Press Release—LIFT Round-Up 2014 Screens at The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LIFT ROUND-UP 2014 SCREENS AT THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
SUNDAY, JANUARY 11, 2015 AT 6:00PM
Toronto, December 18, 2014—The Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) is pleased to announce the LIFT Round-Up 2014, a screening of films made by LIFT members over the last year. LIFT is a member-driven, charitable organization that provides affordable access to equipment, training and facilities for those who want to make films, out of a passion for, and commitment to the practice of filmmaking. Join LIFT on Sunday, January 11, for a special presentation of recent short films made by LIFT members. LIFT supports a diversity of filmmakers and filmmaking genres and the programme reflects this—from documentary to dramatic narrative to music video and experimental film. The films, made in Super 8mm, 16mm film and/or High-Definition Video, were supported by LIFT in many ways, including our educational programs members grants and our wide-range of equipment and resources.
In addition to our members’ films, LIFT Round-Up 2014 features 2 films made in our five month Filmmentor project. The Filmmentor program was a response by LIFT to the massive gender inequities in the Canadian Film Industry both behind the scene and on the big screen. It was spurred into being by a statistic in the 2012 report, Focus on Women, “of 139 films released in Canada in 2010 / 2011 only 21% were [by female] writers or directors.” Funded with a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, the program enabled eight emerging women filmmakers to participate in three months of workshops designed to develop their technical proficiency and come together to produce two short films as a group. We will premiere those two films: Fowl and Jude and the Jinn.
Program:
The Cupcake, Caro Ibrahim, drama, 4 min.
A woman attempts to choose an important outfit. After selecting something comfortable, she enters her kitchen to find her girlfriend waiting for her. She prepares a birthday cupcake and sings her a delightful version of Happy Birthday
Jude and the Jinn, Principle Collaborators: Thembani Mdluli (director), Hedyeh Bozorgzadeh (producer), Rolla Tahir (writer), Jade Blair (director of photography), drama, 13 min.
Produced through the Filmmentor program
A shisha café owner finds her daily routine shaken by the sudden appearance of an enigmatic, new customer, who confronts her with a new way of seeing. In Arabic with English subtitles.
Black Men Loving, Ella Cooper, documentary, 12 min.
Black Men Loving is a heart-warming film that challenges racial assumptions and stereotypes often associated with Black fathers in the media. Through short intimate profiles with men from Regent Park and across Toronto, the film strives to share a new perspective on Black fathers, as they take on parenthood in full stride. Produced in partnership with the Regent Park Film Festival and the Black Daddies Club.
Forever, Daniel McIntyre, experimental documentary, 9 min.
Part dream, part documentary, Forever weaves history and hedonism to form a world of dandelions, hypnosis, bicycles and memory. Created from experiments replicating the effects of radiation on film, the piece explores the nature of airborne radioactivity and brings us from a woman’s story of adolescence, to a bicycle race, to life in the Soviet Union. A bricolage of pop culture and personal histories, Forever is about looking for dandelions and finding atoms.
His Green Plate, Chris Boni, drama, 7 min.
A group of four sit between two adjacent booths, halved by an elbow- high wall in a diner. One member of the party is missing, his green plate sitting idle, fork a-kilter. Conversation lingers, strolls, and dances between prophetic and ideological subjects.
Subject to Classification, Edward Fawcett Sharpe, experimental, 3.5 min.
Subject to Classification is a short experimental documentary that repurposes liberated film classification stickers and found sound.
Kateri, Daniel Fortin, documentary, 5 min.
A look at the life of the first Aboriginal Saint, Kateri Tegakwitha: Prof. Dr. John Steckley and Jamie Hunter outline the struggles and triumphs of this amazing woman while portions of her life are visually recreated.
Conservatory, Stephen Broomer, experimental, 5 min.
Stamens and pistils are lit in rapid succession behind the dome of the Palm House at Allan Gardens in Toronto. The plants trade colour, making alien scenes in the conservatory. Solid forms, too near to the eye, become muddied and indistinct, in constant passage, but the dome and the grid are fixed.
Amtrak, Sylvain Chaussée, experimental, 8.5 min.
Amtrak is a scrolling study of the American landscape, from the city of Toronto to San Francisco California. Over the course of a four-day journey, a 16mm Bolex camera was used to record glimpses of the changing landscape. Amtrak is a contemplative ballad through America.
Fowl, Principle Collaborators: Laura White (director), Cheyenne Scott (producer), Imogen Grace (writer), Jaene Castrillon (director of photography). drama, 7 min.
Produced through the Filmmentor program
An ordinary autumn jog becomes mysterious for a young woman as night falls around her.
LIFT ROUND-UP 2014
Sunday, January 11, 2015
6:00pm
Bloor Hot Docs Cinema
506 Bloor Street West
Toronto, Ontario M5S 1Y5
Admission: $8.00 for LIFT and Bloor Hot Docs Cinema Members, $10.00 for non-members
About the Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT)
The Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) is Canada’s foremost artist-run production and education organization dedicated to celebrating excellence in the moving image. LIFT exists to provide support and encouragement for independent filmmakers and artists through affordable access to production, post-production and exhibition equipment; professional and creative development; workshops and courses; commissioning and exhibitions; artist-residencies; and a variety of other services. LIFT is supported by its membership, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Ontario Arts Foundation, the Government of Ontario and the Toronto Arts Council.
-30-
Contact:
For additional information please see http://lift.ca or e-mail Executive Director Chris Kennedy at director@lift.on.ca
Preview links and photo stills available upon request