Innovative Animation, A Gluttonous Feast, And People Lost In The Woods Among The Highlights Of This Year’s Short Cuts Canada
Toronto – Short Cuts Canada presents 38 titles as part of the 33rd Toronto International Film Festival. Exhibiting the originality and creativity of Canadian short filmmakers, Short Cuts Canada focuses local and international attention on some of Canada's most innovative artists. Films in this programme are eligible for the Award for Best Canadian Short Film, which carries a $10,000 cash prize and is supported by the National Film Board of Canada. A selection of Short Cuts Canada titles will be available to view online at tiff08.ca during the Festival. Ticket Packages now on sale. Purchase online at tiff08.ca, by phone at 416-968-FILM or 1-877-968-FILM or in person at the Festival Box Office at Manulife Centre, 55 Bloor Street West (main floor, north entrance). Box Office hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Saturday. The 33rd Toronto International Film Festival runs September 4 to 13, 2008.
106 [Candice Day, ON, 6’] For centenarian Wilma Harrington, birthdays lack a certain pizzazz. She plans on getting older or will die trying in this comedic short that shows that second place is just a first place loser.
The Amendment [Kevin Papatie, QC, 4’] This personal documentary tackles the declining use of the Algonquin language and the lingering effects of residential schools through the lens of four generations of family. This short was developed and produced through the Wapikoni mobile project.
Baghdad Twist [Joe Balass, QC, 33’] Director Balass combines archival images, home movies and family photographs as well as an interview with his mother to explore the once-thriving Jewish community in Iraq before he and his mother were forced to flee to Canada in 1970. This powerful collage forms a complex portrait of a time and place that no longer exists.
La Battue [Guy Édoin, QC, 19’] In this haunting finale to the Les Affluents trilogy, Sarah confronts her mother with her wishes to leave the farm during an autumn day of hunting. What began with Le Pont, and continued in the Jutra-winning short Les Eaux Mortes, comes to a resolute conclusion.
Bedroom [Jordan Canning, NL, 16’] A long-married couple finds themselves at a crossroads in their mid-life crisis. Betrayals, boredom, disappointments and secret desires are revealed and each one must decide if they can forgive and forget. Written by Jody Richardson, this brilliantly acted piece is claustrophobically shot in the couple’s bedroom.
Belonging [Elizabeth Lazebnik, ON, 5’] In this slice-of-life documentary, two women share a house, a child and a life full of belongings that each has brought to their relationship. Alex, a Mexican artist, and Jennifer, a Jewish midwife, are both navigating the world of relationships, cultural difference and motherhood.
The Catsitter [Tim Hamilton, ON, 10’] Mild-mannered Bob (played by Bob Martin) asks his slothful basement tenant to care for his pet cat Whiffles during a weekend getaway. In this sharp comedy, a romantic retreat with an online beau leaves Bob trying to make the best of the worst while confronting weighty domestic issues.
Cattle Call [Mike Maryniuk and Matthew Rankin, MB, 4’] Auctioneers and animation collide in this fast-paced and explosive introduction to the Winnipeg stockyards. Reflecting an unabashed prairie perspective, this blend of hyperbole and documentary creates a highly entertaining film imbued with social commentary.
The Earring [Nicholas Pye and Sheila Pye, ON, 8’] A woman gives another an earring before they embark on an adventure through the forest. They journey together toward their fateful destinations in this rhythmic experimental narrative about leaving for a new place.
Forty Men for the Yukon [Tony Massil, BC, 19’] In this observational verité documentary, Frank Erl and Geordie Dobson reflect on the decades they’ve spent in the wilds of the Yukon, and what attracted them to the isolation and independence of the North. The wisdom these men impart is honest and hard earned.
Gilles [Constant Mentzas, QC, 13’] A lakeside cottage in the middle of a cold winter in Quebec is the setting for a dying elderly woman's goodbye to her mentally disabled son. He fights against her wish to send him to a foster home, not understanding that she might not be there the next day to care for him in this emotional family drama.
Green Door [Semi Chellas, ON, 13’] Starring Tracy Wright and Don McKellar, this comedic tale of rental living and unrequited love is driven by mistaken identities and a perfect ensemble cast.
Hers at Last [Helen Lee, ON/Korea, 18’] In this quiet drama, two women are connected only by the street in Seoul that they frequent. They live with their memories, heavy hearts and hopes of a new life. A little ten-year-old girl on a scooter circles them as they contemplate what is and what might have been.
How Are You? [Martha Burns and Susan Coyne, ON, 18’] Susan Coyne plays a recently-divorced middle-aged woman who, on a trip into town, runs into a series of neighbours and friends who each have something to say about why her marriage has failed. This engaging film is a comment on grief, assumption and the inability to listen to someone else’s very real situation.
Hungu [Nicolas Brault, QC, 9’] This beautiful mixed-media animated film shares the tale of a young son who must leave his mother’s side as she lies dying in the heat of the African desert sun. His mother’s soul will be resurrected in the hungu, an African musical instrument, to return strength and life to the child as he becomes a man.
Lobotomobile [Sara St. Onge, ON, 5’] Drawing from the real-life exploits of lobotomist Dr. Walter Freeman, this playful short musical is at heart a sharp social commentary featuring a memorable showtune you won’t be able to get out of your head.
Machine with Wishbone [Randall Okita, BC, 6’] Randall Okita’s inventive and exquisitely choreographed short film integrates sculptor Arthur Ganson’s whimsical machines into an imaginative dreamscape. The film is entirely composed of live-action images despite the illusion of animation.
Next Floor [Denis Villeneuve, QC, 12’] This Cannes International Critics Week award-winning short approaches surrealism at an aristocratic affair with minimal dialogue and maximum impact. Visually stunning and darkly humorous, the film is a feast for the eyes and an assault on high society.
Night Vision [Philip Barker, ON, 24’] In this ethereal experimental narrative, the construction of storytelling frames the characters’ quest for sight in darkness. Unique but interrelated narratives entwine as the reluctant narrator spins an imaginative and surrealist tale while undergoing a psychological exam.
Noon [Dan Popa, QC, 6’] In this sensitive portrayal of a couple dealing with immigration, language and love, a man makes lures outside on his porch while his wife gets ready for his birthday celebration. The husband must find a way to communicate his true feelings to his partner in the face of impending changes that he faces tomorrow at noon.
Passage [Karl Lemieux, QC, 15’] Exquisitely filmed in black-and-white, this experimental narrative follows four friends on a road trip as they discover the complicated arena of unseen desire that arises when ‘ecstasy’ and sexuality mix.
Passages [Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre, QC, 24’] Blurring the lines between documentary and drama, this poignant animated autobiographical film tells of the director’s horrific birthing experience as she and her partner deal with a lackadaisical medical system that ultimately fails them.
Pat’s First Kiss [Pat Mills, ON, 4’] Shot on a Motorola cell phone for TIFF07’s Talent Lab, this original coming out story is not all wine and roses. The film tells the true story of the filmmaker’s first kiss with an undesirable stranger he meets overseas.
Pierce, Crush, Escape: Notes on the Boreal [Susan Turcot, QC, 9’] This architecturally-textured experimental meditation examines the effects of deforestation on animals, humans and climate. Using digital animation and line drawings, Turcot continues her abstract exploration of the environment and the Boreal forest area.
Princess Margaret Blvd. [Kazik Radwanski, ON, 13’] Defiantly confronting the progressive stages of Alzheimer’s disease in her twilight years, Isabelle can no longer live a life with which she is familiar. In this compelling dramatic short, actress Gina Sylvester humanizes the frustration, isolation and aggravation associated with the disease.
Pudge [Annie Bradley, ON, 17’] A smiley, slightly chubby 12-year-old, Violet is starting over with a new foster home, an unfriendly school and a coat that is way too small for her. In this heartwarming story of an unlikely friendship, she meets a kindred spirit in Edith, an eccentric wealthy woman who is willing to pay Violet for her cleaning services so that she can buy a new coat.
Rosa Rosa [Félix Dufour-Laperrière, QC, 8’] A beautifully assembled collage of photographic and hand-drawn imagery animates this narrated tale of a couple whose life together has been shaped by years of war. These new parents attempt to retain a daily routine through the rubble and turmoil that surrounds them.
Running (Heart, Mind, Body, Spirit) [Ann Marie Fleming, BC, 4’] Starring ‘stickgirl’, Ann Marie Fleming’s avatar, this animated short uses signature hand-drawn sketches and fluid lines to create a rhythmic pacing that matches the title. The energy of the animation is complemented by a dynamic and layered orchestral score by Maxime Goulet.
A Small Thing [Adam Garnet Jones, ON, 15’] An emotionally stunted young woman throws herself a birthday party in the hopes of recalling something that happened on her tenth birthday. Inviting old friends and family from her past, she relives a day that changed her life forever in this poignant story.
Spoiled [Sherry White, NL, 16’] In this revealing drama, young Pearl has high hopes that an online search will help find her a new mother. When Clarissa arrives to spend Christmas with Pearl and her father, Pearl sees a side to her dad that might explain why he’sbeen single for all those years.
Sunday [Jamie M. Dagg, ON, 13’] The final days of a relationship’s collapse are seen from a suspicious boyfriend’s perspective in this nuanced drama. His depression leads him to discover that he suffers from a burning sensation that would be tough to blame entirely on his cheating girlfriend.
Synthesizer [Sarah Fortin, QC, 11’] Sophie takes a trip to the suburbs of Montreal to get away and hopefully find a boyfriend. This film is a humorous and quirky tale about what to do when you are depressed, have no money and desperately need to make a change.
Uniform Material [Chris McCarroll, ON, 15’] This intimately dramatic portrait follows a Romanian middle-aged man as he methodically prepares for his first day at a new job. The transformation of a man working his way into a class system takes place with sensitivity and subtlety.
Us Chickens [Mark Van de Ven, ON, 20’] Five-year-old Claire refuses to let anything interrupt her playtime, even when she sees more than she is supposed to of her family’s complex world. This lyrical film addresses changes on the family farm as the impending force of suburban developers threatens both the family’s inner and outer worlds.
Mon Nom est Victor Gazon [Patrick Gazé, QC, 10’] Third-grade student Victor Gazon makes a video presentation, listing his likes and dislikes, in order to determine whether life is worth living. Using a light touch on a morbid subject, this bittersweet film looks at childhood innocence, family, money, friends and death.
The Workout [Sami Khan, ON, 11’] In this family drama about a struggle between a father and son, Terry thinks he knows it all until good old Dad tries too hard to show him what “strength” is all about. Shame, misunderstanding and expectation mix with what is left unsaid.
What I’ve Lost [Duraid Munajim, ON, 11’] In this heart-wrenching documentary, Iraqi exiles now living in Amman, Jordan, tell of what they have lost in the throes of wartime. Their difficult lives are captured for a moment as they describe their lost homes, neighbourhoods and families.
Whitmore Park [Brian Stockton, SK, 9’] Brian Stockton moves from broad sketches of Saskatchewan to a personal view of his suburban neighbourhood and formative years in his continuing visual autobiography, The Epic Story of My Life – Part 4. With humour and nostalgia, he ruminates on his cinematic beginnings in elementary school.
The Short Cuts Canada programme is made possible through the generous sponsorship of CTV.
Bell Lightbox
Construction of Bell Lightbox, soon to be one of the world’s leading innovative cultural institutions – a truly global “home for film” – began on February 1, 2007. A five-storey podium building located on Reitman Square in the heart of Toronto’s downtown entertainment district, Bell Lightbox is designed by world-renowned Toronto-based architectural firm KPMB. The building includes five cinemas, two galleries, three learning studios, and an enhanced film reference library and archive. Visit belllightbox.ca for more information.
The campaign to build Bell Lightbox is generously supported by founding sponsor Bell. The Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario each have contributed $25 million to realize Bell Lightbox. A gift of more than $22 million has been confirmed from the Reitman family – acclaimed filmmaker Ivan Reitman and his sisters Agi Mandel and Susan Michaels – and The Daniels Corporation, who together form the King and John Festival Corporation. The project is also supported by RBC as Major Sponsor and Official Bank, Visa†, Copyright Collective of Canada, NBC Universal Canada, The Allan Slaight Family, The Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation, CIBC, and many other individuals and corporations. The Board of Directors, staff and many generous individuals have also contributed to the campaign. The total amount raised to date is $147 million, three quarters of the total campaign of $196 million.
We are a charitable, not-for-profit, cultural organization whose mission is to transform the way people see the world through film. Its vision is to lead the world in creative and cultural discovery through the moving image.
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