Stratford artist funding new film with local postcard project

Josh Cooper brings his love of graphics to life with a new postcard showing off what downtown Stratford has to offer.

Filmmaker and visual artist Josh Cooper is combining his love of posters, postcards and film to bring his newest project to life.

Cooper, who grew up in Stratford, has launched a series of postcards featuring local businesses to help raise money for his upcoming film – a kitchen comedy-thriller about a restaurant owner seeking revenge after a celebrity chef steals their diner for a renovation show.

“I grew up in Stratford, and I worked at multiple stores downtown before I left to study screenwriting at UCLA, and also visual arts at OCAD,” Cooper said. “I consider myself a filmmaker and visual artist. I push myself to try every medium and style of design, to create artworks for local businesses to fund my films. And all of my films are shot in Stratford. This specific postcard is my first installment to fund my newest film.”

Currently, the postcards are available at Blowes Stationery & Office Supplies Ltd., the Stratford Festival Theatre Store and Our Stōr(y).

Cooper said he was inspired by his early days working in Stratford shops and wanted to capture the unique character of the city’s downtown. “I’d love to design something for every store in town, but there’s just too many I love, so I don’t know where to start next,” he said. “I love York Street so much, too.”

For Cooper, postcards are more than souvenirs – they’re small-scale posters that carry art into the world. “Postcards are such a great way to show off your art, because they get sent all around the world, and there’s no shortage of fridges to put them on,” he said.

His passion for design also comes from a lifelong love of movie posters. “A lot of my inspiration comes from movie posters,” Cooper said. “Even though this new postcard does not look like a movie poster, I just love the idea of designing things and designing my own posters for my films.”

Cooper’s next film is still in the final draft stage, but he plans to shoot it entirely in Stratford, highlighting local businesses and talent. “I’m obsessed with Gordon Ramsay, so I’m making the kitchen film in Stratford, but it’s going to be a kitchen comedy thriller,” he said. “I want to film all in Stratford, and I want to include lots of local businesses.”

Every short film Cooper has made over the past decade has been filmed in Stratford – a commitment he traces back to his high school days. “I always wanted to be in film, but I basically started my first short films simply to impress my high school film teacher, Glenn Crumback. He was one of my biggest inspirations,” he said.

Looking ahead, Cooper hopes to expand his collaborations with Stratford businesses, whether through postcards or posters, and is considering creating a website to showcase his work.

Local businesses interested in working with him can reach out on Instagram at @joshcooop and those looking for postcards can purchase them in any of the listed downtown locations.