Congratulations to our Winners!

3rd Annual Film Festival - September 21st, 7pm

THE LOWER PLATEAU

Liz Singh | Feature | 82 mins | Canada | 2018 | English | PG

A burnt-out pot dealer slash musician struggles through a Montreal winter with the help of her friends.

THE WATER WILL CARRY US HOME

Gabrielle Tesfaye | Short | 7 mins | USA | 2018 | PG

Through living ritual and stop motion animation, The Water Will Carry Us Home reveals the story of stolen Africans being thrown off the slave ship whilst sailing through the Middle Passage. Upon crashing in the waves, the unimaginable happens when mermaids dwelling in the waters save these spirits.

4 Microcinema Films Supported by CineFAM - September 21st, 9pm

WEEPING WILLOW

Monica Mustelier | Short | 3 mins | Canada | 2019 | PG

Anita has always been sharp, witty and passionate especially today as she recounts the story of her lover and their meeting under this particular tree. Because we plan to shoot in the summer, I want to use the heat in the film visually as it adds an extra layer to the desire and the longing which Anita is feeling. It also adds texture to the argument when Omar blows up after hearing that his wife had cheated on him – with the woman next door.

DADDY’S NOT AROUND: DNA

Sandy Daly | Short | 3 mins | Canada | 2019 | PG

The story follows Meaghan and Nathaniel, living in a marginalized community in Canada in the late 1970’s, and their struggle to keep this family together. Meaghan’s parenting skills are being questioned by the Child Welfare Services, a very common practice of that institution.

TENDER MOIST

Tara Hakim | Short | 3 mins | Canada | 2019 | PG

Tender Moist is an intimate, ephemeral, suggestive and tender short film that reflects on and embraces experiences of desire, intimacy and sensuality between two women, two lovers. Through a non-linear and associative exploration of the five senses during sex, Tender Moist invites viewers to take a plunge into the sensorial aspects of sex and pleasure and simply be, simply feel.

THE STORY MAA NEVER TOLD

Shanti Dhore | Short | 3 mins | Canada | 2019 | PG

The Story Maa Never Told explores a harsh reality many immigrant parents face in searching for a better life. Vidya, one of this immigrant couple’s two daughters, was four years old when killed by a drunk driver in Trinidad, while they were working and studying in Montreal. Prior to this, Shanti’s Mother Deokee had started working her very first job at the age of 24 in New York City. Her employer, Lady Anne encouraged her to open her first bank account and start saving her tips.

CineFAM : Short Films by Canadian Women of Color + Talkback with Filmmakers - September 22nd 7pm

TURNING TABLES

Chrisann Hessing | 16 mins | Canada | 2019 | PG

Joshua DePerry, also known as Classic Roots, is a Toronto-based music producer and performer pioneering “PowWow Techno.” Redefining what it means to be urban and Indigenous, he prepares to start the next chapter of his life as an artist and educator in the world’s techno capital: Berlin.
https://vimeo.com/258122843

DO THE MATH

Melanee Murray-Hunt | 7 mins | Canada | 2019 | PG

An alternate universe where anything can happen, Do The Math (Race Anonymous Part 2) is one part political treatise and one part trek through the strange, taboo twilight zone of race in Canada. Just as addictions can affect the families, neighbours and colleagues of the addict in question, Do The Math looks at the fall out on the bystanders of our current reliance on race.

FINCH

Celestina Aleobua | 18 mins | Canada | 2019 | PG

The African and the Caribbean student groups at a university have a joint meeting to discuss working together to ensure that their needs are better catered to by the student union. What seems like light-hearted banter rooted in stereotypes sprouts into a raging brawl, and eyes are opened to the deep-seated effects of their discourse.

ARRIVAL ARCHIVES

Maya Bastian | 11 mins | Canada | 2019 | PG

Arrival Archives is an artful exploration of newcomer arrival stories, told through a multi-generational viewpoint. The stories intertwine as one, illustrating that Canada’s cultural landscape is a communal experience shared by many different faces.

 

RIALIA

Suri Parmar, Nevin Douglas | 7 mins | Canada | 2019 | PG

A gamer and his friend build the perfect virtual city but can’t escape their less-than-perfect relationships.

Images from the 2019 Event