Film Categories: Memory

  • In the Alcove, at the Place

    For “In the Alcove, at the Place” Davis went back to the alcove (a private place in her room) and the place (the four corners of an intersection in Toronto, consisting of a house, two grocery stories, and a coin wash) every couple of weeks for nine months. In her alcove she filmed herself sitting in a chair; at the place she filmed aspects of its everyday life, making discoveries about it and becoming friendly with some of its inhabitants. In both alcove and place, there is change but also repetition. Among other things, the film concerns her growing familiarity…

  • PATH

    Employing a simple three-part structure, “PATH” is about personal experience and the interpretation of that experience. Both humorous and serious, the film is a cross-Toronto exploration, expansively taking in a wide variety of people, events and situations. In creating a dynamic web of associations, “PATH” invites participation in the act of perception. The film’s structure works like this: Davis is filmed connecting dots on a street map; next she walks that distance on the street, filming as she goes; then she recalls and interprets what she has seen in memory sequences. The street sequences have a variety of different rhythms…

  • Private Flowers

    In 1832, a Canadian Infantryman was hanged for making love with another man. The victim’s rank was Private, and his name was Flowers. Commissioned by Toronto History Museums’ Artist Mentorship Showcase: Pride with Mentor Ashley Mckenzie-Barnes with additional support from the open space residency programme at the National Ballet, TD Bank, Pride Toronto and the Ontario Arts Council. Created as part of Awakening with Toronto History Museums Private Flowers is part of a series of art projects by Black, Indigenous and artists of colour, operating under the principles of anti-oppression, anti-colonialism and anti-racism and is part of the City’s efforts…

  • The Thought That Counts

    The film follows Davis, grappling with profound grief and illness while struggling with memories of his late mother. His devoted husband attempts to uplift him with a heartfelt gift: a home to raise butterflies. As they navigate unexpected challenges in nurturing the delicate creatures (the cocoons already hatched), Davis confronts his past and finds solace in the transformative power of memories and the healing journey of letting go.

  • The Years

    THE YEARS is a poetry film exploring life stages through various ages as experienced by different actors in a non-chronological order and time frame. Historical Super 8mm film footage mixes with digital recordings as the poem is voiced by the filmmaker/author. Questions of impermanence and the instability of time frame the histories indicated by the filmed images gathered by the artist over years of recorded witnessing.

  • How To Burn A Cross

    A Super 8 experimental film transforms the ritual of cross-burning into a stark meditation on violence, spectacle, and inherited American terror.

  • E.C. Roe Expressway

    A Super 8 experimental film and a meditation on living in Windsor, Ontario under the influence of American television, blending dancers from a Detroit TV station with a quiet sense of hometown memory.

  • Danny in the Airship

    Danny in the Airship is a Super 8 experimental film test that blends home movies into an early meditation on space, time, and the memory of my brother Danny.

  • My Grandpa Ivan

    As Danny grieves the loss of his Grandpa and begins his transition into professional soccer, he feels pulled back to the cherished memories of his summers in the small town of Teteven, Bulgaria. Reflecting on his youth with his grandpa, Danny recalls timeless lessons and a friendship that left a lasting impression on everyone in the town. When Ivan gifts Danny a vibrant orange soccer ball the trajectory of his life changes forever igniting an irrepressible passion for the sport. Under Ivan’s mentorship, Danny becomes a skilled player, dazzling defenders in club games. However, as Danny grows older, Ivan’s health…

  • A Heap of Broken Images

    This is a film about dreams: analogue, machines, anima and reanimation, nature, decay, and, if we are lucky, something new. Shot on 16mm and 35mm film and hand processed using many different analogue techniques.