LIFT Round-Up 2018
Katanga by Robert Mentov
The Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT)
is pleased to present ROUND-UP 2018
Toronto, October 15, 2018—The Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) is pleased to announce the LIFT Round-Up 2018, a screening of films made by LIFT members in 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 us on Monday, October 29, 2018 for a special presentation of recent short films made by LIFT members at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema.
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 were made using LIFT’s equipment, ranging from Super 8mm and 16mm to 35mm and High-Definition Video.
This program is in memory of Josephine Massarella, whose film Light Study was featured in our very first Round-Up in January 2014.
Program:
165708, Josephine Massarella, experimental
Shot entirely in 16mm black-and-white film using single-frame photography, 165708 employs in-camera techniques and chemical manipulation of processed film to produce an eidetic study of temporal elasticity. Techniques include flicker, time-lapse, light painting, stop motion, tinting, and toning. Combined with cycles of alternating exposed frames, these methods imbue the work with a rhythmic magnetism, apparent both in the tempo and the aesthetic of the images. Exploring the capacity of the medium to express various notions of time, the film begins with a woman looking out from the shoreline. This acts as a point of departure to disparate yet interconnected sequences which prompt the viewer to engage in a structurally unique mode of inquiry and experience. A dynamic original score by the acclaimed composer Graham Stewart accompanies the film. Award for Best Experimental, Ann Arbor Film Festival, 2018
The Becoming, Kevin Saychareun, drama
In a city with no future, Mac and his girlfriend, Jay are desperate to leave their hometown, but they’re held back by a powerful force beyond their control. This film was created with the support of a production grant from LIFT.
Kaleidoscope, Jaene F. Castrillon, experimental
Kaleidoscope explores depression in an otherwise vibrant life. It is an original film poem edited to 16mm hand-processed black and white film that has been manipulated through tinting, toning and other cameraless techniques to reflect the fluctuations of living with a mood disorder. Footage collected during the Film for Artists and Film Farm residencies in 2016.
Water Under the Bridge, Trevor Blumas with Jessica Karuhanga, dance film
In a voyeuristic manner, various cameras intervene on a solo dancer, Jessica Karuhanga, executing gradual, deliberate and improvisatory movements in response to the physical contours of an abandoned bridge above the Don River. Three cameras, each with their own unique format associated with it, fracture the body thru narrow points-of-view, and later, re-construct the body and performance, in a manner similar to an Exquisite Corpse exercise.
Name Me One Person, Fraser Thomas White, documentary
Name Me One Person is a short, experimental documentary about tattoo artist Ash Timlin’s unique approach to her art form.
No Wires, Brendan Prost, music video
No Wires is a music video to support the release of a single from Toronto-based queer lo-fi musician Jordaan Mason, pulled from their new album Earth to Ursa Major. The eerie, synth-heavy song explores themes of estrangement and disconnect in the advent of digital communication technologies. Using images of bondage, suffocation, and drowning, the video finds Jordaan trying to free themselves from the pernicious wires and cables that have ensnared them. An organic flame seems to destroy their technological shackles, but there may be no escape from the wires that pervade our every interaction.
‘about the equivalent to perpetual motion’, Miles Rufelds, experimental
This video claims to appropriate and respond to “archival” footage from an imaginary 1959 film, submitted to an ill-fated (also imaginary) film festival presented by filmmaker Stan Brakhage and industrial giant DuPont Chemical. While the festival is fictional, DuPont did produce much of the cinematic film stock available in the mid-20th-century, rivaling Kodak’s film sales at its height. By montaging this “archival” film’s hand-painted, 16mm footage alongside digital images of the world’s first nuclear bombs (which DuPont also largely constructed around the same time), this video contemplates the conflicted political, industrial, and military histories embedded within the filmic medium itself.
Running, Courtney Bruneau, music video
From CR Extraordinaire’s debut EP, Double Extraordinaire, comes a heartfelt tribute to Syrian refugees. Running is an emotional rock ballad that tells the story of a refugee fleeing her war-torn country in search of peace. Shot entirely on 16mm colour film, the Running music video features timelapses showing the sun setting on a previous life and rising to a new existence.
Gitpu, Nicholas Kovats, memento mori
Gitpu is Mi’kmaq for eagle. My cousin Lorne’s spiritual connection with nature did not prepare me for his passing.
Silver Light, Brad McDermott, music video
In this music video for Canadian recording artist Frederick’s power ballad Silver Light, a man returns to his hometown for the funeral of his male high school sweetheart, and has to confront the family that didn’t know their secret as well as his own feelings of loss and regret.
In Moment, Samay Arcentales Cajas, drama
Produced through the 2017 LIFT and imagineNATIVE Mentorship program.
As the world suffocates in its own self destruction, the Spirit Callers pray to the Four Directions for help. The struggle of generations past, present, and future are about to come to a close, but are our minds, hearts, and spirits open enough to hear the call?
Passage, Ajla Odobašić, experimental
Produced as part of the The Madvo Collection Commissioning Project
A dead country releases its ghosts in slow motion. Destruction and desire converge, ceremonially, to mock the flowery pillars of earthly love. A soul looks to be released from worldly horrors, but not before restoring her damaged body. Contradiction acts as purifying agent towards her slow release.
Katanga, Robert Mentov, docufiction
In Kampala’s poorest slum, violence runs rampant and assaults are commonplace. Police are too afraid to enter so lawlessness prevails. Once night falls women and children are vulnerable to the evils that lurk around every corner. Katanga is a docufiction that follows a woman’s journey, reflecting on how her experiences as a child have informed her passion for boxing and inspired her to become an unlikely leader in her community.
Unmarked, Ilse Kramer, music video
What you see laid out before you is the maniacal product of a stop-motion brain processing the possibility of the scrabble letter, set to the unbridled bashing of said stop-motion brain’s corporal extension thrashing away on the drums and shouting sweetly with their musical project, Protruders. this rendition of Unmarked is from a live session at CJSW in Calgary, and the video was crafted in Sackville, NB a few months later. If you think you are good at karaoke, try singing along to this speedy little number.
Santa’s Helper, Alex Hatzivassilis, drama
A down on his luck Elf must deliver a lump of coal on Christmas Eve to earn his way back into Santa’s good books, but when an 8-year old girl, who’s definitely on the naughty list, catches him in the act the Elf must find a way to escape by any means necessary.
LIFT ROUND-UP 2018
Monday, October 29, 2018
8:30pm
Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema
506 Bloor Street West
Toronto, Ontario M5S 1Y5
Admission:
$8.00 for LIFT and Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema Members
$10.00 for non-members
CASH ONLY
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.
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Contact:
For additional information please see http://lift.ca or e-mail Executive Director Chris Kennedy at director@lift.on.ca with subject heading: LIFT Round-Up 2018
Preview links and photo stills available upon request.
Round-Up 2018 – Trailer
Monday 29 October 2018 –
Non-members: $10.00 non-members (cash only)
Members: $8.00 for LIFT and Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema Members (cash only)
Location:
Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema
506 Bloor Street West
Toronto ON Canada