Tuesday, October 21, 2014 — 7:00 pm
The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema
506 Bloor St. West, Toronto
Admission: Free
Now in its 12th year, CineSiege presents a collection of short films – riveting fiction, cutting-edge alternative works and provocative documentaries – selected by leading lights of the Canadian film and media scene.
Screening one night only, this juried showcase features the best productions of 2013-2014 by talented young undergraduate filmmakers in AMPD’s Department of Cinema and Media Arts.The films selected for screening were chosen from a shortlist of 29 nominees, culled from a total pool of 147 productions.
The jury:
- Phillip Barker, filmmaker, installation artist and designer for film and theatre
- Meaghan Brander, manager of TIFF’s Film Circuit
- visual artist and filmmaker Lynn Fernie, senior Canadian programmer for Hot Docs
- Liam Lacey, film critic for The Globe and Mail
- film director, screenwriter and actor Charles Officer
Jurors will be in attendance at CineSiege to introduce the winning films and explain why they were selected.
CineSiege is made possible through the generous support of
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Phillip Barker is an installation artist, filmmaker and designer for film and theatre. His latest film, Malody, has won numerous international awards including the 2013 Centre Pompidou Award, Most Creative Film at the 42nd Festival Du Nouveau Cinéma in Montreal, and Best Short Film at the 14th International Film Festival Bratislava, Slovakia. It was chosen as one of Canada’s Top Ten films by the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and is currently touring with the Best of Oberhausen International Short Film Festival. Barker’s single channel films and film-based installations have screened widely internationally, winning multiple awards, and were the subject of a retrospective presented by Cinematheque Ontario. As a production designer, Barker’s work has been featured in films by Mira Nair, Neil LaBute, Atom Egoyan and Brian DePalma. |
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Meaghan Brander is the manager of Film Circuit with the Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF’s outreach programming division devoted to promoting Canadian cinema across Canada. In this capacity she has programmed screenings of some of Canada’s best and most popular films at festivals and other venues across the country, as well as international locations as far-reaching as Australia and South America. Since joining TIFF in 2004, Brander has also traveled widely to international festivals to preview films and serve on both feature and short film juries. |
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Lynne Fernie is a visual artist and filmmaker who has worked in Toronto’s cultural communities for 30 years. She wrote and co-directed the award-winning documentaries Forbidden Love: the Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives, Fiction and Other Truths: A film about Jane Rule, and Apples and Oranges. She currently serves as senior Canadian programmer for Hot Docs International Canadian Documentary Festival. She has taught film and video production at York University, OCAD U and University of Toronto’s Hart House. |
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Liam Lacey is one of Canada’s best-known critics. He has covered film and film festivals for The Globe and Mail since the mid-’90s. In addition to his influential and widely-read film reviews, he has written on television, theatre and music. He recently contributed to the books About Directing, a collection of writings about directing in the performing arts, edited by Anna Migliarisi and published in July 2014, and Led Zeppelin on Led Zeppelin: Interviews and Encounters, edited by Hank Bordowitz, slated for release in November 2014. |
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Charles Officer is an award-winning director, writer and actor. In 2009, he was named one of ’10 to Watch” by Playback magazine, Canada’s top industry publication. His works have screened at festivals worldwide, including the Toronto, Berlin and Vancouver International Film Festivals and MOMA in New York City. His debut feature film, Nurse. Fighter. Boy, received 10 Genie nominations and won awards at the Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival and Sarasota International Film Festival. Officer won an Emmy Award in 2012 for his debut feature documentary, Mighty Jerome, an NFB production that also picked up four Leo Awards in 2011. Most recently, Officer received a 2014 Canadian Screen Award for the documentary Stone Thrower: The Chuck Ealey Story and directed the hit TV series Rookie Blue. Upcoming projects include N.I.A., a political documentary set in Cuba, and the crime drama Torchbearer. |
Nominees I – Externally juried 3rd & 4th year productions
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Belly Up! 12:25 min. Director : Maria Todorov-Topouzov Producer : Maria Todorov-Topouzov, Aaron DiMaria, Grahame Hinton-Barber, Kevin Luttman, Abdul Malik and Peter Nielsen Writer : Grahame Hinton-Barber Cinematographer : Aaron DiMaria Editor : Kevin Luttman Sound : Peter NielsenA surreal adventure one night at a self-help tape label. |
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Coming Home 6:55 min. Director/Producer/Writer/Cinematographer : Max Vlassenko Editor : Stephen Raglow-DeFranco Sound : Zach Healey and Kieran SherryDeconstructing the experiences of adapting to a new place and dealing with a different culture from childhood into adulthood. |
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Election Day 11:50 min. Director/Producer/Writer : Ryan Forneri Cinematographer : Alec McKay Editor : Rebecca LaFortune Sound : Location: Kieran Sherry, Post: Kevin ShakAn examination of the causes and consequences of voter apathy in Canada. |
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Elpis 8:36 min. Director : Akreta Saim Producers : Akreta Saim and Lekeeya Kinghorn Writer : Based on Letters by Ruby Cinematographer : Lekeeya Kinghorn Editor : Alec Bell Sound : Ray GuirguessRuby is gone forever. What she has left behind is a ray of hope, her daughter, Elpis. |
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Florence and the Fish 12:38 min. Director / Writer : Kristina Mileska Producer : Kristina Mileska and Andy Kloske Production Manager : Mathew Murray Cinematographer : Andy Kloske Editor : Eui Yong Zong Sound : Rodrigo Michelangeli and Andy KloskeFlorence has an odd way of coping with death. |
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In Passing 4:35 min. Director : Samantha Roddick Cinematographer : Kristina MileskaA film about the fragility of human connections. |
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Inside the Whale 11:35 min. Director/Writer : Mathew Murray Producers : Mathew Murray, Ashlee Mitchell and Dmitry Lopatin Cinematographer : Dmitry Lopatin Editors : Dmitry Lopatin, Kristina Mileska and Mathew Murray Sound : Andy Kloske and Kristina MileskaIn order to grow, Benji must learn to embrace the lonely darkness of the whale, as well as himself. |
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Isabel’s Fever 14:05 min. Director : Guillermo de la Rosa Production Managers : Kevin Luttman and Jonathan Elliott Writer : Guillermo de la Rosa, based on “La Meningitis y su Sombra” by Horacio Quiroga Cinematographer : Alec Bell Editor : Andy Kloske Sound : Location Sound: Peter Nielsen and Post Sound: Kristina MileskaAvilio’s love for Isabel is suddenly corresponded under unusual circumstances. Inspired by Horacio Quiroga’s short story “La Meningitis y su Sombra.” |
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Jungle 5:05 min. Director, Producer, Writer, Editor, Sound : Nathanael Shelton-Richards Cinematographer : Stephen Raglow-DeFrancoA look at class and race shared within space. |
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Leftover 18:40 min. Director/Writer : Eui Yong Zong Producer : Andy Kloske Cinematographer : Rodrigo Michelangeli Editor : Julian Papas Sound : Kevin LuttmanLeftover is a story of a family trying to come to terms with the memory of their past. |
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Mannish 15:07 min. Director/Producer : Gabrielle Bleyendaal Writers : Eric Bleyendaal and Gabrielle Bleyendaal Cinematographer : Jillian Dobson Editor : Ryan Forneri Sound : Kieran SherryMeet Peter, the boy who never grew up. |
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One Shot 7:00 min. Director : Jillian Dobson Producer : Marianne Pavlyak Writer : Sennah Yee Cinematographer : Kirill Melamed Editor : Kieran Sherry Sound : Benjamin SkinnerWhen tensions get high between siblings, Dillon has to take a stand against her brother. It’s all just a game right? |
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Ráfagas de Paz (A Hail of Peace) 5:15 min. Director/Writer/Sound : Rodrigo Michelangeli Producer : Jack Weisman Cinematographer : Rodrigo Michelangeli and Jack Weisman Editor : Jeff HamillThey preach peace but give us bullets. |
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Redemption 21:00 min. Director/Producer/Cinematographer : Kirill Melamed Editor : Kayla Wemp Sound : Benjamin SkinnerA series of vignettes that explore the hardships and hopes of at-risk transitional school students and their teachers at Redemption Reintegration Services of Scarborough, Ontario. |
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Rhonda 15:20 min. Director : Ashlee Mitchell Cinematographer : Kristina Mileska Editors : Samantha Roddick and Ashlee Mitchell Sound : Peter NielsenThrough pictures, film, and stories, a filmmaker puts together a portrait of the mother she never knew. |
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Seeing the Future 14:00 min. Director/Producer/Writer : Adrian Kieda Cinematographer : Nora Marku Editor : Lekeeya Kinghorn Sound : Layan Besame Music : Jake ButineauIn North America, eight out of ten people wear some sort of corrective lenses. That’s insane. |
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Shattered and Sundered 16:52 min. Director/Producer/Writer : Jeff Hamill Cinematographer : Zach Healey Editor : Alec McKay Sound : Kieran SherryTwo Canadian soldiers, fighting in the trenches of France during the First World War, face the consequences of the decisions they must make to survive. |
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Shepherdess 16:45 min. Director/Writer : Jill Lafaive Producers : Jill Lefaive, Victoria Long, Spencer Hahn, Erin Buelow Cinematographer : Victoria Long Editor : Spencer Hahn Sound : Erin BuelowMarie, a young shepherdess runs away from home after accidentally killing her sheepdog, and gets taken in by her gay uncle whose partner is dying. |
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Soft Lording 3:05 min. Director/Producer/Writer/Editor/Sound : Alec Bell Cinematographer : Emily Robertson and Alec BellUnder the sun – but once above all else. |
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Tempo 6:20 min. Director/Producer/Writer/Cinematographer/Editor : Sara A. BrownLayering oil paints with live action footage, Tempo is an experiment within the visual music style, recognizing the musical elements and movement of silent cinema. |
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The Changing Place of Making 16:00 min. Director/Editor : Jack Weisman Producers : Jack Weisman, Rodrigo Michelangeli and Gordie Rogers Cinematographers : Jack Weisman and Rodrigo Michelangeli Sound : Rex King Hon HoCreativity is not a chosen activity. |
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Welcome to Dresden 15:07 min. Director/Producer/Writer : Esery Mondesir Cinematographer : Kirill Melamed and Lekeeya Kinghorn Editor : Dylan Macvicar and Esery Mondesir Sound : Dylan MacvicarWelcome to Dresden highlights the salient moments of a joint campaign by the National Unity Association and the Toronto Joint Labour Committee for Human Rights against racial discrimination in a small town in Ontario. |
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What Do We Do With Angela? 17:13 min. Director/Writer : Stephen Raglow-DeFranco Producer : Spencer Hahn Cinematographer : Max Vlassenko Editor : Erin Buelow Sound : Nathan AllenAlec’s quiet world is sharply interrupted when a surprising guest decides to stay in his apartment for an unspecified amount of time. |
Nominees II – Internally juried 1st & 2nd year productions
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‘Til It Kills You 9:57 min. Director : Maria De Sanctis and Sonetta Duncan Producers : Maria De Sanctis, Sonetta Duncan, Megan Berg and Nathan Street Writer : Devon Bain Cinematographer : Megan Berg Editor : Nathan Street Sound : Nathan Street, Music by Jake ButineauNothing will stop 72-year-old Gertie from swimming – not her doctor, and most certainly not her STD. |
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Cindy 5 min. Director : Ted Sakowsky Producer, Editor, Sound : Ted Sakowsky and Andrew Morel Production Manager : Kirsty Fernandes Writers : Andrew Morel, Freya Fernandes, Ted Sakowsky and Ed Sakowsky Cinematographer : Andrew MorelAn elderly man realizes his sexual fantasy with an enchanting call girl. |
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Exigent 4:08 min. Director / Writer / Cinematographer : Jordan Penny Editor : Nicole Ng Sound : Alanna Smithex·i·gent (ĕk′sə-jənt) 1. urgent; pressing 2. exacting; demanding |
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Genesis 4:46 min. Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Editor, Sound : Aaron FauteuxThe story of the alien that sculpted the Earth and the accident that led to its infestation with humanity. |
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Mum 8:08 min. Director : Marileina Pearson Producer / Writer : n/a Cinematographer : Daria Savic Editors : Marileina Pearson and Daria Savic Sound : Daria SavicA documentary focusing on a family`s very personal confessions and understandings of the mental health of their career-driven mother. |
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No New Messages 6:00 min. Director : Nathan Riddell, Shady Hanna and Conner Emans Writer : Nathan Riddell, Shady Hanna, Conner Emans, Christophe Vaugeois and Oliver Whitfield-Smith Producer / Cinematographer / Editor : Nathan Riddell and Shady Hanna Production Manager : Christophe Vaugeois Sound : (Original Score By) Alex Thomas LaurieNo New Messages follows the rise and fall of the relationship between Hunter and Emma. |
Award Winners
Outstanding First-Year Film![]() |
Cindy 5 min. Director : Ted Sakowsky Producer, Editor, Sound : Ted Sakowsky and Andrew Morel Production Manager : Kirsty Fernandes Writers : Andrew Morel, Freya Fernandes, Ted Sakowsky and Ed Sakowsky Cinematographer : Andrew Morel |
Outstanding Second-Year Film![]() |
Mum 8:08 min. Director : Marileina Pearson Producer / Writer : n/a Cinematographer : Daria Savic Editors : Marileina Pearson and Daria Savic Sound : Daria Savic |
Best Fiction Film Best Sound Best Screenplay ![]() |
Leftover 18:40 min. Director/Writer : Eui Yong Zong Producer : Andy Kloske Cinematographer : Rodrigo Michelangeli Editor : Julian Papas Sound : Kevin Luttman |
Best Alternative Film Best Cinematography – Alternative ![]() |
Coming Home 6:55 min. Director/Producer/Writer/Cinematographer : Max Vlassenko Editor : Stephen Raglow-DeFranco Sound : Zach Healey and Kieran Sherry |
Best Documentary Film Best Editing Best Cinematography – Documentary ![]() |
The Changing Place of Making 16:00 min. Director/Editor : Jack Weisman Producers : Jack Weisman, Rodrigo Michelangeli and Gordie Rogers Cinematographers : Jack Weisman and Rodrigo Michelangeli Sound : Rex King Hon Ho |
Best Cinematography – Fiction Honourable Mention – Best Editing Honourable Mention – Best Fiction Film ![]() |
Shepherdess 16:45 min. Director/Writer : Jill Lafaive Producers : Jill Lefaive, Victoria Long, Spencer Hahn, Erin Buelow Cinematographer : Victoria Long Editor : Spencer Hahn Sound : Erin Buelow |
Honourable Mention – Best Alternative Film![]() |
In Passing 4:35 min. Director : Samantha Roddick Cinematographer : Kristina Mileska |
Honourable Mention – Best Fiction Film![]() |
Shattered and Sundered 16:52 min. Director/Producer/Writer : Jeff Hamill Cinematographer : Zach Healey Editor : Alec McKay Sound : Kieran Sherry |
Honourable Mention – Best Documentary Film![]() |
Welcome to Dresden 15:07 min. Director/Producer/Writer : Esery Mondesir Cinematographer : Kirill Melamed and Lekeeya Kinghorn Editor : Dylan Macvicar and Esery Mondesir Sound : Dylan Macvicar |