a lot can happen in seven months.”
