Strange love: Saskatoon filmmaker captures strangers' passionate kisses

Andrij Zip leapt into the world of filmmaking with a big, romantic idea and fourteen strangers.

The Saskatoon man chose to put a local, colourful spin on First Kiss, a 2014 viral YouTube video that has attracted the gaze of more than 115 million people.

 "I thought it was one of the coolest things I'd ever seen," Zip said. "I loved the idea of it. The idea of people kissing for the first time, the passion that they had, considering they were just strangers, just felt very real to me."

Zip said he immediately wanted to create a similar film, but in Saskatoon and in colour.

"Use the city as a backdrop," Zip explained. "I thought, 'why don't I do that?' and I did."

Dozens interested in kissing a stranger

Zip said he took out advertisements on Kijiji and Facebook, asking for women who were interested in being in First Kiss YXE to contact him.

"It was kind of a casting call, just asking for volunteers," he said. "The response was amazing, at first, it was kind of overwhelming the amount of people who were contacting me."

Zip estimates that 50 women came to him with inquiries of interest. In the end, 14 showed up to be filmed kissing a stranger.

We were kind of flabbergasted and shocked with just how passionate they were.- Andrij Zip

 "We would go for a walk and then they would point out a guy, that they liked, and I would go up to that guy and talk to him, explain to him what we were doing. It didn't take long to find a guy to participate," Zip laughed.

Zip said he had each woman select a stranger she was interested in kissing, in an effort to spare feelings and avoid awkward encounters. He said he felt this process was less-intimidating than seeking out two, willing strangers to participate, while still maintaining a spark of spontaneity.

 Zip said the men who refused the offer to kiss a strange woman, for a YouTube film, most often used one of three excuses: 'I have a girlfriend', 'I am shy' or 'I don't want to be on Youtube.'

Fair.

However, Zip said the first man he approached with the idea said yes — four times in a row.

Passionate people

 Zip admitted some of the kisses captured in First Kiss YXE were so passionate, it was hard to watch without feeling invasive.

"Some of the kisses were almost a full minute long," he said. "The very first kiss I filmed … we were kind of flabbergasted and shocked with just how passionate they were. I didn't know what to expect but it ended up being way more passionate than I was expecting."

What happens after the K-I-S-S-I-N-G?

Zip said one of the biggest questions he had was, what would happen after the kiss?

He said some of the couples exchanged numbers. But, for the most part, they shared a sexy smooch and then went their separate ways.

Since the video debuted on Facebook and YouTube, Zip said it has received a mix of positive embraces and critical questions.

"I think a lot of people really didn't know what to expect," he said. "A lot of people really liked it … they have a positive reaction to it and think it is very sweet and lovely."

Zip said others ask, "why?" or "what is the point of this?"

"My answer to that is 'why not' … for me it is just a wonderful video, capturing a moment between two strangers, this fleeting moment – and I think that is great."

 A few years ago, Zip said he moved back to his hometown of Saskatoon after spending more than a decade living in Japan. He said he hopes First Kiss YXE serves sweet entertainment for locals and as a calling card as he enters the world of independent filmmaking.