Language: No dialogue

  • Window

    “The tensions between containment and expansion, inner and outer, surface and depth, reflections and projections, implicit in any window, are felt as rhythmic movements of colour and light within the projected frame.” – M.J.

  • But Some Are Brave

    “But Some Are Brave” is an innovative, multi-layered animated film project. This short poetic chronicle uses an oil paint-on-glass animation technique. It introduces iconic characters and historic events in a flurry of emotional and psychological rhythms. Using the metaphor and symbolic structural device of weaving, “But Some Are Brave” takes us through this visual poem like a spindle flying through layers of thread – telling us something of the cultural and political histories of communities under attack. Awards: Audience Award for Best Film, TAIS Animation Showcase, Toronto, 2009; Prix du publique for Best Animated Film, Cineffable Festival, Paris, 2009

  • Trees of Syntax, Leaves of Axis

    “Trees of Syntax, Leaves of Axis” is Saïto’s second collaboration with musician Malcolm Goldstein, who composed and performed the original structured improvisation score for the film. The film explores familiar landscape imagery Saïto and Goldstein share in their neighbourhood at the foot of Mount-Royal Park in Montréal. Using images of maple trees in the park as the main visual motif, Saïto creates a film in which the formations of the trees and their subtle interrelation with the space around them act as an agent to transform viewer’s sensorial perception. Richly colored and entirely hand-processed, “Trees of Syntax, Leaves of Axis”…

  • Dancing with Northern Lights

    A dance piece which was inspired by native North American dances and by a spectacular show of the Northern Lights as remembered from a trip on the Peace River.

  • Collagist, The

    This charming and humorous animation is a collaboration with artist Marc Bell. “THE COLLAGIST” focuses on Bell’s hands as he assembles one of his works. This dynamic two dimensional piece incorporates drawings, paper cut-outs and looped animations.

  • Borders

    “Borders” is an intimate exploration of the bodies belonging to six queer individuals. This animation, made up of hundreds of high-resolution photographs, unabashedly examines the evidence of physical change and transformation: top surgery scars, tattoos, and other traces. The bodies are fragmented, as are the stories affiliated with these traces, and identities remain delightfully elusive. “Borders” is available as a single-channel work or as an extended installation.

  • Playtime

    As a member of Canada’s Painters 11, the late Jack MacDonald painted in both worlds: figurative and the abstract. PLAYTIME pays homage to his dedication, spirit and wonderful subject matter–both real and imaginary. In Cinemascope. Nominated in the category of best animation at the 2010 Jutra Awards (Quebec). Honourable Mention for The Canadian Film Institute (CFI) Award for Best Canadian Animation at the 2010 Ottawa International Animation Festival. Part of the TAIS Eleven in Motion program.

  • Hang in There

    A nightmarish animated short about a young couple who come to the aid of a troubled bear and unknowingly release its innermost demons.

  • Strips

    A vintage erotic film is cut into strips and then reassembled. As the strips are displaced and manipulated, an abstraction occurs. Part of the TAIS Eleven in Motion program.

  • Marionettes, The

    In November 2008, Californians narrowly voted to abolish equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. Throughout the campaign, Proposition 8 advocates repeatedly claimed that marriage equality harms children. This film is a creative response to that contention. “The Marionettes” uses striking marionettes, ornate miniatures, and stylized chiaroscuro lighting to tell the story of a little girl’s puppet show and a fantasy world where parental disapproval casts an unseemly pall.