Shark directed by Nash Edgerton
2021 | 14 minutes | narrative short
Completing the trilogy of wickedly dark comedy shorts that began with Spider and Bear, Nash Edgerton finds a perfect match in Rose Byrne as Sofie, a woman who loves pranks just as much as Jack, Edgerton’s onscreen alter ego. Alas, the couple’s quest to outdo each other may lead to the most outrageous calamity of all.
Sixteen King’s Daughters directed by Anne H Beal
2021 | 4 minutes | animated short
‘Sixteen Kings’ Daughters’ tells the story of a young woman who turns the tables on a malicious intruder. Contrary to most Appalachian murder ballads, in this one, the woman prevails!
Something Fishy directed by Christina Woo
2022 | 4 minutes | animated short
Sara is getting ready to go on a date with her new boyfriend, but Jessica, Sara’s pet goldfish, notices something not quite right about him.
Still Working 9 to 5 directed by Camille Hardman and Gary Lane
2021 | 95 minutes | documentary feature
When the highest grossing comedy, 9 to 5, starring Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton, Dabney Coleman and Lily Tomlin, exploded on the cinema screens in 1980, the laughs hid a serious message about women in the office. Still Working 9 to 5 explores why workplace inequality 40 years later is no longer a laughing matter.
Swimming Through directed by Samantha Sanders
2022 | 15 minutes | documentary short
As the brutal Chicago winter draws near, Deirdre, Helen and Jennefer—avid open water swimmers—make a pact to continue through the snow and ice as the pandemic rages on. This intense commitment becomes their salvation from lockdown and helps alleviate each of their personal struggles. Initially just acquaintances, Swimming Through follows their friendship as it coalesces around their commitment to the daily ritual of swimming at sunrise in Lake Michigan.
The Fire Cats directed by Katharine Parsons
2021 | 80 minutes | documentary feature
THE FIRE CATS – Save Something Small is the inspirational story of a group of animal rescuers who devoted months to rescuing cats who survived the Tubbs wildfire that was hot enough to melt glass and to return them to the families who had lost everything. The experience transformed everyone: the rescuers, the cats, and the fire families. But a year later, when the monstrous Camp Fire wiped out Paradise, the authorities tried to stop them.
The Most Boring Granny in the Whole World directed by Damaris Zielke
2022 | 7 minutes | animated short
Greta has the most boring grandma in the whole world. When she falls asleep on the sofa, Greta gets the idea, to play funeral with her grandma. This confronts them with some questions they didn’t ask themselves before. Because what remains when you have to leave life behind?
The Record directed by Jonathan Laskar
2022 | 9 minutes | animated short
An antique music instrument dealer recieves a magical vinyle record from a traveller: “It reads your mind and plays your lost memories”. Obsessed by this endless record, the antique dealer listens to it again and again, and the memories reemerge until one last and most painful memory is revealed: how he got separated from his mother on the Swiss border during World War II.
The Ruth Brinker Story directed by Apo W Bazidi
2022 | 23 minutes | documentary short
At the age of 63, retired food-service worker Ruth Brinker became a pioneer of HIV care in her community and would become a legend among San Franciscans. The AIDS epidemic hit San Francisco the hardest and created a wave of fear and uncertainty that left many victims feeling hopeless and alone. Brinker, a woman whose deep compassion became a source of strength for others struggling to cope with the times, began cooking meals in her kitchen to deliver to her neighbors who were too ill to take care of themselves. Her goal was to not only provide meals but to also revitalize the city’s sense of community and spend time with HIV/AIDS patients to end the isolation they experienced. Providing meals with love became the hallmark of her mission. The work of Brinker and her growing team of volunteers led to Project Open Hand, the largest provider of nutrition to the HIV/AIDS community with sister organizations across the country. Ruth Brinker’s legacy carries on today as Project Open Hand has once again joined the frontlines in facing the crisis of the COVID19 pandemic.
The Voice in Isabel Fleiss’ Office directed by Jim Haverkamp
2022 | 6 minutes | narrative short
A woman with an unusual malady–cobweb buildup in the throat–receives an even more unusual treatment in this adaptation of a surreal poem by North Carolina writer Virgil Renfroe.
The Wintering Grounds directed by Jeff Springer
2022 | 26 minutes | documentary short
For most of the year, bands of world class freestyle kayakers roam the land in search of waves. But when the rivers freeze, everyone finds their way to a special spot on the Chattahoochee River on the Alabama-Georgia border. Squatting in an abandoned parking lot, they spend the winter training for the next world championships on North America’s best winter whitewater. Although called “certifiable lunatics” by the locals, this tight knit group is proof of the power of family and that indeed everything is more fun with friends.
Thriving: A Dissociated Reverie directed by Nicole Bazuin
2022 | 10 minutes | narrative short
Thriving: A Dissociated Reverie is a surrealist exploration of dissociative identity disorder (DID) based on the lived experience of Black, non-binary, disabled emerging multidisciplinary performance artist and former sex worker Kitoko Mai. Grappling with their DID diagnosis while attempting to survive capitalism, we meet a range of “alters” (alternate personalities) representing the various emotional states of Mai, the “system host.” Featuring a tour-de-force performance by Mai, Thriving is directed by Nicole Bazuin (Modern Whore, SXSW 2020), and co-written/co-produced by Mai and Bazuin, alongside sex worker advocate and author Andrea Werhun. This visually striking film lensed by Ashley Iris Gill is complete with lush animations by Society of Illustrators triple-gold-medallist Dylan Glynn. Thriving was created with the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Toronto Arts Council.