GFF 2022 Short Films (Online)

Venue: Online
Tickets: $12/PWYC

*Online only festival passes NOT valid for in-person screenings.*

1. Bill Reid Remembers

Despite spending his early life away from his nation’s culture, renowned Haida artist Bill Reid always kept Haida Gwaii close to his heart. Alanis Obomsawin offers a beautiful tribute to her friend’s remarkable life and rich legacy.

Directed by Alanis Obomsawin ⋅ CANADA ⋅ 24 min

2. The Sunny Side

Alfred Engerer, a Toronto native and legendary glass- blower, lives a slow, nostalgia-filled life. After having his studio demolished for yet another condo, this experimental glass artist reminisces about his past and the future of his art. 

Directed by Samuel Kilpatrick ⋅ GUELPH ⋅ 12 min

3. Violet Gave Willingly

Immersed in the colourful world of textile artist Deborah Dumka, we are offered a poetic study of the nature of memory and how it can both harm and protect. This story reveals the continuum of gender-based discrimination, sexism, and violence through an intimate conversation between mother and daughter. 

Directed by Claire Sanford ⋅ CANADA ⋅ 23 min

4. Out There

Maryam Tsegaye, a young woman from Fort McMurray, Alberta, enters a global competition for highschool students meant to inspire creative communication in science, and unexpectedly wins. 

Directed by Sebastian Hill-Esbrand ⋅ CANADA ⋅ 13 min

5. Vibrations – Inner Music

Kassandra Wedel, dancer, actress and artist, roams the city picking up inspiration from her surroundings to compose her own music and dance, challenging perceptions and understandings of sound and music. Her advantage? Her deafness.

Directed by Cadenza Zhao ⋅ GERMANY/ AFGHANISTAN ⋅ 16 min

6. I'm Not Afraid!
***Canadian Premiere***

During a game of hide and seek Vanja leaves the bright living room and enters a dimly lit courtyard, which has far too many dark corners, weird shadows and strange noises. How to overcome this fear?!

Directed by Marita Mayer ⋅ NORWAY ⋅ 7 min

7. Maq and the Spirit of the Woods

When an elder in the Mi'kmaq community offers Maq a small piece of pipestone, he carves a little person out of it. Proud of his work, the boy wants to impress his grandfather and journeys through the woods to find him. 

Directed by Phyllis Grant ⋅ CANADA ⋅ 8 min

8. Jaime Lo, Small and Shy

Jaime Lo's father is sent to Hong Kong for a year-long work assignment. As a shy Chinese-Canadian girl, Jaime Lo must use her creativity to cope with his absence.

Directed by Lillian Chan ⋅ CANADA ⋅ 7 min

9. A Rad Dad's Ode to Skateboarding

In Matt Soltys’ 25th year of skateboarding, he set out to make a fun, thoughtful video that celebrates one rad dad’s love for skateboarding amid the myriad responsibilities of life. 

Directed by Matt Soltys ⋅ CANADA ⋅ 9 min

10. ABCs of Anxiety
***World Premiere***

The ‘ABCs of Anxiety’ is a 3-minute animated video that features the incredible artwork of Sean Sinclair-Day, a Toronto-based illustrator and writer, and offers 26 reasons [A-Z] why the last two years have been so hard on all of us.

Directed by Brian G. Smith⋅ CANADA ⋅ 3 min

11. Pappy's Garden

A personal tribute to the filmmaker's grandfather, a first generation immigrant to Canada from Jamaica in the 1950s.

Directed by Mikaela Roberts ⋅ CANADA ⋅ 9 min