CineSiege 2009

CineSiege 2009 is a juried showcase screening of outstanding productions of 2008-2009 by talented young filmmakers in AMPD’s Department of Cinema and Media Arts.

The program will feature a selection of short films – riveting dramas, cutting-edge experimental works and provocative documentaries – chosen by four external jurors.

The CineSiege picks were selected from a shortlist of 22 productions nominated from the overall pool of 173 films made at York last year.

Jurors will be on hand at CineSiege to introduce the winning films and explain why they were selected.

Jurors

• Sandra Cunningham, film and television producer
• Daniel MacIvor, filmmaker, playwright, actor
• Jesse Wente, CBC film critic and TIFF programmer

CineSiege is made possible through the generous support of

Jury

	Scott Miller Berry has been the executive director of Toronto’s Images Film Festival, North America’s largest integrated media arts festival, since 2005. His most recent production as an independent filmmaker, anamnesis, premiered at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival. He is on the board of Toronto’s Small Gauge Film Festival and the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre.
	Sandra Cunningham’s feature films as producer include Atom Egoyan’s Ararat and Where the Truth Lies, Norman Jewison’s The Statement , Istvan Szabo’s Being Julia and most recently, Jeremy Podeswa’s Fugitive Pieces. Her production credits for television include seasons one and two of the performing arts series Triple Sensation for CBC Television. She currently serves as Chair of the board of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association.
	Min Sook Lee is a documentary filmmaker. Her feature productions Hogtown (2005), Tiger Spirit (2008) and My Toxic Baby (2009) have been screened at the Hot Docs festival (where Hogtown won the Best Canadian Feature Documentary Award) and broadcast by the CBC, Global, TVO and internationally. She has also been a programmer for Planet in Focus Film Festival.
	Daniel MacIvor is a director, actor and Governor General’s Award-winning playwright. His plays, which have been produced across Canada and toured internationally, include See Bob Run, House, Here Lies Henry, Monster and Marion Bridge. He wrote and directed the feature films Past Perfect, in which he co-starred with Rebecca Jenkins, and Wilby Wonderful, which stars Paul Gross and Ellen Page.
	Jesse Wente is the film critic for CBC Radio’s “Metro Morning” in Toronto, and pop culture critic for 20 CBC locations across Canada. He is a regular guest on CBC Radio’s culture show “Q”, CBC Newsworld and TVO’s “Saturday Night at the Movies”. He is a programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival and president of Native Earth Performing Arts, Canada’s oldest aboriginal theatre company.

Nominees

	Whisperwalk Director : Elli Weisbaum Director of Photography : Robert Walsh Editor : Jeffrey ZablotnyAn unexpected coupon changes the daily routine of a retired woman in Florida.
	Whatever That Is Writer/ Director/ Producer : Inga Dievulyte Director of Photography : Jameson Bevington Production Manager : Mahmoud El Safadi Picture Editor : Gerald Patrick Fantone Sound Editor/ Composer : Joey ChristopherA peek at the secrets lurking behind the façade of ordinary life.
	Welcome to Holland Director : Lizz Hodgson Director of Photography : Vu Van (Franco) Nguyen Editor/ Sound Design : Joey Christopher Location Sound : Ariana AndreiThe reality of family, and the uncharted healing power of love.
	Unalaska 13 min. Writer/ Director : Ariana Andrei Editor/ Sound Designer : Mike CannonExplore the metaphysical place where ideas are born while you travel through a mind reincarnated as a building.
	This is Our Land Director : Kirk Holmes Producer : Ian Campbell Directors of Photography : Kirk Holmes, Jeffrey Garriok Picture Editor : Jessica Wu Sound Designer : Danielle HebscherIt’s the only planet we have, and when it comes to uranium there are no second chances.
	The Thirty Thing 15 min. Director : Michael Mazzuca Writers : Michael Mazzuca, Stuart Marks Editor : Mina Sewell Mancuso Director of Photography : Conor Fisher Sound Designer : Pedro PeresAs if turning thirty and still living with your parents isn’t enough!
	Radwan Director/ Writer/ Producer : Mahmoud El Safadi Director of Photography : Catalin Patrichi Editor : Shannon Fewster Sound : Sara Takkedin Composer : Caroline KhaouliRadwan opens a falafel stand in busy downtown Toronto and learns a few lessons about life and immigration.
	Pine Away Director/ Writer/ Producer : Jesse Parnell Director of Photography : Daine Bohner Editor : Dave Schmidt Sound : Joshua LightfootA short excerpt of a teenager’s relationship with his grandfather.
	Our Future is Bright Writer/ Director/ Editor : Rebecca Gruihn Producer : Amy Davis Director of Photography/ Sound Design : Tyson BurgerA young woman struggles with the pressure to reproduce in a post-apocalyptic setting.
	Make Me Legal Director/Editor : Oliver Lomeli Director of Photography : Owen SheppardAn exploration of the relation between illegal labour in Canada and globalization.
	Keep Older Director : Tess Marie Garneau Director of Photograph : Jameson Bevington Editor : Joe Krumins Sound : Tess Marie Garneau & Adam ClarkAdrienne describes living, dying and what it means to grow old.
	Henry Director/Writer/Producer : Howard Shefman Director of Photography : Jameson Bevington Production Manager : Josh Ratcliffe Editor : Brad Tinmouth Sound : Jordan Darville, Mike CannonSome guys have it all: looks, luck and charm. Henry, not so much.
	Ground Floor Director : John Hooper Director of Photography : Sean McGrail Sound : Oliver LomeliThe real origin of Rochdale College in ’68 can be read between the lines of history.
	The Golden Pin 15 min. Director, Editor : Cuong Ngo Writer/ Associate Producer : Matt Guerin Executive Producer : Doug Dales Producer : Igor Szczurko Art Director/ Associate Producer : Tom Yarith Ker Director of Photography : Stu Marks Sound Designers : Arthur Zaragoza, Alex Zaragoza Composer : Mike FreedmanLong, an avid swimmer, finds himself caught between the expectations of his Asian family and the demands of his heart. Is love more powerful than fate?
	Film Concerto in Hanging Major Director/ Writer/ Producer/ Editor : Meelad Moaphi Director of Photography : Andrew Hunter Production Manager : Dylan Hayward Production Design/ Wardrobe : G.P. Fantone Sound Design : Joe KruminsA useful guide into the most effective ways.
	Even Flowers Wake Up In The Morning Filmmaker : Tara KhaliliOnly memories stay.
	The Durian Experience Director/ Writer/ Production Designer : G.P. Fantone Director of Photography : Elisa L. Iannacone Art Director : Kayla Cooper Editors : G.P. Fantone, Vu Van Nguyen, Lizz Hodgson Sound : Joey ChristopherWhen a sudden discovery surfaces, insecurities set in between two boys that test the strength of their friendship.
	Chasing Writer/ Director : Alix Eve Producer : Tess Marie Garneau Director of Photography : Andrew Hunter Editor : Jordan Darville Sound : Shannon Fewster & Josh RatcliffeStep into the world of Emily, a messed-up girl who wanders the highway aimlessly.
	Broken Wood Director/Writer : Vu Van (Franco) Nguyen Producer : Janna Jeffrey Director of Photography : Greg Biskup Editor : Erich L. Chan Production Designer : G.P. Fantone Sound : Joey ChristopherA young boy enters a card game and is forced to grow up.
	Beneath the Cracks Director/ Director of Photography/ Producer/ Editor/ Sound : Danielle Hebscher Producer : Ian CampbellWhy does an individual need to commit a crime in order to gain access to adequate mental health care?
	The Architect Director/ Writer : Joshua Demers Producers : Cameron MacLaren & Joshua Demers Director of Photography : Sarah Blevins Editor : Matthew Shoychet Colourist : Conor Fisher Sound Editor : Jessica WuAn aspiring architect has to convince his wife and employer that he is not blind after suffering a workplace accident.

Jury’s Selections

	Whisperwalk Director : Elli Weisbaum Director of Photography : Robert Walsh Editor : Jeffrey ZablotnyAn unexpected coupon changes the daily routine of a retired woman in Florida.
	Welcome to Holland Director : Lizz Hodgson Director of Photography : Vu Van (Franco) Nguyen Editor/ Sound Design : Joey Christopher Location Sound : Ariana AndreiThe reality of family, and the uncharted healing power of love.
	Radwan Director/ Writer/ Producer : Mahmoud El Safadi Director of Photography : Catalin Patrichi Editor : Shannon Fewster Sound : Sara Takkedin Composer : Caroline KhaouliRadwan opens a falafel stand in busy downtown Toronto and learns a few lessons about life and immigration.
	Film Concerto in Hanging Major Director/ Writer/ Producer/ Editor : Meelad Moaphi Director of Photography : Andrew Hunter Production Manager : Dylan Hayward Production Design/ Wardrobe : G.P. Fantone Sound Design : Joe KruminsA useful guide into the most effective ways.
	Even Flowers Wake Up In The Morning Filmmaker : Tara KhaliliOnly memories stay.
	Broken Wood Director/Writer : Vu Van (Franco) Nguyen Producer : Janna Jeffrey Director of Photography : Greg Biskup Editor : Erich L. Chan Production Designer : G.P. Fantone Sound : Joey ChristopherA young boy enters a card game and is forced to grow up.

Award Winners

Best Alternative Film Awarded To – Meelad Moaphi	Film Concerto in Hanging Major Director/ Writer/ Producer/ Editor : Meelad Moaphi Director of Photography : Andrew Hunter Production Manager : Dylan Hayward Production Design/ Wardrobe : G.P. Fantone Sound Design : Joe Krumins
Best Alternative Film Honourable Mention Awarded To – Tara Khalili	Even Flowers Wake Up In The Morning Filmmaker : Tara Khalili
Best Cinematography Kodak Award for Best Cinematography Awarded To – Tyson Burger	Our Future is Bright Writer/ Director/ Editor : Rebecca Gruihn Producer : Amy Davis Director of Photography/ Sound Design : Tyson Burger
Best Documentary Film Awarded To – Lizz Hodgson	Welcome to Holland Director : Lizz Hodgson Director of Photography : Vu Van (Franco) Nguyen Editor/ Sound Design : Joey Christopher Location Sound : Ariana Andrei
Best Documentary Film Honourable Mention Awarded To – Kirk Holmes	This is Our Land Director : Kirk Holmes Producer : Ian Campbell Directors of Photography : Kirk Holmes, Jeffrey Garriok Picture Editor : Jessica Wu Sound Designer : Danielle Hebscher
Best Editing Awarded To – John Hooper	Ground Floor Director : John Hooper Director of Photography : Sean McGrail Sound : Oliver Lomeli
Best Fiction Film Honourable Mention Awarded To – Elli Wiesbaum	Whisperwalk Director : Elli Weisbaum Director of Photography : Robert Walsh Editor : Jeffrey Zablotny
Best Fiction Film Honourable Mention Awarded To – Mahmoud El Safadi	Radwan Director/ Writer/ Producer : Mahmoud El Safadi Director of Photography : Catalin Patrichi Editor : Shannon Fewster Sound : Sara Takkedin Composer : Caroline Khaouli
Best Fiction Film Awarded To – Vu Van (Franco) Nguyen	Broken Wood Director/Writer : Vu Van (Franco) Nguyen Producer : Janna Jeffrey Director of Photography : Greg Biskup Editor : Erich L. Chan Production Designer : G.P. Fantone Sound : Joey Christopher