The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2020 - Issue 27

Steve Markle Giedre Jackyte reviews documentary film Shoot to Marry, a funny and authentic approach to looking for a wife in the 21st century by Steve Markle. bite film review Director’s Spotlight H ave you ever wondered how a man feels after a breakup? Wonder no more because all of your questions will be answered by heartbroken film- maker Steve Markle, who focuses his camera on women to film a documentary called Shoot to Marry and find the love of his life. A beautiful love story presented with a mixture of laughter, resentment, hope, and many talented and interest- ing women; there is hopefully a future wife for him. The documentary is part of the Breakouts Selection, which showcases films by featured directors who demonstrate a determined vision of filmmaking that is instinctively becom- ing their own. Northern Banner Releasing (the Canadian distribution arm of Raven Banner Entertainment) acquired the Canadian rights to the film. Markle wrote, produced, shot and edited the rom-com documentary in which he also stars as the main protagonist. A one-man crew, the filmmaker also wrote and directed the critically acclaimed 2004 documentary Camp Hollywood (Sundance Channel) about struggling performers living at a Los Angeles fleabag. He starred in the 2008 comedy series Testees hailed by the New York Times as “visually and audibly gastrointestinal” and once ran for Mayor of Toronto on a pledge to administer parking tickets in pleasant origami shapes. This time, Markle’s new documentary embarks on a journey where, like Prince Charming, he desperately tries to find his Cinderella. However, instead of the missing glass shoe, he offers potential fiancées a part in his documentary which he says is about “interesting women”. The documentary takes place over five years where Markle flies from city to city and interviews women in their office and living spaces. As the director explained, the idea for the documentary came out of desperation after his girlfriend, to whom he proposed one Christmas, had a meltdown and changed her ‘yes’ to a ‘no’ and thus ended their long-term relationship. After six months, still heartbroken and full of questions, he grabbed his video camera and set out to turn his pain into a docu- mentary. Relationships, love, heartbreak! These would be the thematic building blocks for his new creation, Shoot to Marry. Markle confessed, before creating his new documentary, he sat on the couch crying for weeks and months, feeling sorry for himself: “The voice in my head fed me constant streams of negative thoughts: You’re not loveable. You’re shit. You’re garbage,” he recalled. Finally brushing himself off, the docu- mentary he created was born out of a deep desire to love, be loved and eventually get married. Early on in the documentary, Markle interviewed his parents. He was inspired by the beautiful example of his own parents who have been married for fifty-four years and he wanted to go down that road and spend his whole life with some- one special too. Along the way, it occurred to him to focus interviews on women. The idea was to ask women about their lives, relationships and of course love, in the hope that there might be a romantic flame with at least one of them. The filmmaker reached out to dozens of random women on the internet asking them to be in his documentary about interesting women. To Markle, ‘interesting’ meant they had a great story to tell or an interesting point of view. As he said himself, “I was looking for women who were documen- tary-worthy.” Over a year, he filmed over fifty intriguing women who were sincere, interesting and from every walk of life, ranging from a firefighter to a dominatrix. The interviews consisted of questions such as view of life, death, relationships, heartbreak and sometimes led to very surprising discoveries. A grade-school crush had a rant about how she blames her husband for their autistic son; a journey to a sex club sees him mostly talking to other men; women who decide not to show up to the arranged meetings but rather gave explanation/excuses via text messages. As Markle explained, he was hoping to piece himself back together and maybe even find love again. Through the series of interviews and diary-like confessions that last just over 60 minutes, Markle curates a gallery of fas-