Film Categories: art & artists

  • Holding Hands with Ilse

    “Holding Hands With Ilse” is a moving documentary about the search for the German teenage girl who took care of the filmmaker between 1948-1950 in Walbrzych, Poland where he was born. Knowing only her first name and circulating a small photograph taken in 1950 of the two, the director explores the urban landscapes of western Poland and the journey involved in their unexpected reunion that recently took place in Ibbenbüren, Germany. Filmed in the USA, Poland and Germany.

  • CARBON SKY

    During the in-between period of the 2017 record breaking forest fires and the 2018 record breaking forest fires, conditions were often ideal in the BC interior for filming at a fixed place with a fixed camera. I would often return to the exact same location time and time again. Sometimes five, ten, or twenty times over a period of days, weeks, and months. The locations that sustained my fascination were more or less located in a geographical triangle from Kamloops to the east, Cache Creek to the west, and Spences Bridge to the south. My main focus was on the…

  • Between Two Cinemas Part 1

    For the past thirty years filmmaker/archivist Ross Lipman has cut a winding path between classic international cinema and the American avant-garde. In this riveting but completely unclassifiable work, he looks back at a life in the cinema and an indescribable divide at the heart of it. Part biography, part clip essay, part abstract painting, “Between Two Cinemas” integrates 4K restorations of his old films inside a new documentary/essay linking them. It uncovers previously unseen archival material on Stan Brakhage and Andrei Tarkovsky, and adds new collaborations with artists including visionary experimentalist Bruce Baillie, Jeanne Dielman cinematographer Babette Mangolte, Bela Tarr…

  • FURNACE

    For three years I researched and filmed various locations in the interior of British Columbia, Canada in more or less a geographical triangle from Kamloops to the east, Ashcroft to the west, and Spences Bridge to the south. My main focus has been the semi-deserts, deep valleys, and plateaus to define how I see the interactions of the natural and manufactured worlds, worlds brought into my perspective by the ever changing presence of shadow and light. Since I began filming this movie in 2016 there has been a yearly increase in the widespread smoke and haze from each new record…

  • Bonsai

    A once joyful teenager, Frida, a girl with a head full of leaves is faced with challenges after losing her mother, Lu. Frida has a head full of leaves to depict the metaphor of the relationship humans have with nature to how parents treat their children. Nature has to be taken care of in order for it to beautifully develop. Unfortunately, today, individuals today are sometimes not aware of the slow but terrible destruction they are capable of. Children on the other hand need nurturing from their parents to have a good upbringing both mentally and physically. But due to…

  • Between Two Cinemas Part 2

    For the past thirty years filmmaker/archivist Ross Lipman has cut a winding path between classic international cinema and the American avant-garde. In this riveting but completely unclassifiable work, he looks back at a life in the cinema and an indescribable divide at the heart of it. Part biography, part clip essay, part abstract painting, “Between Two Cinemas” integrates 4K restorations of his old films inside a new documentary/essay linking them. It uncovers previously unseen archival material on Stan Brakhage and Andrei Tarkovsky, and adds new collaborations with artists including visionary experimentalist Bruce Baillie, Jeanne Dielman cinematographer Babette Mangolte, Bela Tarr…

  • The Day Don Died

    Tucked away in the heart of downtown Vancouver, there’s a condo tower that’s home to long-time members of Canada’s performing arts professions: singers, actors, costume designers, dancers, filmmakers, playwrights, jazz musicians, and more. Now picture this: on Easter Saturday, the residents of Vancouver’s Performing Arts Lodge wake up to discover jazz singer and beloved tenant Don Stewart has unexpectedly died after a Good Friday performance at a neighbourhood bar. But as news travels between his creative and colourful neighbours, the story of Don’s pass takes on a life of its own. Every resident has their own version of what really…

  • CORNUCOPIA

    The interior Plateau of British Columbia is a confluence of volcanism, plate tectonics, and glaciation punctuated by intermittent cycles of fire and droughts. The perennial constant in shaping the plateau is the influence of storms from the Pacific Ocean and the multiple mountain ranges (including the Rockies) that carry glacier silt and other minerals through the myriad of rivers and lakes. For 1000’s of years First Nations Peoples thrived in this region with civilizations and customs that remain a powerful guiding presence today. In 1858 gold rush fever gripped a region in North America that would later become part of…

  • Life and the Art of Lying

    Charlie, a bubbly queer artist, heads into a new year surrounded by her closest friends. But her plans for carefree fun are dashed when she is suddenly confronted with a health crisis. Not wanting to burden those she loves with her news, Charlie lies repeatedly to cover up the severity of her situation. With no easy cures at hand, Charlie turns to her medical doctor, Dr. Simone, and chooses to secretly pursue a renegade solution for her illness. As Charlie’s feelings for her best friend Mara grow stronger, the two women are both forced to confront the painful truths they…

  • When I See You

    Tired of putting her girlfriend ahead of her stifled dance career, Kira accepts an opportunity to be a featured dancer in New York City. But when her zealous girlfriend, Bea, unexpectedly opposes the change, Kira must hastily choose between her relationship or her career. Resentment and loyalty collide as Kira and Bea discover what they’re willing to sacrifice for their careers and not for each other.