Film Categories: Sound Art + Music

  • In a Present Distance…

    “In a Present Distance…” explores the complex terrain of motherhood, through an experimental narrative about a woman who travels to Quebec City to do research for a film she is making. While on the train, fragments of her life emerge and speak subtly to the journey of life: of grieving and loss, of happiness and sadness, as well as the joyful and reverent gestures of living. At the heart of this film is her child, shown at various times and spaces in his development as he explores the world around him. It is through him and his growth and discovery…

  • Toraanisqatsi

    Leif Harmsen’s remake of Godrey Reggio’s classic independent film “Koyaanisqatsi” was shot on Super 8 film entirely on location in Toronto by invitation to the Splice This! 2005 Super 8 Film Festival. Bob Wiseman wrote and performed the evocative instrumental soundtrack. “Toraanisqatsi” is an environmental thriller set in the Toronto of the 21st century, a city taken over by cars, fast food, electronic billboards, jetliners, industry and pollution. It is seen through the terrified eyes of a living breathing human. All transportation for this film was done by bicycle or foot.

  • Testosterone

    An animation to a Peter Kastner song mocking the darker side of MAN.

  • sonntag morgen (sunday morning)

    “sonntag morgen” tells the story of a split up – of two women, two lovers. A song of the same title provides the pace, the lyrics, the dialogue.

  • toronto mov.

    Movements from just one point of view, movements within one setting, movements against a ubiquitous background: this is what this short film is documenting.

  • Chaulera

    A woman runs from her memories. After a dangerous accident she slips into her unconscious, where she has to decide whether to live and face her demons or stay floating in the safety of her mind. Shot on Super-8 and then optically printed and manipulated on 16mm, this is a film that tells its story as much through texture and sound as narrative. It features a composition for string quartet composed by the director.

  • Berlin Zoo

    The footage for “Berlin Zoo” was taken in Germany while I was travelling there in the winter of 2003. This is an anecdotal film, set to an original song by the filmmaker.

  • Pepere’s Chairs

    The story of Pepere’s Chairs was conceived by my mother, visual artist Maryse Maynard. It is a playful tale about a group of chairs that once belonged to her ancestors. Once the film had been recorded and edited, it was projected onto hand-embroidered canvases which served as the screen. Maryse had embroidered the canvases with chairs, and every once in a while, an embroidered chair could be glimpsed floating in the background of the film.

  • Rock Pockets

    A short personal documentary disguised as meta-music video. A sugar rush of sex, politics and rock’n’roll as seen through the eyes of a ten year-old boy at the fair. Featuring appearances by members of Shout Out Out Out Out, The Wet Secrets, and the music of the Vertical Struts (r.i.p.). Awards: Inaugural Lindalee Tracey Award at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival

  • Monsoon St., ‘77

    Monsoon St., ’77 tells the story of a day in the life of a young tomboy, Tina, who finds escapism in the rural desert of Arizona in 1977. To compensate for her unhappy surroundings, Tina lives in a rich imaginative world. She finds beauty in the natural landscape and comforts herself by summoning familiar figures from popular culture. These fantasies supply the happiness that is otherwise so lacking in her everyday life.