SHORT FILM PROGRAMME If you’d like to see some of the incredible short films produced in , please check out our description of the Short Film Programme on page 50, and contact us for advice and assistance. IM Indigenous-made films (written, directed or produced by Indigenous artists) Films produced by the National Film Board of Canada NFB CLASSIC ANIMATIONS LA FAIM / HUNGER THE STREET Norman McLaren, Evelyn Lambart Peter Foldès 1973 11 min. Caroline Leaf 1976 10 min. 1949 8 min. Rapidly dissolving images form a An award-winning adaptation of a An innovative experimental film satire of self-indulgence in a world story by Canadian author Mordecai consisting of abstract shapes and plagued by hunger. This Oscar- Richler about how families deal with colours shifting in sync with jazz nominated film was among the first older relatives, and the emotions COSMIC ZOOM music performed by the Oscar to use computer animation. surrounding a grandmother’s death. Peterson Trio. THE LOG DRIVER’S WALTZ THE SWEATER John Weldon 1979 3 min. Sheldon Cohen 1980 10 min. 1985 10 min. The McGarrigle sisters sing along to Iconic author Roch Carrier narrates A wonderfully wacky look at two the tale of a young girl who loves to a mortifying boyhood experience conflicts — global nuclear war and a dance and chooses to marry a log in this animated adaptation of his domestic quarrel — and how each is driver over more well-to-do suitors. beloved book The Hockey Sweater. resolved. Nominated for an Oscar. NEIGHBOURS THE CAT CAME BACK Norman McLaren 1952 8 min. Eugene Fedorenko, Rose Newlove THE LOG DRIVER’S WALTZ 1988 7 min. This satirical anti-war parable uses 1999 13 min. In this Oscar-nominated short, a live actors as stop-motion subjects Based on a Jewish folk tale, this humorous song tells the silly tale of to tell the tale of a destructive feud hilarious film provides a fresh and a man who just can’t get rid of an over a flower. A groundbreaking – irreverent take on our tendency to unwanted cat. and Oscar-winning – short. romanticize what we don’t have. COSMIC ZOOM THE SAND CASTLE WALKING Eva Szasz 1968 8 min. Co Hoedeman 1977 13 min. Ryan Larkin 1968 5 min. A visually stunning journey from the A man made of sand makes other An artist’s interpretation of the way farthest point of the universe to the sand creatures in this inventive, people walk, using a variety THE SWEATER tiniest particle of matter. Oscar-winning stop-motion film. of animation techniques.

CONTEMPORARY ANIMATION ᑐᒃᑐᒥᑦ / TUKTUMIT IM AMAQQUT NUNAAT / IM AT THE QUINTE HOTEL Ippiksaut Friesen (Inuk) 2014 4 min. THE COUNTRY OF WOLVES Bruce Alcock 2005 4 min. This gorgeously rendered animation Neil Christopher, Louise Flaherty An animated version of Al Purdy’s explores the way traditional hunting (Inuk) 2011 12 min. poem about a man drinking in a / TUKTUMIT in Nunavut has evolved to maintain its Two brothers are set adrift on ice floes basement pub. Narrated by The ᑐᒃᑐᒥᑦ vital role in contemporary Inuit culture. while hunting for seal. They soon find Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie. IM themselves in the country of wolves, IM ABORIGINALITY where all is not as it appears. AWASKINAWASON / Dominique Keller, Tom Jackson (Cree) CHILDREN OF EARTH 2007 5 min. ÂME NOIRE / BLACK SOUL Antony Dubé (Atikamekw) 2015 A young boy is transported Martine Chartrand 2000 10 min. 3 min. through his television set to the A young boy traces his roots through Awaskinawason is made up of the scene of a traditional hoop dance, the stories his grandmother shares Atikamekw words awacic (child), aski encountering his family’s cultural with him in this exhilarating voyage (earth) and takonawason (having the heritage in a new way. through the defining moments of responsibility for). A plea to respect ABORIGINALITY the great circle of life. AL GHORBA black history. Alia Hijaab 2019 6 min. AND THAT’S REMARKABLE THE BASKETBALL GAME Through a conversation with Linnea Ritland 2013 1 min. Hart Snider 2011 5 min. her family back home, a Syrian “It’s remarkable how easily a human When nine-year-old Hart attends immigrant in Canada expresses her spirit can be broken,” this punchy Jewish summer camp, his group loneliness, and faces her mounting short about bullying laments. But, as must play an epic basketball game fears about the future. the animation assures us, it’s just as against the students of a notorious remarkable how it can be fixed. Holocaust denier. What awaits him on the court? AL GHORBA

REEL CANADA SHORT FILMS 61 CONTEMPORARY ANIMATION continued BAM THE END OF PINKY THE GUEST IM Howie Shia 2015 6 min. Claire Blanchet 2013 8 min. Nick Rodgers (Anishinaabe) In this modern adaptation of the story Johnny is out to kill his best friend, 2015 5 min. of Hercules, a young boxer struggles Pinky, in this film noir adaptation of A trapper collects a mysterious to negotiate between his shy, bookish a short story by acclaimed Canadian animal in the forest, but as he tries BIIDAABAN nature and his divinely violent temper. author Heather O’Neill. to care for it, the beast quickly becomes insatiable. BIIDAABAN IM FIGHTING CHANCE IM (THE DAWN COMES) Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree) HOLE Amanda Strong (Michif) 2011 9 min. G. Goletski 2018 6 min. 2018 19 min. With a family history of residential The story of Mo, a young adult In this dream-like animation, a schooling, 13-year-old Joey is put on the autism spectrum whose young Anishinaabe artist comes into a group home, where he gets a daily routine is disrupted when a to a suburban neighbourhood to chance to turn his life around. mysterious hole begins to follow him reclaim her ancestral tradition of sap around. harvesting. FLUX Christopher Hinton 2002 7 min. HOW TO BE ALONE BIRCHBARK IM A whimsical piece that plays with Andrea Dorfman 2010 6 min. John Hupfield (Anishinaabe) 2008 both the significant and mundane Narrated by Tanya Davis to beautiful 4 min. events in the lives of a large family. hand-drawn illustrations by Dorfman, Davis’s eloquent poem is full of Symbols of traditional knowledge IM come alive and find themselves FOUR FACES OF THE MOON powerful truths. With over eight Amanda Strong (Michif) inside the pages of a book. million views on YouTube, the film is 2016 13 min. an online sensation. BLIND VAYSHA In this intricate and stunning 2016 8 min. stop-motion animation, a young IF I WAS GOD… BONE MOTHER A young girl’s left eye sees only the filmmaker travels back through time, Cordell Barker 2014 8 min. past while her right sees only the encountering pivotal moments in her In this darkly whimsical animation future. Haunted by what was and family’s history and strengthening her from two-time Oscar-nominee threatened by what will be, Blind connections to her Métis, Cree and Cordell Barker, a student dissecting Vaysha is cursed to be incapable of Anishinaabe ancestors. a frog in his biology class daydreams living in the present. about omnipotent powers. THE GIFT IM BONE MOTHER Terril Calder (Métis) 2011 2 min. I HAVE SEEN THE FUTURE Cam Christiansen 2007 6 min. Dale Hayward, Sylvie Trouvé This stop-motion tale captures the 2018 8 min. betrayal and deception of when An animated music video about a father-son tennis game set on a hot FOUR FACES OF THE MOON A traveller wanders deep into smallpox-infected blankets were given summer day in the suburbs. the forest to visit Baba Yaga, a by European settlers to Indigenous mysterious woman who is said to populations as a deadly “gift.” I’M SCARED TOO possess the powers of life and death. LE GOUFFRE / THE GULF Nadia Lakhdari, Caroline Lavergne DANCERS OF THE GRASS IM Carl Beauchemin, Thomas Chrétien, 2017 2 min. Melanie Jackson (Métis/ David Forest 2015 10 min. In the days following the attack on Saulteaux) 2009 2 min. When two travellers undertake a City mosque, Lakhdari and Lavergne sought out stories Spectacular stop-motion animation to build a gigantic bridge that will from Quebecers of all walks of life, breathes life into a traditional dance. cross a gulf blocking their way, their courage and determination inspire a revealing the same emotions that THE GRANDFATHER DRUM nearby rural community. unite rather than divide us. 2006 14 min. In this Oscar-winning short, a young THE GRANDFATHER DRUM IM I MET THE WALRUS woman tells the story of how the Michelle Derosier (Anishinaabe) Josh Raskin 2007 5 min. Danish poet Kasper Jørgensen found 2016 12 min. In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatles fan inspiration and ultimately caused her In this stunning storybook animation, sneaks into John Lennon’s hotel room and convinces him to do parents to find one another. the forceful removal of a healing drum from an Anishinabek an interview for his school paper. DIMANCHE / SUNDAY community disrupts the balance This clever animation illustrates the Patrick Doyon 2011 10 min. between the sky-world and the audio recording of that conversation. IF I WAS GOD A young boy is bored during a visit to underworld. his grandparents’ house in small-town MADAME TUTLI-PUTLI Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski Quebec, so he goes outside in search GRANDFATHER ON IM 2007 17 min. of adventure. Nominated for an Oscar. THE PRAIRIES Andrew Genaille (Cree) 2018 3 min. Madame Tutli-Putli boards a EMPTY IM Jason meets his great-great-great- night train for a mysterious and Jackie Traverse (Anishinaabe) grandfather and soon finds himself suspenseful journey in this stunning 2009 5 min. in a hilarious debate about what it stop-motion short. Nominated for Set to a song by Little Hawk, this means to be a hunter. an Oscar. animated story is a daughter’s starkly MADAME TUTLI-PUTLI honest tribute to her estranged mother.

62 REEL CANADA SHORT FILMS CONTEMPORARY ANIMATION continued McLAREN’S NEGATIVES PARADISE TO THIS DAY Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre 2006 Jesse Rosensweet 2007 7 min. Shane Koyczan 2013 8 min. 10 min. A brilliant stop-motion animation that In this collaborative online project, An animated documentary shares follows a man made of metal who’s 12 animators and 80 “motion the secrets of legendary Canadian caught in the machine of daily routine. artists” bring their unique styles to animator Norman McLaren. Koyczan’s poem about bullying. NADINE PINCH Jody Kramer 2006 5 min. TRADITIONAL HEALING IM Torill Kove 2014 14 min. The story of a young woman — and Raymond Caplin (Mi’kmaq) In this Oscar-nominated short, a the pet monster that lives on her arm! 2013 3 min. seven-year-old girl asks for a bicycle, In this beautiful animation, a knowing full well that her loving yet REQUIEM POUR UNE ROMANCE / woman’s sacred healing dance causes unconventional parents likely have REQUIEM FOR ROMANCE a miracle to occur in an otherwise something else in mind. Jonathan Ng 2012 6 min. bleak and devastated environment. A couple’s breakup phone call MELTDOWN takes on epic proportions — in the THE TRAGIC STORY OF NLING Carrie Mombourquette 2012 1 min. director’s imagination — as the lovers Jeffrey St. Jules 2006 14 min. O CANADA Because his icy arctic environment become warriors in feudal China. A drunkard and his best friend is disappearing, a polar bear heads attempt to flee Nling, a walled to the city to find a job. Fitting in RUNAWAY community made of garbage from isn’t easy, so he comes up with a Cordell Barker 2009 9 min. the ancient city of Capillia. fun solution to his housing issue. Gleeful train passengers cavort to a jaunty jazz score, but when their THE VISIT IM MIA’ IM driver disappears, the careless ride Lisa Jackson (Anishinaabe) 2009 Amanda Strong (Michif), Bracken turns darkly funny. 3 min. Hanuse Corlett (Wuikinuxv- The charming “true” story of an Klahoose) 2015 8 min. RYAN encounter between extraterrestrials PARADISE In this incredible stop-motion short, 2004 14 min. and a Cree family. Mia’ is a young Indigenous street A touching, Oscar-winning tribute to artist who paints scenes rooted Canadian animation pioneer Ryan VIVE LA ROSE in the supernatural history of her Larkin. Bruce Alcock 2009 6 min. people. When her art comes to life, (French with English subtitles) Mia too is transformed. SECOND HAND Based on the last recording by Émile Isaac King 2010 8 min. Benoît, one of Newfoundland’s NADINE Two neighbours have very different foremost traditional music Patrick Péris 2017 4 min. ideas about wasting time and saving performers, this touching short Blending live-action and animation, stuff in this humourous meditation is a tender depiction of a tragic RUNAWAY this short tells the story of an on what’s precious or disposable. Newfoundland love song. imaginative teenager as he debates about the best way to say hello to SKETCHI WALK-IN-THE-FOREST IM the cute girl he sees in the library. Lily Sun 2010 3 min. Diane Obomsawin (Abenaki) A young girl struggles to revive her 2009 3 min. NO FISH WHERE TO GO beloved dead dog, Sketchi, in this A medicine man walks in the woods charming short about the power of and discovers an intriguing secret Nicola Lemay, Janice Nadeau love and imagination. world. 2014 12 min. This compassionate animation THE STONE OF FOLLY looks at the consequences of war Jesse Rosensweet 2002 8 min. Amanda Forbis, Wendy Tilby RYAN through the lens of two little girls In this twisted short, strange 1999 10 min. who become friends despite their doctors cure bizarre ailments, and The charming, bittersweet story upbringing in opposing clans. laughter inevitably proves to be the of Ruby, a pig whose life takes an O CANADA best medicine. unexpected turn after she witnesses the accidental death of a stranger. Jerry Popowich 2017 2 min. STRANGE INVADERS Nominated for an Oscar. Mercury Filmworks created this Cordell Barker 2001 9 min. charming animated version of Roger and Doris get more than WILD LIFE the national anthem for National they bargained for when a peculiar Amanda Forbis, Wendy Tilby Canadian Film Day 150. It screened child appears at their doorstep. 2011 14 min. at over 1,800 events around the Nominated for an Oscar. This Oscar-nominated short follows TRADITIONAL HEALING world and became a classic. an English frontiersman in early THE ORPHAN AND THE IM Canada whose letters home are Chris Landreth 2013 11 min. much sunnier than his reality. POLAR BEAR The inability to remember Neil Christopher, Louise Flaherty someone’s name sends Charles on YELLOW STICKY NOTES (Inuk) 2014 9 min. a journey into his brain to crack the Jeff Chiba Stearns 2007 6 min. In this adaptation of an Inuit legend, code in this cerebral rendition of An animator finds a unique way to an orphan is adopted by a polar the popular game show Password. deal with the fact that yellow sticky bear elder who teaches him the notes are taking over his life. skills he needs to survive. THE VISIT

REEL CANADA SHORT FILMS 63 COMEDY THE AFTERLIFETIME OF DYSTOPIANEST DYSTOPIA EVER INSTANT FRENCH COLM FEORE Jon Murray 2013 2 min. André Leduc 1979 1 min. Hannah Cheesman 2019 5 min. A hilarious take on a “not too This hilarious commercial for a After receiving the Governor distant future” in which we no make-believe electronic translation General’s Lifetime Achievement longer need old fashioned forms of device is a wry commentary on the THE AFTERLIFETIME OF Award Colm Feore visits the communication like (ugh!) talking. anxiety of our nation’s Anglophones. COLM FEORE Afterlifetime Achievement Agency, IM where he receives absolutely THE ENVIRONMENTALIST JORDAN GORDON’S GUIDE Jacob Bond 2011 7 min. terrible post-career advice. TO KUUJJUAQ A satirical look at a man in a coffee Jordan Gordon (Inuk) 2018 4 min THE BIG CHARADE shop desperately trying to save the Jordan Gordon is thrilled to show Jesse McKeown 2004 5 min. world from eco-devastation. you around his hometown, taking A mock trailer about a boy and you through the highlights with a his father, who teaches him all he EVELYN: THE CUTEST wonderful mix of humour and charm. knows about the game of charades. EVIL DEAD GIRL Brad Peyton 2002 8 min. KING CHICKEN CHEF DE MEUTE BIG CITY HEAT A twisted comedy about a lonely Nicolas Bolduc 2010 7 min. Adam Brodie, Dave Derewlany corpse who tries to bring herself back King Chicken walks into a language lab 2013 3 min. to life in order to make new friends. to learn English and is suddenly love- A jazz band’s rehearsal goes struck by a quirky and cute student. comically awry when pianist Donny THE GOLDEN TICKET Will he be able to approach her? Patrick Hagarty 2013 9 min. “Sniffs” Mitchum begins to act up. Bradley is having a bad day. But when LÉGER PROBLÈME a stranger offers him a Golden Ticket, Hélène Florent 2009 9 min. BIRTHDAYS AND OTHER TRAUMAS allowing him to act without consequence (French with English subtitles) Katie Yu 2006 13 min. th things take an interesting turn. While it’s usually good to be light EVELYN: THE CUTEST EVIL On his 12 birthday, Oscar imagines on one’s feet, it’s best not to get too DEAD GIRL that his mom’s homemade piñata is GREEN DOOR light! In this inventive short, a man her evil twin — and he must defend Semi Chellas 2008 13 min. struggles to obey the laws of gravity. his family’s honour against it. A case of mistaken identity drives this humourous tale of apartment MAN V. MINIVAN CHEF DE MEUTE / HERD LEADER living and unrequited love. Spencer Maybee 2009 17 min. Chloé Robichaud 2012 13 min. Days before getting married, Shane (French with English subtitles) THE GREEN FILM receives a minivan from his future After the death of her aunt, Clara Andrew Williamson 2008 5 min. in-laws, which leads to a comedic becomes the reluctant new owner It’s not easy being green — case of cold feet. GROCERY STORE ACTION of a disobedient pug. especially when you’re trying to MOVIE make the most environmentally MATTRESS CHILI & CHEESE friendly movie of all time. Michelle Kee 2014 10 min. Joe Pingue 2008 13 min. The Lee family dumps an old mattress A convenience store clerk and his GROCERY STORE ACTION MOVIE in an alley, sparking an all-out laid-back sidekick are confounded Matthew Campbell 2016 14 min. suburban war. It’s up to their youngest by a customer’s bizarre eating In this hilarious send-up of action member to do the right thing. habits. movie clichés, a man gets into the express line in a grocery store and A MILE IN THESE HOOVES THE CLOSER YOU GET TO CANADA then realizes he’s forgotten one thing. James Brylowski 2014 15 min. John Bolton 2010 11 min. Tom and Mark set out on a mission Based on a story by acclaimed author JORDAN GORDON’S GUIDE HIP HOP MOM to break the world record for Thomas King, this darkly comic short Mina Shum 2011 4 min. Longest Distance Travelled in a Two- TO KUUJJUAQ follows the adventures of two old A comedic take on how moms can Person Costume. As the heat from friends trapped in a futuristic American stay true to themselves while raising their donkey costume rises, so do seniors’ home, who want to escape to a family. the tensions between them. Canada. HOP THE TWIG MOVING ON CROSS-COUNTRY SNOWBOARDING Kyle Rideout 2011 10 min. Mike Fardy 2016 7 min. Adam Brodie, Dave Derewlany In this quirky fairytale, little Audrey’s In this hilarious tale about facing 2007 3 min. houseplant withers away, plunging adult responsibility, a young couple Joel and Tate are the world’s most her into her deepest fear: that one with relationship troubles must MATTRESS dedicated cross-country snowboarders, day she’ll similarly lose her mother. choose between talking things striving for excellence and trying to through or using their newly avoid the dangers of “scooch leg.” INDIAN IM acquired magic wands to resolve Darryl Nepinak (Saulteaux) their issues. DEADSPIEL 2008 2 min. Jay Molloy 2008 8 min. In this amusing and powerful short, Ghoulishly funny, this short follows a the etymology of the word “Indian” curling match between humans and is deconstructed at the Canadian zombies who must choose between National Spelling Bee. sportsmanship and bloodsport. A MILE IN THESE HOOVES

64 REEL CANADA SHORT FILMS COMEDY continued NO RESERVATIONS IM LA PEPPERETTE / THE RUNNER Trevor Carroll (Ojibway) THE PEPPERETTE Robert DeLeskie 2006 4 min. 2018 10 min. Jérôme Hof 2014 4 min. Set in a sea of cubicles, the futility How does a predominantly (French with English subtitles) of the daily rat race is illustrated in white community react when an Two bumbling teens try to rob a this ingenious dance comedy. Indigenous construction team convenience store, but end up with NO RESERVATIONS arrives to build a pipeline through a salty treat instead. SAD BEAR their backyard? Liz Van Allen Cairns, Joe LoBianco POOL POOL 2010 10 min. OLIVER BUMP’S BIRTHDAY Adam Brodie, Dave Derewlany A sincere and funny story that Jordan Canning 2011 16 min. 2007 3 min. tackles the universal need to A 12-year-old boy who believes he Two oddball brothers are dedicated to simultaneously hold on and let go. is fated to die on his 13th birthday playing billiards in a swimming pool. must find a way to cheat death SORRY, RABBI before the clock runs out. RADICAL Mark Slutsky 2011 10 min. Deanne Foley 2019 6 min. Due to a misunderstanding, a secular OLIVER BUMP’S BIRTHDAY OÙ EST MAURICE? A profile of legendary Canadian Jew in Montreal ends up the subject Alek Rzeszowski, Matthew Rankin comedian Mary Walsh, and her of an impromptu Hasidic tribunal. 2006 5 min. fearless, funny career. A woman searches for her lost dog LE TECHNICIEN / THE TECHNICIAN and instead finds a Parisian man RECORD Simon Olivier Fecteau 2009 7 min. eager to take its place in this quirky Dylan Reibling 2011 5 min. (French with English subtitles) absurdist comedy. A sidewalk record sale takes an After a customer complains that his emotional turn when a chance television is broken because it only PARACHUTE musical discovery yields a powerful shows bad news, a cable repairman Martin Thibaudeau 2012 5 min. response. sets out to solve the problem. (French with English subtitles) LA PEPPERETTE A vacationing couple discovers an RIBOFLAVIN! THE TRUTH ABOUT HEAD unconventional skydiving club. Blair Dykes 2009 9 min. Dale Heslip 2004 12 min. Should they take the plunge? When two men set out to see what A bizarre comedy about Ed, a head happens if they ingest too much who travels the countryside with a THE PARIS QUINTET riboflavin, they end up causing an freakshow in order to raise money Benjamin Schuetze 2010 11 min. unexpected rift in time. for an operation to get himself In this beautifully choreographed attached to a body. film, five sharply dressed men ROLAND go about their daily routines in a Trevor Cornish 2013 11 min. WILLIAM SHATNER SINGS O CANADA cramped Paris apartment. Roland, a keen art supply store SORRY, RABBI clerk, is rattled after a crazed man Jacob Medjuck 2011 5 min. PEDESTRIAN JAR insists on being allowed to use the The always-charming William Shatner Evan Morgan 2011 4 min. store’s washroom, which is against treats us to a memorable rendition A group of coworkers come up store policy. of Canada’s national anthem. This with their own unique solution to heartwarming short pokes fun at our pedestrian-related driving accidents beloved “home and native land”. in this hilarious mock-doc.

LE TECHNICIEN DRAMA

4 AM 35 MPH ANATOMY OF ASSISTANCE Janine Fung 2011 4 min. Jean-Marc E. Roy, Philippe David Cory Bowles 2013 13 min. Spoken-word poet Muhammad Gagné, Dominic Leclerc 2011 10 min. When defiant Talia challenges the Muwakil conjures up a powerful (French with English subtitles) assistance envelope given to her picture of suburban life in Trinidad. Two buddies share a passion for dirt at school, she comes to better bikes, but their friendship is also understand herself and to rethink 7A based on a deeper understanding how assistance programmes work. 4 AM Zachary Russell 2018 10 min. that only they share. A routine home repair becomes a ANIRNIQ / BREATH living nightmare as a mysterious gas AIR SHOW R.J. Sauer 2011 5 min. (Inuktitut descends on an apartment building, Maya Bastian 2017 8 min. with English subtitles) leaving one of its residents with a Having recently started a new life in A beautiful exploration of the terrifying life-or-death decision. Toronto, a Tamil family comes face Inuit belief that when someone to face with their lingering trauma dies, their spirit enters the living when they first encounter the creatures around them. thundering noise of the air show. 35 MPH

REEL CANADA SHORT FILMS 65 DRAMA continued ARROWHEAD CLADDAGH HEART OF THE WORLD Peter Lynch 1994 30 min. Brett Ferster 2016 8 min. Guy Maddin 2000 5 min. An ingeniously wry look at the way Truth and loyalty are tested when three The story of state scientist Anna and people struggle to find meaning brothers discover a dead body on their the two brothers who vie for her love within sterile urban environments. way to go swimming in the forest. while she tries to save the world. ASSINI ARUBA COVERED A HINDU’S INDICTMENT Hubert Davis 2005 11 min. Jonathon M.B. Hunter 2014 7 min. OF HEAVEN A young boy employs ingenuity and Actors reinterpret a 1960s television Dev Khanna 2009 11 min. his imagination to escape his difficult interview with folk music icon and A charming, tongue-in-cheek drama life circumstances. legendary Indigenous-rights activist about a woman who waits with Saint Buffy Sainte-Marie. Peter outside the gates of heaven for ASSINI IM her soulmate. Gail Maurice (Cree/Métis) DUET 2015 13 min. Andrew Coll 2017 13 min. HOME AWAY Seven-year-old Assini and her friends A pianist with stage fright gets the Hannah Yohannes 2013 10 min. BAREFOOT often play Cowboys and Indians. opportunity of a lifetime when his idol With nowhere left to turn, pregnant But when Assini discovers that she visits his school and sees his potential. Sabrina checks herself into a group herself is an “Indian,” the game Will he gather up the courage to home for teen girls and discovers takes a new turn. perform on the biggest stage of his life? the family she desperately needs. AVILIAQ / ENTWINED IM ELEVATED KAJUTAIJUQ: THE SPIRIT IM Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Inuk) 2014 Vincenzo Natali 1996 20 min. THAT COMES 15 min. (Inuktitut with English subtitles) A routine elevator ride becomes a living Scott Brachmayer, Co-producer/Co- In the 1950s, two Inuit women attempt hell for its three trapped passengers. writer: Nyla Innuksuk (Inuk) to protect their relationship when 2014 15 min. BIG GIRL pressure from their new colonial EMMA Part Inuit legend, part thriller, an culture forces them to marry men. Martin Edralin 2016 13 min. Arctic hunter tries to live by the Fourteen-year-old Emma struggles IM traditional skills his grandfather BAREFOOT with alopecia areata, a condition taught him — but they are difficult Danis Goulet (Cree/Métis) 2012 of rapid, unpredictable hair loss. A for a modern man to apply, and the 11 min. delicate film about the uneasy path price of failure is high. In a tight-knit Cree community in towards self-acceptance and putting northern Saskatchewan, 16-year- one’s own well-being above what LEFTOVER old Alyssa enjoys the attention that others think. Eui Yong Zong 2014 19 min. comes with pregnancy — until her ENTANGLED A family of North Korean refugees DUET secret plan unravels. tries to adjust to a new life in Tony Elliott 2014 15 min. Etobicoke, Ont., with painful BIG GIRL Forced to care for her catatonic lover memories of the oppressive regime Renuka Jeyapalan 2005 15 min. after a secret quantum experiment still fresh in their minds. A poignant tale of a little girl who goes awry, Erin is determined to embarks on a battle of wills with her uncover the cause of his condition MY FATHER’S HANDS mother’s new boyfriend. — even at the risk of her own life. Sudz Sutherland 1999 27 min. IM A powerful and moving short about a THE BLANKETING FROST father and a son, each representing a Trevor Mack (Tsilhqot’in) Jeremy Ball 2012 14 min. different culture and time. 2013 8 min. Young Arctic hunter Naya embarks EMMA In the mid-1800s, the Tsilhqot’in on a search for food outside her NEWBORN First Nation of was ancestral hunting grounds. There, Ray Savaya 2018 6 min. nearly wiped out by a devastating she discovers an unfamiliar new A couple’s debate about what to smallpox outbreak. The Blanketing world and a dangerous predator. name their first child becomes depicts a fictional confrontation confrontational as they start to weigh before the epidemic. THE GAME the real-world consequences that the Andrew Chiang 2012 11 min. child will face because of that name. BOXED IN IM After a professional basketball player Shane Belcourt (Métis) 2009 4 min. is cut from his team, he reflects on PARANORMAL RADIO A woman of mixed ancestry struggles the talent and passion that brought Andrew Jeffrey 2015 12 min. FROST with an Equal Opportunity form him to this point by playing a game Are we alone? One stormy night, a that requires her to respond to the against three younger versions of talk-radio host who is an expert in dilemma “Ethnicity — Choose One.” himself. the paranormal receives a call that CAMERA HEART may have the answer…. David Cronenberg 2000 5 min. Ann Marie Fleming 2002 7 min. PUDGE A seasoned actor discusses the A singer prepares for a performance Annie Bradley 2008 17 min. current state of cinema while a group while fighting back tears; a Twelve-year-old Violet just wants a of young children sneak in with beautifully rendered response to the winter coat that fits, but what she production equipment to film him. events of September 11, 2001. gets is an unusual friendship that fits LEFTOVER her best of all.

66 REEL CANADA SHORT FILMS DRAMA continued QAGGIQ / GATHERING PLACE IM SPIRIT OF THE BLUEBIRD IM TUNDRA Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk) 1989 58 min. Jesse Gouchey (Cree), Xstine Cook Carol Nguyen 2018 11 min. (Inuktitut with English subtitles) 2011 6 min. The mother of a missing Vietnamese Conflicts arise when families in an A personal and poetic tribute by woman sees her daughter in her Inuit camp build a communal igloo to Gouchey to Gloria Black Plume, dreams, allowing her to come to celebrate the coming of spring with a woman who was murdered in terms with her grief. SAVAGE games, singing and drum dancing. Calgary in March of 1999. UNDER SAVAGE IM STOLEN IM Mark Raso 2011 23 min. Lisa Jackson (Anishinaabe) Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs Tom tries to help Sydney overcome 2009 6 min. (Mohawk) 2017 7 min. her addictions in an isolated This “residential school musical” This powerful short offers a glimpse northern setting, but when an uses song and dance to depict a little into the life of Sheena, a troubled avalanche traps the couple, their trip girl’s dehumanizing journey into the 14-year-old Indigenous girl who yearns becomes a battle for survival. residential school system, as well as for freedom away from the girls’ home her mother’s pain. she’s been placed in. THE UNDERGROUND IM Michelle Latimer (Algonquin/Métis) SHAHZAD SHAHZAD TAXI LIBRE 2014 14 min. Haya Waseem 2016 12 min. Kaveh Nabation 2010 13 min. In this gritty and poetic short, an Shahzad is a young boy recently (French and Spanish with English Iranian man struggling to fit into arrived from Pakistan. He finds subtitles) Canadian life finds comfort in the that integrating into Canadian life Jose Garcia was a doctor in his cockroaches that inhabit his home. and school is easy – but his life at home country. Now, as a taxi driver home with his father is becoming in Canada, he must cope with a WAPAWEKKA IM increasingly strained. playfully taunting prospective Danis Goulet (Cree/Métis) 2010 employer who takes a seat in his cab. 16 min. SHIN CHI’S CANOE IM Josh and his father visit their family SHIN CHI’S CANOE Allan Hopkins (N’quatwua) IM cabin in Saskatchewan for the last 2018 13 min. Miranda de Pencier, time, confronting the generational Through his father’s gift of a secret Executive-producers: Alethea differences between their Cree and tiny hand-carved cedar canoe, Arnaquq-Baril (Inuk), Qajaaq heritage and Josh’s urban lifestyle. an Indigenous child discovers the Ellsworth (Inuk) 2011 16 min. strength and resilience to endure his A young Inuit woman with a A WORLD OF OUR OWN IM first year at a residential school. troubled past begins to connect with Morningstar Derosier (Anishinaabe) other victims of violence from her 2018 9 min. SNOW community, and reclaims her voice In a twist on futuristic sci-fi, a young Kim Barr 2017 10 min. along the way. woman becomes infatuated with a SNOW A young girl who recently woman who removes a ubiquitous immigrated to Canada has mixed computer implant that has replaced feelings about seeing her first most forms of communication. snowfall.

DANCE AND EXPERIMENTAL BABA CYCLES INDIGO IM WAPAWEKKA Jonathan Lawley 2006 3 min. Joe Cobden 2016 4 min. Amanda Strong (Michif) Different people, cultures and styles Through playful choreography and 2014 9 min. of dance come together in one piano harmonies, a man revisits A trapped woman is freed by vivid expression of love and life. abstract memories of a failed “Grandmother Spider,” who still has Choreographed by Tré Armstrong. relationship. some important webs to weave. Inspired by Indigenous stories and BUS NO. 9 FOUND vividly realized through stop-motion Michael Downing 1999 3 min. Paramita Nath 2009 6 min. animation.. A chance encounter at a bus stop Toronto poet Souvankham becomes an excuse for a sultry Thammavongsa tells the story of IN THE GROOVE BABA tango pas de deux. her family’s escape from Laos in Clarence Ford 2006 2 min. the 1970s through old photos, This combination of hockey, dance, THE CINNAMON PEELER animation and home movies. figure skating and rock/funk takes Veronica Tennant 2004 3 min. place on ice and features champion Michael Ondaatje reads his poem GLORIA VICTORIA figure skater Kurt Browning. The Cinnamon Peeler accompanied Theodore Ushev 2012 9 min. by the choreographed movements Recycling elements of surrealism of two dancers. and cubism, this Genie-nominated animation explores relationships between art and war. CYCLES

REEL CANADA SHORT FILMS 67 DANCE AND EXPERIMENTAL continued INUKSHOP IM PORTRAIT AS A RANDOM ACT TERMINUS IM Jobie Weetaluktuk (Inuk) 2009 OF VIOLENCE Trevor Cawood 2007 8 min. 2 min. Randall Lloyd Okita 2013 5 min One man manages, at a gruesome Weetaluktuk mixes archival reels This engrossing short combines cost, to escape from the shadows with new footage to make this performance with stunning kinetic of the dancing concrete figure that LITTLE THUNDER poignant commentary on cultural sculptures, evoking themes of dogs him. appropriation. protest, destruction and resurrection. THROAT SINGING IN LITTLE THUNDER IM PRETTY BIG DIG KANGIRSUK Nance Ackerman, Alan Syliboy Anne Troake 2006 3 min. Manon Chamberland (Inuk), Eva (Mi’kmaq) 2009 3 min. Three excavators move together Kaukai (Inuk) 2019 3 min. Inspired by the Mi’kmaq legend “The with impressive grace to a A mesmerizing duet between Stone Canoe,” this coming-of-age contemporary classical score, two Inuit throat singers forms the story follows a boy who reluctantly gently inviting us to re-examine the soundtrack for this journey through sets out on a canoe trip by himself as way we view dance and industrial the four seasons of the Arctic. NOUS NOUS SOULEVERONS a rite of passage into adulthood. technology. TROPICAL RUMOURS LOST ACTION: TRACE A SHORT FILM ABOUT FALLING Veronica Tennant 2004 4 min. Marlene Millar, Crystal Pite & Philip Peter Lynch, Max Dean A rich fabric of movement and Szporer 2011 3 min 2007 15 min. imagery inspired by Michael The horror and devastating Using a robotic chair as the Ondaatje’s memoir, Running in the consequences of war are explored axis of entwined stories tied to the Family. through contemporary dance in this theme of suspension, Lynch visually-stunning animation. and Dean explore autobiography in VERY NICE, VERY NICE this challenging and complex work. Arthur Lipsett 1961 7 min. PORTRAIT AS A RANDOM MOBILIZE IM An avant-garde collage of ACT OF VIOLENCE Caroline Monnet (Algonquin) SNARE IM photography and sound that looks 2015 3 min. Lisa Jackson (Anishinaabe) behind the business-as-usual face Featuring music by Inuk throat 2013 4 min. we put on in life, showing anxieties singer Tanya Tagaq, Mobilize Spare and visually arresting, we’d rather forget. with a haunting soundtrack, this repurposes NFB archival footage to IM explore the relationship between performance piece captures WAVE A RED FLAG Adam Garnet Jones (Cree/Métis) the modern and the traditional. the brutality of violence against Indigenous women, as well as the 2009 3 min. NOUS NOUS SOULEVERONS / possibility of healing and grace. A whimsical, wordless exploration of WE WILL RISE UP IM Indigenous identity, community and SNARE Natasha Kanapé Fontaine (Innu) SOMETHING’S COMING culture. 2015 4 min. Veronica Tennant 2012 3 min. Through a performance of her own A creative split-screen film featuring powerful poem, Innu poet Natasha ballet and singing performances of Kanapé Fontaine invites us to rise up “Something’s Coming!” from West Side Story. and bring light to the world.

DOCUMENTARY TROPICAL RUMOURS 7 MINUTES IM AGAINST THE GRAIN IM THE CREATOR’S GAME IM Tasha Hubbard (Cree) 2016 7 min. Curtis Mandeville (Métis) Candace Maracle (Mohawk) Marie’s walk home from university 2009 24 min. 2011 41 min. takes seven minutes, but when she Survivors of the Indian residential After being denied entry into Europe is followed home by a stranger in a school system attempt to cope with because of their Haudenosaunee van, those seven minutes feel like an its impact on their personal lives passports, the Iroquois Nationals eternity. and communities. A good primer lacrosse team forfeit a shot at the for discussions of the Truth and World Championship. A year later, ACTIVISM 2.0 Reconciliation Commission report. they continue to fight for national Emily Hunter 2015 15 min. sovereignty — and the title. 7 MINUTES Filmmaker and eco-warrior Emily LE CHEMIN ROUGE / Hunter explores the unconventional RED PATH IM CREE CODE TALKER IM tactics of the Black Fish, members Thérèse Ottawa (Atikamekw) Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree) of a new generation of high-tech 2015 15 min. 2016 14 min. environmental activists. (French with English subtitles) During WWII, Allied Forces used This moving documentary tells the Indigenous-language speakers to story of Tony Chachai, a young man transmit coded messages that could who reconnects with his Atikamekw not be broken. The contributions roots by dancing in powwows. of Charles “Checker” Tomkins are revealed in this insightful doc. LE CHEMIN ROUGE

68 REEL CANADA SHORT FILMS DOCUMENTARY CRY ROCK IM HOME COOKED MUSIC MA BOÎTE NOIRE / MY BLACK BOX Banchi Hanuse (Nuxalk) 2016 29 min. Mike Maryniuk 2014 9 min. Nicolas-Alexandre Tremblay 2012 Fewer than 15 Nuxalk-language Is there anything more Canadian 12 min. (French with English subtitles) speakers and storytellers are left in than a moose-antler electric guitar? A man uses rap to overcome both Bella Coola, B.C. This thoughtful film After having a near-death experience, his speech impediment and his explores what is lost from a culture a retired machinist finds meaning troubled past, and then teaches CRY ROCK when a language threatens to go by making whimsical stringed other young people to do the same. extinct. instruments from strange objects. MÉMÉRE MÉTISSE IM DE FACE OU DE PROFIL / IM HONEY FOR SALE IM Janelle Wookey (Métis) FACE OR PROFILE Amanda Strong (Michif) 2008 30 min. Sharon Fontaine (Innu) 2009 7 min. A young filmmaker explores her 2014 5 min. (French with English The director focuses her camera on family’s past as she schemes to subtitles) the tenuous life of a honeybee in this convince her grandmother to Told from 16-year-old Sharon’s point poetic and thoughtful meditation on accept her Métis heritage. Wookey’s of view, this charming short uses the fragility of human existence. mischievous persistence uncovers a FAST HORSE her wit and humour to reflect on legacy of shame and the profound society’s use of online avatars. H Y P H E N : G A B R I E L A ’ S S T O R Y courage needed to overcome it. Gabriela Warrior Renaud 2016 5 min. FAST HORSE IM Renaud explores her hyphenated ME, MOM AND MONA Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree) 2018 identity through a portrayal of the Mina Shum 1993 20 min. 13 min. complexities of her multiracial family. In this evocative documentary, the At the Calgary Stampede, Cody women of the Shum family share in BigTobacco competes in his first INUIT HIGH KICK IM a discussion that reveals the impact Indian Relay, a fast-paced and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Inuk) of conflicting values on their lives. dangerous horse race where jockeys 2010 3 min. ride bareback and switch horses. A stunning slow-motion visual MOHAWK GIRLS IM HARD LEARNING examination of an athlete performing Tracey Deer (Mohawk) FIT TO BE TIED the traditional Inuit high kick. 2005 55 min. James Cooper & Jess Hayes 2018 Three teens from the Kahnawake 13 min. LAKE IM Indigenous community wrestle not This quirky and fun short doc Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree) only with decisions about their follows a team of professional 2019 5 min. futures, but also with the challenges balloon twisters as they represent Two Métis women demonstrate their of maintaining and embracing their Canada and compete for process of ice fishing on a cold lake in Mohawk identity. international glory at the World northern Alberta. Balloon Convention in San Diego. MORE THAN A STEREOTYPE IM HOME COOKED MUSIC THE LIFE YOU WANT IM Sinay Kennedy (Dene) 2019 4 min. HANDSOME AND MAJESTIC Michelle Derosier (Anishinaabe) Dene filmmaker Sinay Kennedy Nathan Drillot, Jeff Petry 2011 34 min. reflects on Indigenous 2015 12 min. The isolated northern town of Fort representation in the media Milan’s a regular teen: He likes Hope, Ont., has a serious problem and how she plans to combat sports, lasagna and hanging with with prescription drugs. This film stereotyping through her own art. friends. But unlike most other follows the journey of one brave boys, he faces the struggles of a resident who admits her problem MR. SANDERSON IM transgender identity. With his family and applies for treatment. Ray Sanderson, Terrie McIntosh supporting him, he helps educate THE LITTLE DEPUTY (Ojibwe) 2014 9 min. and inspire those around him. An intimate portrait of the MA BOÎTE NOIRE Trevor Anderson 2015 9 min. inspirational Ray Sanderson, a single HARD LEARNING IM Years after dressing up as a deputy father blinded by gun violence Daniel Fortin (Métis) 2017 7 min. sheriff for a western-style photo who pleads for us to look at things With no high school in her northern with his father, Anderson explores differently. community of Wapekeka, 14-year- issues of gender identity when he old Miranda must move 500 km tries to recreate the photo as it MY ENEMY, MY BROTHER away for Grade 9. This touching always should have been. Ann Shin 2015 18 min. During the Iran-Iraq war, an Iranian doc reveals the challenges faced by LOST MOCASSIN IM many northern Indigenous youth. child soldier risked his life to save Roger Boyer (Saulteaux/Ojibway) an injured Iraqi enemy. Years later, MÉMÉRE MÉTISSE HARDWOOD 2018 11 min. in Canada, the men meet by sheer Hubert Davis 2004 27 min. Bradford Bilodeau tells the story of coincidence and help each other Mel Davis, a member of the how he reconnected with his birth heal the wounds of the past. An family after being raised apart from legendary Harlem Globetrotters, had inspiring true story. two families — one in Chicago and them due to his forced adoption in one in . His Canadian son, the Sixties Scoop. Hubert, takes a personal look at his father’s life. Nominated for an Oscar. MOHAWK GIRLS

REEL CANADA SHORT FILMS 69 DOCUMENTARY continued NAILS SHARKWATER REVOLUTION VOLTA Phillip Borsos 1979 13 min. SAIPAN Ryan Mullins 2009 13 min. This documentary explores the Rob Stewart 2011 5 min. In this gorgeously shot manufacturing of nails and the After watching the feature film documentary, Ryan Mullins is gulf between the skilled labour Sharkwater, a Grade 6 class in guided by a former projectionist on PETRA’S POEM of traditional tradespeople and Saipan of the Northern Mariana a tour of a derelict movie theatre in modern mechanization. Islands pressures their government rural Ghana that is now serving as a to ban shark fins — and succeeds. make-shift school. OVERBURDEN IM Neil McArthur, Warren Cariou TAKE ME TO PROM WAYS OF YESTERDAY IM (Métis) 2009 15 min. Andrew Moir 2019 21 min. Elliott Simon (Anishinaabe) Indigenous communities in Alberta The high school tradition of prom 2014 6 min. defend the environment, their is explored through a series of Through breakdance and rap, Elliott, health and their way of life in the interviews with LGBTQ+ students a rapper, and Curtis, a b-boy, share face of a destructive oil recovery over the years, telling their own their life experiences and try to enterprise. stories with varying reactions and motivate and inspire Indigenous PRINCE’S TALE perspectives. kids to follow their dreams. PETRA’S POEM Shira Avni 2012 4 min. THUNDERBIRD IM WHAT ARE YOU? Against a backdrop of colourful Erin Collins (Anishinaabe) Richard Pierre 2019 20 min. animation and live action, artist 2017 3 min. The mixed-race identity is Petra Tolley recites her poem about The amazing story of Steven Collins, explored through a series of life with Down syndrome. a First Nations ski jumper who interviews recounting the isolation, competed in the Olympics when he discrimination and self-discovery PRINCE’S TALE was only 15 years old. that come from being stuck Jamie Miller 2018 16 min. between two cultures. After a tragic accident left actor TO WAKE UP THE NAKOTA IM THE ROUTES Prince Amponsah severely burned LANGUAGE WHERE THE RIVER WIDENS IM and with both arms amputated, he Louise BigEagle (Nakota/Cree) Zach Greenleaf (Mi’gmaq) reflects on how his life has changed 2017 6 min. 2014 5 min. as he prepares to return to his At 69 years old Armand McArthur A lyrical ode to the hard work, career. is one of the last fluent Nakota determination and kinship of the speakers in Saskatchewan, but he fishermen of Gesgapegiag First RELEASED IM has dedicated his life to passing Nation. Chantal Rondeau (Northern down his teachings so that the Tutchone) 2015 10 min. YESTERDAY IN RWANDA language and culture survive for Davina Pardo 2005 14 min. Karen Nicloux, an Indigenous generations to come. embroidery artist from Yukon, has A documentary examining the TO WAKE UP THE NAKOTA struggled with drug addiction since a UTE KANATA / IM resonant horrors of the Rwandan so-called friend offered her cocaine HERE IN CANADA genocide — through the eyes of LANGUAGE Claire Wihogora, a survivor now to cure a headache. This inspiring Virginie Michel (Innu) 2016 2 min. living in Ottawa. doc follows Nicloux’s journey to This poignant take on “O Canada” stitch her life back together. adapts the national anthem to THE ROUTES IM the reality of the First Nations of Canada, and provides a rallying song James McDougall (Anishinaabe) for all peoples. 2014 4 min. A man cycles through his memories of the local women who have gone missing in his Anishinaabe community. YESTERDAY IN RWANDA

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70 REEL CANADA SHORT FILMS