Genres: documentary

  • In Search of Joy

    A Celebration of the Human Spirit. This half-hour documentary takes the viewer on a journey into the lives of individuals of diverse ages, cultures, and occupations who offer their perspectives and experiences of joy. In the midst of their search, both filmmakers suffer within one month the sudden death of both their fathers. They unintentionally become part of the film as they discover through their loss that one cannot experience true joy without responding honestly to pain. “In Search of Joy” is an interweaving of interviews, evocative images, and original music of several traditions, embracing a broad range of the…

  • Memories That Sing

    “Memories That Sing” is how filmmaker Isabel Fryszberg captures the unsung stories and songs of her mother, just before her unexpected death. She reveals the songs and stories of her mother’s childhood in Poland just before the Holocaust. At the end Fryszberg becomes the song and story of her mother’s forgotten world.

  • Death to All Film

    This essay on the passion and predicament of Soviet avant-garde filmmaker Dziga Vertov is constructed with playfully meticulous adherence to the Word of Vertov and the concept of the documentary essay-film. Vertov’s obsession and despair are explored through a montage of diary excerpts and challenging imagery, fully supported by appropriate bibliographical referencing and a comprehensive index.

  • Twenty Five Short Films in and about Saskatchewan

    We don’t talk much about patriotism here. I’m always torn between supporting idealist notions of a world nation, or non-nation, without borders and the more traditional approach that borders are necessary to protect our property and identity from “outsiders.” Without our national border, the Americans might overwhelm our culture and I would probably not be making this film. Without our provincial borders, nothing would differentiate us from Ontario and we would be overwhelmed by the east. Again, it is unlikely that I would be making this film. Borders protect the weak from the strong, the small from the large, the…

  • Parade

    A hand-made film that explores a 21st-century ritual celebration – Toronto’s Gay Pride Parade (2000). The contrast between the images’ archival quality with the 90’s dance music makes us wonder whether we are watching an event of some forgotten culture, or something urban and modern.

  • Urban Caustic

    Toronto, love it or hate it; the overwhelming chaos of the city, the noise and smog. Shot in three different mediums – miniDV, 16mm and Super 8 – hand-processing attempts to subvert the reign of video and “take back film” by shooting video onto film. The processes involved in making this film rely on the physical interaction with the film, creating a personal and intimate chemical reaction. The random rhythm of the optical printing, the scratchy, worn-out look of the hand-processing and the aural collage evoke an emotional and experiential response to living in this crazy town we call Toronto.

  • Class Queers

    “Class Queers” is an intimate and compelling documentary about teenagers and homophobia. It is an account of three gay and lesbian kids from Toronto who weave their way in and out of the education system as a result of the harassment they encounter. “Class Queers” begins mid-way through the school year, as the viewer is introduced to the Triangle Program, an alternative high school classroom for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans youth. Located in the basement of a church in downtown Toronto, it serves as a life raft for the kids who are lucky enough to find their way there.…

  • Yin Yin/Jade Love

    “Yin Yin/Jade Love” is a documentary about a granddaughter’s discovery of her grandmother after she has died. The film simultaneously explores the emotional impact of the filmmaker’s last visit with her grandmother, her death, what was subsequently discovered about her extraordinary life, and childhood memories surrounding her and her home. The narration, by the filmmaker, is supported by past (VHS, 8mm, historical stills), present (16mm) and recreated (Super 8) images that are woven together creating a rich, densely layered, reflective collage. “Yin Yin/Jade Love” hopes to capture a portrait of the filmmaker’s Yin Yin and convey insight into the experience…

  • All U Can Eat

    Increasingly separated from his place of birth, a 70-year-old Jewish native of Quebec fuses personal and historical memory to create a sense of belonging.

  • My Mother at the Consulate

    “My Mother at the Consulate” is a montage-based exploration of absence and presence and the passage of time. It is an addition to a series of personal pieces about the filmmaker’s mother.