Film Categories: Work by Women

  • Girl Cleans Sink

    A lonely couple meet in a Laundromat, where their clumsy attempt at a sexual liaison leads to revelations, embarrassments, and a little bit of compassion. “Boundary-pusher, CBC radio host and still the coolest VJ MuchMusic has ever had, Sook-Yin Lee directs the surprising and wry ‘Girl Cleans Sink.’ This 10-minute gem stars Pretty, Porky and Pissed Off member Lisa Ayuso as a dyke with a gun who decides to give a guy a try before offing herself. The delightfully deadpan performances of Ayuso and her co-star (Jeremy Finkelstein) lend the film an off-kilter charm that feels refreshingly natural.” – Extra…

  • Restless Spirits

    In this lively portrait, rowdy ropin’ granny Toni Savoie-German finds Zen in the art of Rodeo. Toni, of Micmac and French heritage, has always had a passion for horses and ridiing. Now in her late 50s, she is on the rodeo circuit as a calf-roper. Although the rodeo world is a competitive one, it is not all about the medals. Rather, Toni is searching for something more meaningful – enlightenment and community. Rural landscapes and horses form the backdrop to this quest. In Rodeo, Toni discovers what we all want in life – peace and a sense of belonging.

  • Better Fate than Never

    “Better Fate Than Never” is intended to be an experimental and humorous look at the possibility of changing one’s fate. I am interested in undoing the everyday “accidents” that can change the course of one’s day – I am talking about the mishaps that ruin my otherwise perfectly timed mornings. Using found footage from Bewitched and I Dream of Jeanie, Samantha and Jeanie help me to overcome the challenges of getting out the door. Originally made as part of the Command Z residency with Charles Street Video and the Images Festival.

  • Moustache

    Sometimes it doesn’t pay to change your true self for the person you love. Selected Awards (2005): Best Narrative Short Film, Cinekink Film Festival, New York, USA; Ursula Award for Best Transgender Short, Hamburg International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, Germany; Audience Award Winner, Palm Springs International Film Festival, USA; Best Female Short, Pike’s Peak Lavender Film Festival, Colorado, USA; Best Foreign Film, Créteil International Film Festival, Paris, France; Best Screenplay, Sydney Mardi Gras Film Festival.

  • Granny Queer – The Late Bloomers

    “Slap me silly with a crocheted doily!” Granny Queer and her voluptuous girlfriend Sharlene are enjoying a nice wee Saturday morning lie-in when Granny sees that Sharlene’s bloomers have gone missing from the line. Granny suspects their mysterious new neighbour Mr. Wit has something to do with it, and she’s determined to get to the bottom of the matter. Bursting with audacity, deliciously camp visuals and oddball characters, Granny is here… and she’s Queer! Selected screenings: Anima Mundi Animation Festival, Brazil, 2005; Frameline San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, 2005; Newfest, New York, 2005; Mix Brazil, 2005; London Lesbian and…

  • Dyke City

    Francis, self-proclaimed King of Dyke City, receives a late-night visit from her long-time friend Jill, who has just been kicked out of her apartment by her girlfriend. Oh the drama! Though Francis is always ready with helpful (i.e. useless) advice, and often has wonderful (i.e. terrible) ideas, Jill turns to her other friends Izzy and Amy for moral support. Hilarity ensues when they all find themselves together in the same room, trying to agree on something, anything…

  • Calling Nate

    Being a teenager isn’t easy, especially when you’re an 18-year-old gender rebel sorting out a kaleidoscope of conflicting advice and desires. Nadia Hluszko – a.k.a. Nate – comes by her confusion and transgender identity honestly: one of her moms used to be her dad, the other is addicted to the Osbornes. First-time documentary director Pamela Gawn chases the irrepressible Nate as she cycles through her part-time job at a used bike shop, suffers girlfriend turmoil, argues with both moms, and reveals a tragedy that changed her family forever. A poignant, sometimes achingly sweet coming-of-age story. Selected screenings and awards: Best…

  • Lasso

    My meditation on the romance of the “Wild West” – pure spatial motion. – and – Exploring the virtual potential of the horizon line while framing that spatial experience. “All landscapes can be described as hills and valleys, and time is said to flow. But geographically speaking, hills and valleys are maxima and minima whose definition presupposes the choice of gravitational vector. Such that the reading of a landscape, in a relation not to extrema but to inflections, leads us towards an experience of weightlessness.” – Bernard Cache, “Terre Meuble”

  • Coming + Going

    A portrait of the energy of urban life in split-screen. “Coming + going” was shot on one roll of regular 8 film, with all editing and split-screen effects created in-camera. Selected screenings: Time Inside the Image [3], Foreman Art Gallery of Bishop’s University, Jan. 31-March 31, 2007; Anthology Film Archives, New York, NY, 2006; European Media Arts Festival, Osnabruck, 2006; Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, 2005

  • hand-some

    As a lesbian relationship falls apart, this docu-failure unravels. Part of a series on beauty, the film began as an exploration of the filmmaker’s sister and the role that beauty plays in her life. It became instead a documentary about the sister’s relationship with her partner and the conflict between the making of the film and respect for the subject’s privacy. Selected screenings: British Film Institute Lesbian & Gay Film & Video Festival, 2005; Filmout San Diego, 2005; Women in the Director’s Chair, Chicago, IL, 2004; Inside Out Lesbian & Gay Film & Video Festival, Toronto, ON, 2004; New Fest,…