Even more unbelievable to fans used to seeing Braidwood as the outspoken, Scully-lusting Frohike will be the actor's onscreen persona as an unsuccessful salesman in Tilt. "He's nothing like Frohike," informs Stark. "I think Frohike has -- oh, what's the word? -- balls. He's got a lot of chutzpah, you know? And the character that Tom plays in the film, he's very wishy-washy, but I think that he finds confidence by the end of the film. That's why he's so easily dragged on this journey." Stark has nothing but enthusiasm, however, for Braidwood's performance. "Tom is not just an experienced behind-the-scenes guy, but a talented actor," he points out. "He's totally selling the character just the way we wanted it. I can't wait for people to see him. They'll just see another side to Tom's acting ability. Continuity when you're shooting over such a long period can be kind of sketchy, but he's been so consistent throughout the whole film."

Stark is also appreciative of the support from the Vancouver film community, which he describes as very different from that of Hollywood. "Crew people -- not just crew helping me shoot Tilt, but from around the city -- have been donating their time and their money toward [the film]," he says. "I'll tell you, I was so nervous the first day, but people were working just as hard if not harder than if they were on the set getting paid for it. The energy in the room was just phenomenal; I was just blown away by the whole thing." Tilt's $80,000-$100,000 budget is typical for an independent film; what is unusual is the sheer amount of time and labor devoted to the production, some of which is unpaid. Shooting began in January and will not be completed until this December; the actual film will be complete by March or April 2000.

"A whole year's shoot for a short film is probably unheard of," admits Stark. "It's crazy. But to get the quality, it's great, because we get to put a month's worth of effort into one day's worth of filming." Apparently the effort has paid off; Stark and co-producers Peverley and Barry Shelton (who also worked on X-Files) plan to submit Tilt to numerous film festivals next year, including Sundance, Venice and Berlin, a fact that Stark attributes in one sense to the series from which the majority of his crew came. "Everyone from X-Files has been extremely supportive," he remarks. "There have been people who aren't on set but have acquired things for us just by using their name; we now have things that you only see in big-budget features. Chris Carter has been very, very supportive and wished us luck. The X-Files magazine has written an article, which was a very nice thing of them to do."

In an era when the increasing success of low-budget movies has often led to unprecedented corruption within the independent film industry, Tilt appears to be the rare creation brought about by an artistic vision and honest good will. "It's people coming out who feel that they have some sort of creative input into something, who want to help out a friend, and are there for the art of it and not for the money," the filmmaker says. "[The residents of Vancouver] feel that because of all the film that has come up to Vancouver, they've been given a lot. They've made more than enough money from the American productions that have come up here, and this is their way of giving back to a couple of hometown guys who are starting out, making their first film." Stark pauses and adds, "It just blows me away that we're the lucky recipients of all this generosity."

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