Shorts Under The Stars

Location: CTV parking lot, 299 Queen St. West

From 9pm to 2am

Director Q&A with Richard Crouse at 10pmAn outdoor screening of short films from across the country commissioned by CTV’s Bravo!FACT (Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent), featuring a live Q&A with several of the filmmakers hosted by Richard Crouse, film critic for CTV’s Canada AM and the 24-hour news source CTV News Channel. 

The Legend of Beaver Dam

Writer/ Director: Jerome Sable; Performers: Joe Kaprielian, Kailey Swanson, LJ Bennet, Michael Chey, Rick Miller, Sean Cullen; Composers: Jerome Sable, Eli Batalion; Musicians: Sable & Batalion, Kyle Riabko; Producers: Jerome Sable, Eli Batalion, Sable & Batalion (Quebec)

When a campfire song summons the deadly Stumpy Sam, easily-scared Danny’s worst fears are realised.

Family First

*Filmmaker in attendance

Writers/Directors: Chris Hanratty, Mike McPhaden; Actors: Diane Flacks, Dylan Everett, Michael Healey, Peter Mooney, Shira Leuchter; Composer: Maria Molinari; Producers: Jennifer Liao, Jennifer Mesich (Ontario)

Family dinner comes to a halt when Rob and Ashley make a stunning announcement. Soon Dad is shouting, Mom is crying and little Gordie is covering his ears. Will the horrifying news make this family dinner the last?

You Are So Undead

Director: Alex Epstein, Composers: Darren Fung, Mario Sévigny; Actors: Christina Broccolini, Éléonore Lamothe, Erin Agostino, Kaniehtiio Horn, Meaghan Rath; Producers: Antonello Cozzolino, Mélissa Pietracupa, Productions Nitromax (Québec)

Complications with family and friends ensue when a 16-year-old girl lets her boyfriend “go all the way”, turning her into a vampire.

Junko’s Shamisen

*Filmmaker in attendance

Director/writer/animator: Sol Friedman; Animator Pete Levin; Narrator: Scott Kusano; Actors: Benny Min, Clemence Wong, Kenji Fujino, Masako Kinno, Zen Takahashi; Composer: Hiroya Miura; Producer: Paul Nandrajog, Artbeast (Ontario)

In this original Kabuki tale set in late feudal Japan, a young orphan named Junko returns home one day to find her grandfather slain and the skin of his shamisen (traditional Japanese musical instrument) torn. Guided by a fox, she seeks out the man responsible.

Slow Dance

*Filmmaker in attendance

Writer/Director: Joe Cobden; Actors: Hannako H. Caines, Joe Cobden; Music: Warren Spicer; Choreographer: Kevin Kelsall; Dancers: Patrick Sabongui, Jason Cavalier, Kevin Kelsall, Marc-Andre Brisebois, Marie-Pier Gaudet, Maxim Savaria, Peter Seaborne, Producers: Sach Baylin-Stern, Joe Cobden, Josh Usheroff, Way Past Curfew Productions, Black Box Productions (Québec) As a young man and woman search for love, it becomes a literal battle between the sexes one night in a barroom brawl of balletic proportions.

 

Alex and the Ghosts

Director: Éric Warin; Actors: Hubert Fielden, Michael Rudder, Rick Moffat, Robert Naylor; Animators: Philippe Sylvain, David St-Amant, Dominic Marcotte, Mario Fraser, Carl Gagnon, Kristen Tooley, Steve Jubinville, Catherine Hébert, Emily Vaillancourt, Asmara Nayyar, Cynthia Carrier, François Croteau, Benoît Blouin, Guillaume Mainville, Maxime Entringer, Bruno-Olivier Laflamme, Aélis Héraud, Vanessa Delarosbil, David Raymond, Benoît Robert, Jonathan Laborde; Composer: Blair Thomson; Producers: Cité-Amérique & Oblique FX (Quebec)

A nine-year-old boy passionate about hockey receives help from legendary ghosts of past Montreal Canadians NHL players to reinvigorate the current team to reclaim Stanley Cup glory.

 

How to be Alone

Director: Andrea Dorfman; Writer/Performer: Tanya Davis; Producer: Walter Forsyth (Nova Scotia)

A whimsical piece that explores the multi-faceted definition of “alone”; the relationship between solitude and loneliness; and the multitude of ways we can embrace being alone while negating the associated stigmas.

 

Athletes In Motion: Fight for Flight

Director: Nicole Mion; Director/Animator: Cam Christiansen; Athlete: Katie Willis; Music: Dewi Wood; Producers: John Kerr, Srinivas Krishna (Alberta)

Directors Nicole Mion and Cam Christiansen illustrate the passion and beauty of aerial skiing with athlete Katie Willis of Calgary.

 

 Savage

Director/Writer: Lisa Jackson; Actors: Ta’kaiya Blaney, Skeena Reece; Choreographers: Martha Carter, Josh Martin; Composers:  Rodrigo Caballero; Producers: Lauren Grant, Lori Lozinski, Violator Films Inc. (British Columbia)

The first day of school for a First Nations girl in the 1950s is depicted in musical style as akin to being detained as just another number in a prison.

 

SEX! with Hot Robots

Writer/Director/Producer: Jay Dahl; Actors: Amy Kerr, Christian Murray, Jacquie Thillaye, Mark Owen, Shawn Duggan (Nova Scotia)

A mockumentary set 30 years into the future where hot robot maids have risen from their vacuum cleaner origins to influence suburban North American homes.

 

 Shpourky & Ombra

Director/Animator: Mike Hollenbeck; Composer: Andres Lara; Writer/Producer: Mark Montefiore (Ontario)

In the act of being born, Shpourky loses his mother, but befriends both his shadow, Ombra and a wily crow.

 

Collect Call

*Filmmaker in attendance

Director/Animator: Christopher Mills; Actor: Sarah Stunt; Music: Metric (Emily Haines, James Shawn, Josh Winstead, Joules Scott-Key); Producer: Geoff McLean, Vision Entertainment (Ontario)

A young woman finds herself an unwilling participant trapped in a dark dream that occurs in an alternate reality.