Film Categories: Families

  • Benediction

    A filmmaker’s exploration of fleeting existence. Filtered through a personal story, “Benediction” is a last attempt to pay homage to those things left and leaving. When faced with the realization of her grandfather’s mortality, a young filmmaker journeys to find meaning in the wake of absence and loss. Is she trying to hold on to something that was never there? Winner of the Norman McLaren Prize at the Festival des Films du Monde in Montreal. Winner of the Kodak Award for Best Cinematography in a Canadian Short at the CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival, 2006. Screened at the Toronto International…

  • Plethora

    “Plethora” is a documentary about stuff. Several individuals and professionals from psychologists to sociologists discuss the reasons why people obtain, collect , store, hoard and creat attachments to things. The movie examines the personal storage industry, consumerism, compartmentalization of private lives and containment of belongings from the past and for the future.

  • Happy Birthday Hannah

    An irreverent look at diapers and dolls, ‘Happy Birthday Hannah’ is a delightfully funny animated short about Suzy, a rag doll who celebrates her owner’s birthday by painting her room.

  • Der Fus Tort

    A 21st-century take on the tower of Babel story, this zany animated tale combines modern Yiddish storytelling with the hottest of new media. From angel’s foot cake to angels’ cheese cake, this delicious serving of new Yiddish film comes complete with a high fat, double, double ending. “Whimsical drawings and Yiddish humor animate this charming tale. ‘Der Fus Tort’ is a treat for all ages.” – Susan Alper, Director Montreal Jewish Film Festival Yiddish /w English subtitles

  • Slide

    Through a simple act of child’s play, a young boy confronts both his parents’ overwhelming protection and his own very real fears. “Slide” is an animated short film whose narrative centres around the metaphor of being handicapped. Even loving parents hand us crutches; what we do with them is up to us.

  • Jane’s Window

    “My grandmother cherished her large dining room window for the opening it afforded her onto the world. From this perspective she would espy the arrival of friends and family, contemplate the change of seasons and reflect on time past. On the shelves of this window she collected mementos of a childhood in China, life as an artist, and the travels in between. Combining images of my own travels through Japan and China with images of the home my grandparents built, ‘Jane’s Window’ reflects on the passing down of memory, curiosity and creativity across generations.” (CK) Selected screenings: Cinematheque Ontario, Toronto,…

  • Bindi

    “Bindi” is a non-dialogue, narrative short film, which explores a mother’s choice to take her own life, while leaving her young daughter to deal with the aftermath alone.

  • Fragile

    “Fragile” is a video that deals primarily with theories of remembrance through a simple formal examination of the texture, rhythm, and colour of a city at night. Shot on HI-8, this video deals primarily with the relationship that is created between the abstracted imagery, and the linear soundtrack that records my mother reading to my sister and myself as children.

  • Cowboys Don’t Cry

    Garney Willis is an 88-year-old cowboy who lives in the “Wild West.” His granddaughter is a filmmaker who lives in the “big city.” When she visits his ranch to make “Cowboys Don’t Cry,” they haven’t been together in 20 years. She sees him as a hero in a Western movie. He sees her as the little girl he had given a pony for Christmas. This intimate documentary portrait traces their efforts to communicate with each other. More importantly, it reveals an old man’s undying idealism and his joy in day-to-day living.

  • L’éclat du mal / The Bleeding Heart of It

    The house that bursts; the scene of the crime; the nucleus. A universe collapses on itself: all hell breaks loose. “In my dream there’s a war going on. It’s Christmas time. I’m running and I’m carrying myself as a child. It’s dark in the tunnel and I’m heading towards the light, the daylight.” – Louise Bourque, from the film’s voice-over narration Selected Screenings & Awards: Editing Award, Cinematexas, Austin, TX, 2005; Director’s Citation, Black Maria Film and Video Festival, Jersey City, NJ, 2006; Opening Night film, Media City Festival, Windsor, ON, 2006; Whitney Biennial, New York, NY, 2006; Sundance Film…