Film Categories: Portraits

  • Echoes

    A woman reflects on the off-beat moments and stirrings of girlhood experiences that shaped her life. Available on DVD on the compilation “Artist Spotlight Series: Michelle Mohabeer.”

  • Self-Images

    “Self-Images” explores the theme of personal loss and coming to terms with death. The work builds on images of the filmmaker, his father, and his grandfather. This is a hand-processed film.

  • 9/11 Remembered

    The tragic event of 9/11 has left an indelible impact on the collective consciousness. This film is a way of revealing many people remembering and thinking of 9/11. Universally understood and accepted as a trigger for the memories, the sound of the jet engine roaring triggers the memories and the film ends with my continuing sob. This film is one way of expressing how I hear, feel, and see my own memories of that day which has left an unresolved sound in my mind.

  • Beat Truths: A Portrait of Graeme Kirkland

    Based on autobiographical writings, “Beat Truths: A Portrait of Graeme Kirkland” is a 3-minute film that aims to capture the dynamics of the artist’s street performance. It is a marriage of spoken word, street samples and drumming to cinema verite-style filming, creating a collage of sound and vision which builds to a cacophony that captures the essence and honesty of the artist and his art. Never subtle nor sugar-coated, and always in your face.

  • No Soy un Oso (I Am Not a Bear)

    An interview and a debate over what makes the man a bear and why he would resist belonging to a group of big hairy men.

  • Closer to Heaven

    Using the weather as a metaphor for the stages of grief, “Closer to Heaven” is a good-bye poem and homage to my Dad. Shot on Super 8 and optically printed. “Who can really distinguish between the sea and what’s reflected in it, or tell the difference between falling rain and loneliness?” – Haruki Murakami

  • Dear Mom

    “Dear Mom” is a story of the formation of a girl’s identity in relation to her powerful mother, her matriarchal family, and domestic fantasies created by melodramas of the 40s and 50s. When the young girl’s fantasy of matricide comes true with the untimely death of her Mother, she finds herself at a crossroads. She is left to reconstruct her own identity and find out that her Mother is more complex than she imagines.

  • Saskatchewan Part 2 (That’s My Wonderful Town)

    Brian Stockton’s series of eccentric autobiographical short films continues with “That’s My Wonderful Town,” an ode to Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada – past, present and future. The Supers return for part 2 with another stunning musical score, and the filmmaker’s son, Keaton L. Stockton, appears as “Kindergarten Brian.” “Saskatchewan Part 2” also features special appearances by Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, and David Letterman’s gas pump jockey, Dick Assman. Filmed in glorious 35mm Panavision®, this is Saskatchewan like it has never been seen before.

  • John Porter Sampler

    John Porter uses film as visual art, much like painting or sculpture,. Most of his 300 films are silent, very short and made in series, such aas landscapes, cityscapes, popular rituals, crowd documentaries, local histories, toy stories and “Camera Dances” in which he performs for the camera. Unlike most filmmakers, John shows his original films (no copies) and incorporates performance into the exhibition by miming in front of the screen, moving a hand-held projector around the room, and talking with the audience during the his films. He has been invited to many university film production classes to demonstrate a different…

  • Old Lady

    “There is more tenderness packed in each frame of this mini-opus of amour than a shelf full of ‘Titanic’s. Using a quick-witted blend of voice-over, pop jams and Super 8 signage, O’Brien stares unflinchingly at her 35-year-old mirror, wondering aloud about cruelties gathered beneath the name of love. Inspiration arrives via grandmother Alice, who found happiness when a teen sweet heart picked up a fifty-year-old promise, and Charlotte… who fell in love for the first time late in life.” – Mike Hoolboom