Twisted Tales For Sweethearts & Sickos
Laurel Point Inn Salon CD
Saturday, February 5, 2000 7:00 pm
Wednesday, February 9, 2000 7:00 pm
Goodpenis Adventures
World Premiere
5 minutes
Bob McAfee
A tale which proves that men not only think with their southern extremities but depend on it to perform super-heroic acts to get a date on Friday night. It's possible to read this whole animation as an allegorical tale of masculine insecurity and dependency but it's better not to.
Goodpenis Adventures is a good example of effects without going overboard and shows the detail for contour and fine continual movement. The humour of Richard Cowdie without the over-the-top madness. - Scott Clark
To Build a Better Mousetrap
2 minutes
Christopher Leone
USA
This short bloody tale of modern mouse catching has shown at Festivals around the world. Not for the weak of the heart but a solid piece of computer animation which demonstrates another young mind being corrupted by the fabulous field of computer animation.
The Beckers: Cannibalism and Your Teen
5 minutes
Directed by Steven Evangelatos
B.C.
From Vancouver-based Natterjack productions.
Take a 1950's style sitcom family, add liberal doses of atomic age science fiction paranoia and industrial film dialogue, a pinch of 1990's sexual awareness...shake well, then throw against the wall. See what sticks. Another one not for the easily-offended.
Midnight Carnival
7 minutes
Directed by Aaron Augenblick
USA
On an inebriated late night in a towering dark city, the dignified devil stumbles on a mysterious side show. His eventual discovery of a bizarre assortment of characters leads him to confront his greatest fears.
Deus Ex Machina
3.25 minutes
Michael Sargent
B.C.
In a dark world, there are the workers and the money rakers. Deus Ex Machina uses a rough style which is more common in pencil tests than finished film to add grit and dirt to a marvelous tale of escape. The working class is set free from the Machine, causing industry's revolution to come to a grinding halt.
Maly Milos
3.5 minutes
Directed by Jakub Pistecky
B.C.
Little Milosh is a happy but timid man, who befriends a goat who saves him from the Babka's evil ways. This computer animation is a superb fable told in old style tradition with all the elements of a classic. Jakub's craft is well learned; he has command of the computer graphics as well as a gift for storytelling. From the beginning of the tale the quality is obvious. The fine detail, the sharpness of colour lends to a cel animation look. The film has a softer touch in the use of light and contour, which is quite refreshing. Depth is created and with active movement throughout the work, the composition from frame to frame flows to create a visually new flavour to computer graphics. The viewer is given plenty of opportunity to explore each character and to follow the tale that is told in poetic narrative. The witty Milosh and his companion triumph over the oppression of their environment, the whip wielding Babka. Nothing is lacking in this 3:30 minute production, an amazing animation that may remain timeless. The audio track includes a violin, accordion, and drums, reminiscent in sound perhaps to the young author's homeland of the Czech Republic. Maly Milos is the graduate work of Jakub Pistecky, produced at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in Vancouver. - Scott Clark
Mieux (Better)
B.C. Premiere
12 minutes
Directed by Denis Cote
Quebec
Mieux highlights the goings-on of a failing romance. Simon and Madeleine form a hectic couple. Grandma likes to keep an eye on things. Suddenly all three become characters in a puppet show. The well-crafted look suits its attack on “big conflict” relationship stories. Also see An Old Fashioned Waltz by the same director.
Fearsome Creatures
1.5 minutes
Directed by Christin Marineau
B.C.
This jungle tale which traces the roots of violence has lessons for humans too.
Porte de la Lune
B.C. Premiere
10 minutes
Directed by Eve-Lucie Bourque
In La Porte de la Lune, viewers are asked to observe a landscape that may represent the viewpoint of a mythic animal. Through this portal, a smudgy dream-like world is revealed.
Seasons Cretins
B.C. Premiere
3 minutes
Directed by Steven Evangelatos
B.C.
From Vancouver-based Natterjack productions.
An excellent piece for those with post-Christmas burn out. The most unappealing bunch of bar hags and scum you'll ever see make delightful yule-time music that causes a difference of opinion between Santa and Baby 1998.
HomeGrown
CineVic, 101 - 610 Johnson St
Saturday, February 5, 2000 6:00 pm
Monday, February 7, 2000 7:30 pm
Tuesday February 8, 2000 7:30 pm
The Way of the Sword
31 minutes
Directed by Andrew Gravkin
B.C.
Following two sword fighters from the Society for Creative Anachronism, a Kendo teacher, and a celtic swordsmith, Way of the Sword literally cuts out a storyline of ancient swordsmanship for modern times. Leaving alone the elements of fantasy or bloody devastation from Conan and Heavy Metal, Way of the Sword illuminates training and skill, illustrating that an ancient weapon discarded from war can become a powerful force for peaceful accomplishment and self–empowerment. A stirring film which magnificently illustrates the term “Swords into Ploughshares”.
Laughing Under Water
World Premiere
4 minutes
Directed by Denise A. Lee
B.C.
A woman's associations with place span childhood, marriage and motherhood in this visually poetic film. - Patsy Kotsopolous
Something Extraordinary
Awarded Best 3D Animation -VEAF
4 minutes
Paula McBride
B.C.
A kindly lady cares for a vast array of cats in the belief that she will eventually be rewarded in this well crafted puppet animation with full set design, great movement & action. A strong storyline holds the attention. - Scott Clark
Sophie
8 minutes
Directed by Karen Duthie
B.C.
As a young woman digs up her barnyard in search of a childhood treasure, impressions and images of her steadfast and hilarious past are revealed as she deals with becoming a woman.
Greener Pastures
10 minutes
Directed by Dave Senger
B.C.
A marijuana grow operator takes the day off only to have a bust in one of his hydroponic hoses lead to a different kind of bust back at his apartment.
Getting Axed: Horrors of the 9 to 5
CineVic, 101 - 610 Johnson St
Saturday, February 5, 2000 7:30 pm
Wednesday, February 9, 2000 6:00 pm
The Fare
15 minutes
Directed by Neil Avery
BC
BC Premiere
A smartly dressed girl and boy arrive at a downtown train station late one cold night. Their identity unknown, their purpose a mystery, they find safety and help ina bright yellow taxi and its driver.
Switch
“Thompson has perfected the short mystery with style and panache.” - XTRA!
23 minutes
Directed by Hope Thompson
Ontario
A follow up film to a VIFVF ‘98 favourite It Happened in the Stacks. A noir mystery melodrama about the lusty desires of a telephone operator in 1940s Toronto. Switch conveys delicious tension while focusing on such queer details as: black red lips, pale flesh, blue light, thick lipstick, the fleeting gesture of a gloved hand, a heaving bosom and Bitch Diva.
A Line of Taxis
11 minutes
Directed by James Beattie Morison
Alberta
Jack Gilmore arrives at work to find a line of taxis waiting outside the building where he works. They are waiting to take people home after they are laid off. Jack spends his day trying to work, all the time fearing that it is time for him to go. As we wait with Jack, wondering if the next phone call is his last you feel yourself begin to squirm. Morison builds the tension to a palm moistening climax.
Evening (Vecer)
11 minutes
Directed by Natasha Prosenc
Slovenia
Evening deals with the problem of solitude in modern society. It takes place at the flat of a successful single woman who fantasizes about living with her boyfriend. These illusions are constantly destroyed by her everyday reality.
Loves Me, Loves Me Not: Small Tales of Romance
Laurel Point Inn, Salon CD
Sunday, February 6, 2000 7:00 pm
Tuesday, February 8, 2000 7:00 pm
Big Heart
Western Canadian Premiere
9.5 minutes
Directed Catherine Stockhausen
Nova Scotia
This modern day fairy tale features the larger than life Theo Leon. Theo is cursed with a rare medical condition - a heart which is too big. This physical abnormality has manifested itself in the oversized emotion of its victim who, medically and metaphorically, will eventually surrender to the inevitable destiny of his big heart.
Primrose
World Premiere
20 minutes
Directed by Christopher Miller
USA
Through cross-chat on her phone line, Rose, a housewife in her middle years, becomes acquainted with the details of an extra-marital affair. Her fascination with the lovers' on-going conversations leads Rose to question her own marriage. Like Desperately Seeking Susan but for a different generation of women. - Patsy Kotsopolous
The Breakup Artist
B.C. Premiere
7.75 minutes
Directed by Ken Hegan
B.C.
An exciting sneak peak into the future project of the man who brought us such Canadian masterpieces as (yes my tongue is firmly planted in cheek) FARLEY MOWAT ATE MY BROTHER and WILLIAM SHATNER LENT ME HIS HAIRPIECE. Hegan puts the detective hat on his own rather striking head to track down a date for a friend. The result is another fine addition to his tradition of Canadian kitsch which tends to grow on you before you know it. Hegan's Canuck sensibilities may mean that he'll never be an international sensation like Don McKellar or Atom Egoyan but his low-budget ingenuity and ability to hit a Canadian audience right between the eyeballs speaks to those he obviously wants to reach.
Big Mistake
North American Premiere
17.5 minutes
Directed by Richard Treister
England
After returning home from a trip to Norway, Jonathon is confronted by his girlfriend, Jess who has discovered a horrible confession written in his diary. Big Mistake takes the best elements of an anxiety dream and marries them directly into the film: repeating imagery, disjointed time and an absolute refusal to be clear about what's going on right up until the end.
Stealing Kisses
Awarded: Best Experimental – Yorkton
Best Independent Production – Cascadia Festival of Moving Images
Best Independent Experimental Entry – Canadian Int'l Annual Film and Video Festival
4 minutes
Directed by Howie Woo
B.C.
Stealing Kisses is a 1940s style tale that follows the growing attraction between two forbidden lovers (actors Cameron Purvin Good and Heather Sandvold). Using a circular story structure, this mysterious film explores the passion and price of stolen kisses. Luscious black and white photography by Saul Moran. Stealing Kisses is also the nineteenth short film from award-winning writer-director Howie Woo
Pop Goes the Whimsy
CineVic, 101 - 610 Johnson St.
Sunday, February 6, 2000 6:00 pm
Wednesday, February 9, 2000 7:30 pm
Simply the Best
Canadian Premiere
5 minutes
Directed by Alyson Richards
Ontario
Crafted for laughs, a twenty something guy has a Barbie for a best friend. Simply the Best proves what women have long suspected about men. The title refers to the soundtrack lifted from a certain major artist
Harry Knuckles and the Aztec Mummy
B.C. Premiere
“a wonderful cheeky ode to the rice-noodle action genre” Ottawa Sun
27 minutes
Directed by Lee Demarbre
Ontario
KUNG-FUn action! From Ottawa of all places comes this tribute/homage/love letter to the chopsocky flicks of the 70s with the occasional nods to Hershell Gordon Lewis (often called “The Godfather of Gore”) and Mexican wrestling movies of the late 50s, early 60s. Harry Knuckles also known as Agent Spanish Fly is off on a mission to retrieve treasure from an Aztec Mummy. Filmmaker Lee Demarbre takes the technological low road in an indie scene gone crazy for DVD and digital video. Lee still shoots on a bolex and edits on film just like every filmmaker he ever loved and, of course, he always adds the dialogue back in as badly as the best of them.
Nutrisound
B.C. Premiere
4 minutes
Directed by Suez Holland
B.C.
A look at sound in cereal. A wonderful blend of animation techniques: cut outs, 3D & cel. It has deep layers with loads of camera work. This is start to finish an animation with full movement.
Sparklehorse
B.C. Premiere
9 minutes
Directed by Garine Torossian
Ontario
Using wonderful manipulations of images Sparklehorse's subtly explores the nature of relationships and the difficulty of communication
Waiter Duty
Canadian Premiere
15 minutes
Jason Wolos
USA
A word of warning to all restaurant customers - behave or the tables could be turned. Wolos sets up a society where people are forced to become waiters through random selection or special recommendation from their server. A jury of cooks decides who has to serve.
Not the Prom Queen: Tales of Teenage Hell
CineVic, 101 - 610 Johnson St.
Sunday, February 6, 2000 7:30 pm
Thursday, February 10, 2000 6:00 pm
Neverland
World Premiere
13.5 minutes
Directed by Kia Simon
USA
High school as seen through the eyes of an awkward adolescent girl trying out for Tinkerbell's role in Peter Pan. While teen angst is an unoriginal subject, it is given original treatment in this whimsical yet bleak look at the pain and confusion of growing up and not fitting in.
- Patsy Kotsopolous
Parelisa
North American Premiere
15 minutes
Directed by Josue Mendez
Peru
A simple and fresh work. Parelisa is made with long hand-held takes and non-professional actors. Its mobility and spontaneity highlight a hard situation. Elisa is a young prostitute from the province trying to make an escape from all those who obstruct her integrity as a human being.
Ecstasy
B.C. Premiere
27 minutes
Directed by Mark Wihak
Ontario
While on her way home Rave Girl encounters God and is given a special mission that transforms her into......Stacy of Suburbia. Ecstasy first moves the audience to ally with its “cult-leader” rave girl character and then toys with that loyalty as she becomes a street literature pusher for God.
Mark Wihak won the short film prize for The Land of Cain at the 1995 Vancouver International Film Festival.
Architects of the Mind
CineVic 101 - 610 Johnson St.
Friday, February 4, 2000 6:00 pm
Monday, February 7, 2000 6:00 pm
Thursday, February 10, 2000 7:30 pm
The Last Drawing of Canneletto
North American Premiere
5 minutes
Directed by Cameron McNall
USA
A three dimensional computer recreation of an 18th century drawing by the Venetian artist Cannaletto. The viewer is able to enter the “space” of the two-dimensional drawing and look around, while the moving light of the sun animates the otherwise motionless setting. Unique possibilities that Canneletto could never have imagined add dimensionality to the work.
Luce. Tempo. Roma.
North American Premiere
10.5 minutes
Directed by Cameron McNall
USA
What constitutes the “light” of Rome? How is it unique? What differentiates it from other cities? McNall, an architect, leads us to see that it is architecture and its urban configuration more than geographic location or other factors, that bestows a city with its special qualities of light and shadow. Moving to time and music allows both art and architecture to dance in a way much more like ballet than time lapse, and takes it very close to the dance like motion which Baraka used. For those who admired the incredible film work of Koyanqatsi, Powanqatsi, and Baraka, “Luce. Tempo. Roma.” will be a treat.
Industrial Bodies
Canadian Premiere
15 minutes
Directed by Khmasea Hoa Bristol
USA
A poetically constructed film in two parts that uses organic images to depict vital processes of life, tyrannical time and the dilemma of living in a body that inevitably dies. The film then slips into a granddaugther's reflection on the life, illness, and death of her maternal grandfather.
Bear
Canadian Premiere
22 minutes
Directed by Sara Marino
Ontario
Based on the Governor General's Award-winning novel of the same name by Marian Engel. Bear explores a woman's relationship with a semi-domesticated black bear. The relationship is neither sexually explicit or erotic, but it is undoubtedly sensual and ultimately a little frightening.
For those looking for true encounters of pure Canadiana, this film has a selected portion of Peter Gzowski's Morningside interview with Marian Engel during the end credits.
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