Shorts Program: Nuanced Connections

Dec 8 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm
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Location: Ada Slaight Hall, Daniels Spectrum | 585 Dundas St. E., Toronto, ON

The relationships we form can be comforting, complicated and, at times, painful. This collection of shorts showcases the intricacies of our connections with loved ones through pivotal moments of self discovery, to the fleeting moments that make up our lived experiences. How do these relationships stand the test of time and how do they inform who we are as individuals?

Nanitic

Year: 2022
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada
Language: Vietnamese/English
Length: 14 min

9 year-old Trang starts to shift out of oblivion as her aunt Ut tends to Grandma, who lies in her deathbed in the living room. How can a single body occupy so much space? What will happen when Grandma is gone?

Directed by

Carol Nguyen

Carol Nguyen is a Vietnamese Canadian filmmaker based in Montreal. Her last film “No Crying at the Dinner Table” premiered at the TIFF 2019 and received the Jury Prize for Short Documentary at SXSW. Today, Carol is working towards her first documentary feature as well as an animated short.

The Syed Family Xmas Eve Game Night

Year: 2021
Genre: Comedy
Country: USA
Language: English
Length: 11 min

All cards are on the table when a queer Pakistani Muslim woman brings her Puerto Rican partner home for the first time on the family’s annual game night.

Directed by

Fawzia Mirza

Fawzia Mirza is a queer, South Asian Muslim writer/director and a White House Champion of Change in Asian American Art & Storytelling. She co-wrote/produced/starred in SIGNATURE MOVE, wrote on CBS series THE RED LINE, and wrote/the CBC produced short, NOOR & LAYLA.

Perfect Restaurant

Year: 2021
Genre: Animation/Family Drama
Country: Canada
Language: Cantonese
Length: 4 min

A family tries to get through their dinner at a restaurant as a fly wreaks havoc upon their meal.

Directed by

Aiken Chau

Aiken Chau is a Chinese-Canadian artist and animator who enjoys storytelling and creating characters. A graduate from the Sheridan College animation program (2021), he experiments with animation of all mediums. He has collaborated on a number of short films, music videos and zines in his local art community and his work has been showcased in film festivals including TIFF Next Wave and OIAF.

N’xaxaitkw

Year: 2021
Genre: Fantasy/Drama
Country: Canada
Language: English
Length: 16 min

After moving to a new town, a teenager must navigate peer pressure when her next-door neighbour convinces her to explore a nearby island in search of a legendary lake monster. However, she quickly learns that her new friends might be harbouring some secrets and ulterior motives of their own.

Directed by

Asia Youngman

Asia Youngman is an award-winning director and screenwriter based in Vancouver. Named as one of Playback’s “10 to Watch”, she is an alumna of various programs and accelerators such as TIFF Filmmaker Lab. Asia wrote and directed the short documentary THIS INK RUNS DEEP (2019) which premiered at TIFF.

Cupids

Year: 2021
Genre: Comedy
Country: USA
Language: English
Length: 9 min

In this playful comedy, three kids worry that their beloved school bus driver will be lonely this summer without them. They set out to find her a partner and imagine the perfect matches.

Directed by

Zoey Martinson

Zoey Martinson is an award-winning writer and director in film and off-Broadway theater. Her film, The Fisherman, is currently streaming on HBO Max and she directed the TV movie Uthandiwe Uyatshata II for DSTV South Africa. She is a writer for season two of Betty on HBO Max.

Ahu’s Journal

Year: 2021
Genre: Drama, Experimental
Country: Canada
Language: English, Farsi
Length: 7 min

Eager for an escape from family, Safiya moves into the sublet room of an acquaintance, Ahu. Her new place is peaceful, but she soon comes across something that takes her on a reflective journey: Ahu’s journal.

Directed by

Weeda Azim

Weeda Azim is an Afghan Canadian writer and filmmaker based in Toronto. Her ultimate goal is to embrace chaos and failure in her work, to create in order to understand herself, and to meet like-minded individuals along the way.

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Thank you to our Co-presenters and Community Partners!

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