Film Categories: Sound Art + Music

  • Mondo Punk

    In the beginning were the Sex Pistols. All the ikons of the Punk Movement and more. Anarchistic anti-art calculated to offend. “It’s violent… it scared the shit out of me a couple of times.” – Freddy Pompeii, The Viletones

  • Music for Wilderness Lake

    Twelve trombonists station themselves around the shore of a wilderness lake. At dawn and dusk, they play meditative music across the water to one another. The quiet and the water allow the sounds to echo back and become part of this piece of wilderness music written by the Canadian composer, R. Murray Schafer. The event, as conceptualized by Schafer, is documented in “Music for Wilderness Lake”. The film shows plans, preparations, and the event itself.

  • My Quills Click When I Walk

    The porcupine and the wolf converse in a forest underwood where light literally strobes through the trees. The porcupine delights in the clicks of her quills when she walks. When the wolf attempts to compete, she cleverly works him into a duet and all is well until the two are perturbed by a bee. An animated film which takes a subtle look at sources of aggression.

  • Nelligan

    “An Artist’s Dream,” by renowned French-Canadian poet Emile Nelligan, serves as the basis for this dance film. Choreographed by Ann Ditchburn (known for her work with the National Ballet of Canada) and set to music by Andre Gagnon, the piece is performed by two of Canada’s outstanding dance artists, Robert Desrosiers and Claudia Moore.

  • Niagara

    Drawing on both the substance and spirit of hardcore music, “Niagara” sets in motion a number of male-female scenarios designed to challenge male aggression. A couple’s argument in the back seat of a car erupts into violence when the man suspects his lover of having an affair in Niagara Falls. Another couple arrives home from a dinner party and encounter an intruder in their home. As a gang runs around and commits random acts of violence, they sing the film’s chorus: Do you think he did it?/Wouldn’t be right. Would it?/he’s not the type anyway. Is he?/Hit!Hit!Hit!/He’s all rage and…

  • Opus 1 No 1

    This film, in Sonata form, traces the development and final performance of a Beethoven chamber piece by a trio of very gifted young musicians.

  • Opus 2

    “Opus 2” is an intimate and exciting film portrait of three very gifted young musicians – violinist Barry Shiffman, 15, pianist Yuval Fichman, 17, and cellist Wendy Morton, 18 – who form a chamber music trio under the guidance of noted teacher and music coach, Mildred Kenton. The film is a sequel to “Opus 1 No 1” and follows the three musicians on a rigourous journey through the prestigious Canadian Music Competitions, as they progress from the regional preliminaries to the gruelling national finals. Along the way, the film explores their very specialized world, offering insights into its many pressures,…

  • Our Hero: The True Story of Virgil Huffenmeister

    “Our Hero” is a mockudrama chronicling the life and times of Virgil Huffenmeister. The film traces his story from young orphan to international superstar and his eventual downfall. This short comedy touches on such subjects as the death penalty, instant celebrity, and Elvis Presley.

  • Paul Horn in China

    The famous Canadian jazz flautist visits China with a tour group and finds himself on stage before an audience of five thousand. This remarkable trip, full of both Chinese music and the unmistakable melodies of Paul Horn, is captured on film by the filmmakers who travelled with him.

  • It’s Not Brakhage

    It’s Not Brakhage is a feature-length parafiction film, structured around an unnamed narrator’s investigation of a mysterious film reel, believed to be a lost work by experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage. Shrouded in speculation and actively contested, the film reel is believed to be the sole remaining artifact from a cancelled 1959 film festival, co-organized by Brakhage and military-industrial giant DuPont chemical. The story follows the narrator’s forensic deconstruction of the film reel’s history, sifting through a patchwork of theories and speculations that have arisen since its discovery, and connecting the artifact to DuPont’s wider networks of military-industrial research and artistic…