Metro Cinema Society: EIFF: Canadian Shorts

EIFF: Canadian Shorts

Canada 2008, 185 min, Dir: Various

Why fight the drive-home rush? Settle in and fill yer boots with Canadian cinema - a smorgasbord of the finest, 100% maple! You'll have the opportunity to participate in a Q&A with visiting filmmakers following their film. Hosts for the evening are Joel Higham and Deanna Kayne from FAVA.

Gilles (Montreal): An elderly woman and her mentally challenged, 40-something son visit their house on the lake. It is time for the mother to convince Gilles that she is no longer able to care for him. Powerful stuff. (13-mins.)

Symmetrical Desires (Montreal): Lyne likes Roch... Roch thinks he could get along with Lyne... if only they knew. (3-mins.)

A Pickle (Toronto): Young Charlie has a talent for playing baseball. He decides to see if he's got the talent for stealing things from people. The pickle he gets into is neither a dill nor a yum yum. (12-mins.)

The 12th Alley (Montreal): She's trying to roll a strike in the 12th alley. But there's no 12th alley. Maybe the best parts of life lie in the gutters? (3-mins.)

Pappy and Speedster (Vancouver): An eccentric grandfather drags his unsuspecting granddaughter in search of satety from the nuclear war he believes has begun. (19-mins.)

Incident At A Truckstop Diner (Vancouver): A father is having a seemingly nice breakfast with his daughter at a truckstop diner. As with all families - dysfunctional or not - bickering soon sets in and the two split up, executing a meticulously unrehearsed plan that you won't see coming. We hope. (8-mins.)

Birthday Girl (Montreal): Lindsay celebrates her 12th birthday by staging, and starring in, her own funeral. What would you say about someone at their funeral - while they're listening from a coffin? (13-mins.)

Donut Quest (Montreal): Two security guards working a film set take a hilarious journey to capture the final donut. Also a superb example of filmmaking styles. (12-mins.)

Basket Casket (Vancouver): A routine fishing trip brings a young man to face his past decisions, and reassesses, as the life of his helpless catch hangs in balance. (5-mins.)

Synthetiseur (Montreal): Have you ever wondered what it would be like to chuck all responsibility for one day, and become a tourist in your own city? Let's go - no packing required. (11-mins.)

The Escape Clause (Kitchener): The story of a dangerously cool-headed magician and his death-defying world record attempt. (18-mins.)

Turbulence (Montreal): A writer, who doesn't write, meets a woman. This unexpected encounter awakens interior ghosts for our non-writer, who questions life - and love. (17-mins.)

The Contest (Toronto): 1975. A new Canadian, Yuko, has difficulty fitting into her new community - until she sees a hockey game. Suddenly, star winger Guy Lafleur becomes her role model! (13-mins.)

Kodiak (Vancouver): A rediscovered love for a childhood pastime heals the pain of youthful heartbreak. Canadian ball hockey at its best! (12-mins.)

Next Floor: Director Denis Villeneuve (Maelstrom) wows audiences yet again by creating an absurd and grotesque universe that sets in motion a mind-blowing sequence of events. Leaves you asking: "How much consumption is enough?" (12-mins.)

Ending the Eternal (Toronto): Samuel Gradius is settling himself down for a quiet night of sleep -- unaware that the icy fingers of death are about to creep into his apartment. Can he survive the night? (13-mins.)