Genres: narrative

  • Over a Small Cup of Coffee

    The poetic story of a young man’s struggle to pursue his life’s calling. Damiano is a young Italian American who, in the 1950s, works in his father’s cafe and longs to fulfill his dream of becoming an accomplished actor. By eavesdropping on the various amusing conversations of a diverse spectrum of characters who frequent the cafe, Damiano gains a unique insight on life – he learns that most people in society give up on their dreams by choosing to settle for what is easiest. His experiences in the cafe, along with the ongoing resistance Damiano faces from his father, eventually…

  • Gift, The

    At three o’clock every day, Nia phones Burke at the Appliance Repair Shop (motto: “We Repair Appliances!”) to organize the evening meal. At three o’clock. Exactly. Every day. Burke and Nia live inside safe and comfortable routines that pattern their work, their relationship, and their life together. Their morning bathroom routine is a mechanical ballet, their meals are consumed in precise synchronization. If not exactly joyful, the couple is at least exceedingly stable, until the germ of an idea is planted in Nia’s head by the magazines at the supermarket – her relationship is supposed to have romance! Emotion! “The…

  • Passengers

    Evocative, passionate and poetic, this film is a compelling and moving exploration of the relationship between a daughter and her father as she matures from childhood to adulthood. On the day of his funeral, she draws on the legacy of his love, understanding, and compassion, and comes to term with her sexual identity.

  • Petals

    In 1999 the newspapers in Kerala South India broke a shocking tale of two young lesbian girls who ended their lives beneath a train. A note they carried stated that they were ending their lives because they had failed in their long struggle to live together in the harsh and hypocritical society of Kerela. It is an irony that Kerela is 100 per cent literate and one of the most literate places in the world. This film picks up on the agony of those innocent girls and many others who still struggle for their emotional rights.

  • Brighter Moon, A

    “A Brighter Moon” is the story of Mikey and Valentine, two students from Hong Kong who have come to Toronto to study English at a “visa school.” Mikey and Valentine find themselves in a strange land where they must struggle to survive in a world without parents. The film attempts to show the foreign students in a sympathetic light, pointing to some of the problems they face in Canada. The title refers to an Asian proverb that translated roughly means, “The moon shines brighter in a foreign country.” “A Brighter Moon” was filmed entirely in Toronto’s Dundas Street Chinatown and…

  • Whites, The

    A dark and comic look at a tortured family and their frenetic daily rituals. The Whites’ existence centres around a mysterious library card catalog, which serves both as a source and repository for traces of family life. The catalog’s system of perfection intersects with the rigid hierarchy of this household. Manipulated voices replace dialogue, and although words are unintelligible, we understand the Whites very well. Highly sylized yet grounded in humanity, this film is a disturbingly funny tale of home and hearth.

  • Contretemps of Christmas

    It’s Christmas day and festivities are underway in the Porkloin household. Mother’s holiday fever runs high, the ill-advised gifts have been opened, but the biggest gift still remains. . . In the spirit of demented fairy tale, this microfilm explores a darker side of the holidays.

  • Watching Mr.Body

    Once upon a time in a hallway, there was a dead body. Through the lens of the surveillance camera mounted opposite the elevator, we observe the various reactions of people wandering in or out of the building who encounter Mr. Body. His origin is unknown, but based on the reaction of the last man to see him before the police arrive, we know he came to a dramatic and untimely demise.

  • Sunshine

    The most awkward of hosts receive the strangest of guests tonight, and no one entertains quite like Kip and Viv do. An unexpected visit from strangers stirs up vengeance, and leaves a trail of crushed spirits – but all in good fun.

  • Intrigue of Manners, An

    A short restoration comedic drama set in England’s 17th Century. Loosely adapted from Sir George Etherege’s restoration comedy “Man of Mode,” “An Intrigue” revolves around the grandeur lives and sexual innuendos of the upper classes of England. Our Protagonist, and renowned womanizer, Dorimant (Mahonen) is in pursuit of the fair lady Emilia (Dwyer). Through his scheming, Dorimant learns that “a certain Sir Fopling Flutter has recently arrived from Paris,” the en vogue city of the arts and high fashion, and has “certain designs on the fair Emilia…” Determined to be deemed the more favorable in the lady Emilia’s eyes, Dorimant…