Toronto After Dark 2010: Shorts to Creep Us Out!

The Toronto After Dark Film Festival opens in just a few days and I wanted to take a special look at the shorts that are coming to the festival this year. There are two short programs: Canada After Dark which showcases Canadian shorts before each feature film and Shorts After Dark, and International Short Film Showcase that plays on Saturday August 14, 2010 at 4:15pm.

I'm thrilled to see the creepy short Chloe and Attie and spectacular science fiction short Pumzi included in the roster, I've had a chance to see them and they are freaking fantastic short films. I'm looking forward to seeing Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer, because with a title like that how can you go wrong? Also really looking forward to 2010 BAFTA Best Short Film Nominee Off Season, scifi short Primer Contacte / First Contact and cryptography goodness with The Thomas Beale Cipher. Festival goers will also be the first to see several world premieres with Canadian shorts The Other Side, Sock Tease & The Pickles Shane along with Deus Irae from Argentina & United Monster Talent Agency from the USA.

Canada After Dark - Canadian Short Film Showcase

Chloe and Attie
Dir: Scooter Corkle
Canada, 8 min
Screens Wednesday August 18, 2010 at 9:45pm, in front of Heartless

Fireman!
Dir: Adam Brooks
Canada, 2 min
Screens Monday August 16, 2010 at 7pm in front of The Last Exorcism

Game Night
Dir: Geronimo Deadly
Canada, 6 min
Screens Tuesday August 17, 2010 at 7pm in front of Phobia 2

Haunt
Dir: Kevin Doherty
Canada, 10 min
Screens Sunday August 15, 2010 at 4:15pm in front of Cargo

Inferno of the Dead
Dir: Jeremy Gillespie
Canada, 8 min
Screens Saturday August 14, 2010 at 7pm in front of Doghouse

Junko’s Shamisen
Dir: Solomon Friedman
Canada, 11 min
Screens Sunday August 15, 2010 at 7pm in front of Robogeisha

King Chicken
Dir: Nicolas Bolduc
Canada, 8 min
Screens Sunday August 15, 2010 at 9:45pm in front of High School

Massacrator
Dir: Pierre Ayotte
Canada, 4 min
Screens Monday August 16, 2010 at 9:45pm in front of Alien vs. Ninja

The Necronomicon
Dir: Joseph Nanni
Canada, 2 min
Screens Friday August 13, 2010 at 7pm in front of The Last Lovecraft

The Other Side
Dir: Robin Veret
Canada, 15 min
Screens Thursday August 19, 2010 at 7pm in front of Black Death

The Pickles Shane
Dirs: Adam Brodie & Dave Derewlany
Canada, 5 min
Screens Tuesday August 17, 2010 at 9:45pm in front of All About Evil

Pleasure Dome
Dir: Alison S.M. Kobayashi
Canada, 12 min
Screens Friday August 20, 2010 at 7pm in front of Rubber

Re-Wire
Dir: David-James Fernandes
Canada, 14 min
Screens Friday August 20, 2010 at 9:45pm, in front of The Human Centipede

Sock Tease
Dir: Aaron Kopff
Canada, 12 min
Screens Wednesday August 18, 2010 at 7pm in front of Centurion

They Shall Pay with Rivers of Blood
Dir: Buck Anderson
Canada, 7 min
Screens Saturday August 14, 2010 at 9:30pm in front of Evil: In the Time of Heroes

Plus One More Short TBA screening in front of I Spit On Your Grave (2010)

Shorts After Dark - International Shorts Program
10 Short Films, 92 mins in Total, screens Saturday August 14, 2010 and 4:15PM

Barcelona Venice
Dir: David Munoz
Spain, 5 min

DemiUrge Emesis
Dir: Aurelio Voltaire
USA, 3 min

Deus Irae
Dir: Pedro Cristiani
Argentina, 13 min

Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer
Dir: Andrew Jones
USA, 8 min

The Library
Dir: Levi Macdougal & David Dineen Porter
Canada, 4 min

Off Season
Dir: Jonathan Van Tulleken
USA/UK, 13 min

Primer Contacte / First Contact
Dir: Pau Escribano
Spain, 9 min

Pumzi
Dir: Wanuri Kahiu
South Africa/Kenya, 23 min

The Thomas Beale Cipher
Dir: Andrew Allen
USA, 13 min

United Monster Talent Agency
Dir: Greg Nicotero
USA, 7 min

The Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2010 runs from August 13 - 20,2010 at the Bloor Cinema, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

NFB Selections at Hot Docs

The NFB is a true stamp of quality when it comes to Canadian documentary film, a place where we are already had a long history of documentary film. I always look forward to their offerings at festivals and this year with Hot Docs I am once again was extremely satisfied with the the quality, creativity and important stories that resonate in the films they bring to screens. Here are some highlights.

The "Socalled" Movie
Dir: Garry Beitel
Canada

Hearing people talk about The "Socalled" Movie with a joyful enthusiasm let me know that it was one I couldn't miss at the festival. A portrait on the artist (including musician, magician and filmmaker) Socalled, we are privy to performances, jam sessions and interviews where we see things you'd never imagine being put together blend seamlessly together. One of the most prominent pairings is hip hop and klezmer music, which I admit gave me a giggle to think of them together but when you hear it, it's so beautiful you wonder why they ever were apart. The film is filled with personal history, projects, interviews with or about Socalled, where we get to see many different aspects of his creative life and how he has a beautiful curiosity to pull what would normally feel oddly juxtaposed to feel like old friends together again. In part it has a why not? perspective that is truly and inspiring. Why not put klezmer and funk together? Do it & see what happens, because it could be a beautiful thing. What we see over and over again is that it truly is a beautiful thing.

Flawed
Dir: Andrea Dorfman
Canada, 12 minutes

A true gem of a film, exploring one womans journey through her relationship not only with other people but also herself and her own body. The journey is also told visually as we watch stories come to life through ink and paint. Honest and revealing Flawed is absolutely priceless and it's beauty brought me to tears of joy through it's openness and bravery.

See a clip of Flawed here.


Above: Flawed

Namrata
Dir: Shazia Javad
Canada, 9 minutes

A brave and telling journey portrait of a woman who life brings her from India to Edmonton through an arranged marriage to unexpected results. Passionate and personal, it's an inspiring story dealing with both conflict of courage.

Life with Murder
Dir: John Kastner
Canada

Life with Murder follows a very tragic family history. Starting with a very normal family of four, 2 parents and 2 kids, living pretty normal lives until a crime if committed that changes the family unit in a way that is hard to imagine. The suprizing thing about the scenario is it highlights how much can be left unsaid and what this can do to family dynamics. Understaned and respectfully handled, we see how the family actively chooses to deal with a horrifying event. Although the question hovers on if it's patience or denial, it's shows a truly unique perspective on dealing with different kinds of loss. The film comes together as life often does, as the puzzle pieces of life are brought together without starting with the full picture.

Warnings: Life with Murder does include real crime scene photos and footage

Check them out at the festival:

The "Socalled" Movie plays at Hot Docs on:
Sunday May 2, 2010 at 9:15pm at the Bloor and Tuesday May 4, 2010 at 11:30am at ROM

Flawed plays with Small Wonders on:
Friday April 30, 2010 at 9:30pm at Cumberland 2 and Sunday May 2, 2010 at 5pm at Innis

Namrata plays with In the Name of the Family on:
Saturday May 1, 2010 at 7pm at the Royal and Sunday May 9, 2010 at 6:45pm at the Bader

Life with Murder plays at Hot Docs on:
Saturday May 1 at 9:45pm at the Bader and Sunday May 9, 2010 at 3:45 at the Bloor

For more information check the festival schedule or purchase tickets at the online box office.

Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival runs from April 29 - May 9, 2010 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Bad Roomate Hits YouTube

Bad Roomate, one of the zaniest shorts from the 2009 Toronto After Dark Film Festival makes its online debut today on YouTube. It's dark, twisted and a hell of a lot of fun. Shot on a $100 point and shoot camera it involves a rather sinister puppet and a really hilarious song. When it was shown at the festival it had the most enthusiastic introduction I have ever seen at a festival, which you can watch here: Bad Roomate introduction with director James Gangl.

Check out the film on YouTube: Watch Bad Roomate here.

TIFF'09: NFB Shorts

The NFB has a fantastic selection of shorts included in at TIFF these year. I've already reviewed The Spine here, which includes highlights from the Q&A with director Chris Landreth and voice actors Robert McCarrol & Patrice Goodman from the screening at the Worldwide Short Film Festival 2009. The Spine plays with Short Cuts Canada Programme #1.

Also check out my Pre-Festival Vlog where I discuss the following shorts.

Night Mayor
Dir: Guy Maddin (Brand Upon the Brain!, The Saddest Music in the World, My Winnipeg)
Canada, 10 minutes

Describing the experience of watching a Guy Maddin isn't the easiest thing to do, but while vlogging last night I came up with the following: It's like ... "Feeling like you actually lived through a fictional experience." Yep, that sums it up and Night Mayor is right in line with that feeling. You don't understand what your seeing. Then you do understand what your seeing. Then boring things like logic and reason kick in, telling you you can't be seeing what you are seeing. But, overall you are believing what you are seeing. Unique textural style and bizarre stories involving machines, communications and the Aurora Borealis is only the surface of the film as we are treated to comprehensive non-nonsense that bridges dream, sciences and nostalgia. It's a brilliant work of art.

Night Mayor plays with Short Cuts Canada Programme #2.
To get a taste of Night Mayor check out this clip over at the NFB site.

Runaway
Dir: Cordell Barker
Canada, 9 minutes

Very funny animated short that walks a fine line of cute and dark, with a cow and a train along the way. Perhaps the cow is cute as the train is dark? Adept storytelling and frantic pacing make this short film a joy to watch.

Runaway plays with Short Cuts Canada Programme #3.

Vive la rose
Dir: Bruce Alcock
Canada, 6 minutes

An interesting combination of visual storytelling styles are shown side by side with an often interconnected vein. It was beautiful to let the eyes wander back and forth and back again to see the images appear, unfold and disappear right before your eyes.

Vive la rose plays with the feature film Crackie.

The Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 10 - 19, 2009 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2009: Short & Gooey Delights

The Toronto After Dark Film Festival has announced the shorts that will be slinging our way as a part of the 2009 festival. There are two shorts programs, Shorts After Dark (International Shorts Program) that screens on Sunday August 16, 2009 at 1:30pm and Canada After Dark (Canadian Short Film Showcase) which is Canadian shorts that screen before each of the feature films. Ranging from 1 to 19 minutes, we will be treated to zombies, lobotomies and even dancing
corpses. Even the film titles are entertaining, such as The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon or Practical Guide for the Imaginary Friend (Abridged). A few familiar names appear on the filmmaker lists including festival fave Bill Plympton (Idiots and Angels) who brings us Santa: The Fascist Years. Steven Kostanski who brought us whom brought us the fantastic Laser Ghosts 2: Return to Laser Cove in 2008 comes back with Heart of Karl. Closing night short is none other than Denis Villeneuve's fantastically delicious and dark Next Floor.

Canada After Dark - Canadian Short Film Showcase

0 (Zero)
Dir: Jace Junggru Kim
Canada, 4 minutes
Screens Sunday August 16, 2009 at 3:45 pm with The Warlords

Bad Roomate
Dirs: James Gangl & Kevin Whalen
Canada, 3 minutes
Screens Sunday August 16, 2009 at 9:30pm with The Revenant

Batmilk
Dir: Brandon Blommaert
Canada, 1 minutes
Screens Thursday August 20, 2009 at 9:45pm with Trick 'r Treat

Becoming
Dirs: Ayelen Liberona and Joseph Johnson Camí
Canada, 6 minutes
Screens Saturday August 15, 2009 at 8:15pm with Black

Blackheads
Dir: Chris Nash
Canada, 14 minutes
Screens Monday August 17, 2009 at 7pm with Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl

Captain Coulier (Space Explorer) ** Opening Gala Short **
Dir: Lyndon Casey
Canada, 13 minutes
Screens Friday August 14, 2009 7pm with Black Dynamite

Danse Macabre
Dir: Pedro Pires
Canada, 6 minutes
Screens Thursday August 20, 2009 7pm with The Forbidden Door

Deadwalkers
Dir: Spencer Estabrooks
Canada, 14 minutes
Screens Sunday August 16, 2009 at 6:45pm with Dead Snow

Fallow
Dirs: Dave Alexander & Colin Landry
Canada, 14 minutes
Screens Monday August 17, 2009 at 9:30pm with Strigoi

Git Gob
Dir: Philip Eddolls
Canada, 1 minutes
Screens Monday August 19, 2009 at 9:45pm with Rough Cut

Heart of Karl
Dir: Steven Kostanski (Laser Ghosts 2: Return to Laser Cove)
Canada, 15 minutes
Screens Tuesday August 18, 2009 at 9:30pm with Someone's Knocking at the Door

Hirsute
Dir: A. J. Bond
Canada, 14 minutes
Screens Saturday August 15, 2009 at 5:30pm with Franklyn

The Killer Bra
Dir: Yakov Levi
Canada, 19 minutes
Screens Saturday August 15, 2009 at 11.30pm with Embodiment of Evil

Legend of the Seven Bloody Torturers
Dir: Conall Pendergast
Canada, 5 minutes
Screens Wednesday August 19, 2009 at 7pm with Must Love Death

Lobotomobile
Dir: Sara St. Onge
Canada, 6 minutes
Screens Tuesday August 18, 2009 at 7pm with The Children

Next Floor ** Closing Gala Short **
Dir: Denis Villeneuve
Canada, 11 minutes
Screens Friday August 21, 2009 at 7pm with Grace

Under Pressure: A Story of Microscopic Stakes
Dir: Daniel Devita
Canada, 9 min
Screens Saturday August 15, 2009 at 3pm with The Dark Hour

Shorts After Dark - International Shorts Program

The Black Dog’s Progress
Dir: Stephen Irwin
UK, 3 minutes

Die Schneider Krankheit
Dir: Javier Chillon
Spain, 11 mintues

The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon
Dir: Richard Gale
USA, 10 minutes

King of Power 4 Billion %
Dir: Paul Roberston
Australia, 14 minutes

A Little Mouth to Feed
Dir: Jack Daniel Stanely
USA, 9 minutes

Practical Guide for the Imaginary Friend (Abridged)
Dir: Ciro Altabas
Spain, 19 minutes

Santa: The Fascist Years
Dir: Bill Plympton (Idiots and Angels)
USA, 4 minutes

Welgunzer
Dir: Bradford Schmidt
USA, 14 minutes

When It Will Be Silent
Dir: Dan Sachar
Israel, 7 minutes

X-Mess Detrius
Dir: Voltaire
USA, 2 minutes

Zombie Zombie
Dirs: Simon Gesrel and Xavier Ehretsmann
France, 6 minutes

The Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2009 runs from August 14-21, 2009 at the Bloor Cinema, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Selection from Lazer Ghosts 2: Return to the Laser Cove Introduction at Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2008

The following video clip is from the introduction of the screening of the short Lazer Ghosts 2: Return to the Laser Cove on Wednesday October 22, 2008 at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival. See my review of Lazer Ghosts 2: Return to the Laser Cove here.

Peter Kuplowsky introduces Lazer Ghosts 2 Return to Laser Cove director Steven Kostanski whom discusses the company Astron 6:



The Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2008 ran from October 17-24/08 at the Bloor Cinema, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2008 Short Film Preview

Short and sweet need not apply, the shorts for this years Toronto After Dark Film Festival promise to be full of scares, blood and zombies! There are two programs of shorts, Canada After Dark will be played thoughout the festival showing Canadian shorts prior to the feature films. The second program is the Shorts After Dark, an International Short Film Showcase that screens Sunday, Oct 19 2008 at 3:45 pm at the Bloor Cinema (Screens at same time as Zombie Walk). Let's take a look at each of the programs.

Canada After Dark
The Canadian shorts at last years Toronto After Dark Film Festival were awesome, and it looks like we are in for another great year of shorts. Where else can you see the undead and curling together? You will with Deadspiel. Looking for zombies? Check out The Laundromat. Want to see Christmas Tree explotation film, look no further than Treevenge. Now that is one way to get into the holiday spirit! Also of note, the short that will be screened on opening night will be The Facts in the Case of Mister Hollow from Rodrigo Gudino (The Eyes of Edward James) and Vincent Marcone.

Here is the list of all of the Canadian shorts in the Canada After Dark program:

The Auburn Hills Breakdown
Dir: Geoff Redknap
Canada, 2008
13 min
Screening time: October 23, 2008 at 9:45pm with Home Movie

The Bumblebee Man
Dir: Ryan Cavan and Alex Heaslip
Canada, 2007
15 min
Screening time: October 21, 2008 at 9:45pm with Who is KK Downey?

Bum Rush
Dir: Jesse MacMillan and Simon Box
Canda, 2008
6 min
Screening time: October 23, 2008 at 7pm with Tokyo Gore Police

Cabin of Terror
Dir: Jimi Cuell
Canada, 2007
5 min
Screening time: October 22, 2008 at 9:45pm with South of Heaven

Deadspiel
Dir: Jay Molloy
Canada, 2008
8 min
Screening time: October 19, 2008 at 6:30pm with Kevin Tenney's Brain Dead

Ending the Eternal
Dir: Justin McConnell
Canada, 2008
14 min
Screening time: October 21, 2008 at 7pm with Netherbeast Incorporated

The Facts in the Case of Mister Hollow
Dirs: Rodrigo Gudino and Vincent Marcone
Canada, 2008
6 min
Screening time: October 17, 2008 at 7pm with Let the Right One In

The Flower
Dir: Dale Hayward
Canada, 2007
2 min
Screening time: October 18, 2008 at 8:45pm with Repo! The Genetic Opera

Found Objects
Dir: David Birnbaum
Canada, 2007
18 min
Screening time: October 18, 4pm with Idiots & Angels

Hydro-Levesque
Dir: Matthew Rankin
Canada, 2008
16 min
Screening time: October 18, 2008 at 6:15pm with Mirageman

The Laundromat
Dir: David Jacombs, Jr.
Canada, 2008
8 min
Screening time: October 19, 2008 at 9:15pm with Trailer Park of Terror

Laser Ghosts 2: Return to Laser Cove
Dir: Steven Kostanski
Canada
9 min
Screening time: October 22, 2008 at 7:00pm with Mutant Chronicles

Lucky 10
Dir: Manny Kargov
Canada, 2008
10 min
Screening time: October 20, 2008 at 9:45pm with 4BIA / Phobia

The Mars Project
Dir: Jonathan Balazs
Canada, 2008
6 min
Screening time: October 18, 2008 at 11:30pm with Donkey Punch

Treevenge
Dir: Jason Eisener
Canada, 2008
15 min
Screening time: October 24, 2008 at 7pm with I Sell The Dead

Vengeance
Dir: Lanan Adcock
Canada, 2008
6 min
Screening time: October 20, 2008 at 7.00pm with Red

Shorts After Dark - International Short Film Showcase
This years international shorts program consists of 10 short films from around the world, including our neighbours to the south. We have some wild films in the mix including Dani Moreno's Martians Go Home which has a fantastic 80's vibe to it. We also have the action-packed with a sci-fi twist in Kingz. Bill Plympton fans rejoice! Not only is Idiots and Angels part of the at Festival but also his short film Shut-Eye Hotel. I'm also looking forward to seeing The Goblin Man of Norway by Jay Cheel (from Film Junk) which looks haunting and creepy.

Shorts After Dark screens Sunday, Oct 19 2008 at 3.45 pm at the Bloor Cinema (Screens at same time as Zombie Walk). Here is the complete list of films in the program:

The Attack of the Robots from Nebula-5
Dir: Chema Garcia Ibarra
Spain, 2008
6 min

Doxology
Dir: Michael Langan
USA, 2008
5 min

The Goblin Man of Norway
Dir: Jay Cheel
2008
24 min

I Live In The Woods
Dir: Max Winston
USA, 2008
3 min

Kingz
Dirs: Benjamin Diez and Marinko Spahic
Germany, 2007
20 min

Martians Go Home: The Revenge of Sara Clockwork
Dir: Dani Moreno
Spain, 2008
20 min

Notes from the Acrid Plain
Dir: Jonathan Ashley
USA, 2008
15 min

The Queen
Dir: Walter Krudop
USA, 2007
1 min

Shut-Eye Hotel
Bill Plympton
USA, 2007
7 min

Transrexia
Dir: Aurelio Voltaire
USA, 2008
1 min

The Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2008 runs from October 17-24/08 at the Bloor Cinema, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.