Experimental
The 21st Chromosome
How do you tell the story of someone who's in your family but doesn't have a voice to say whether or not they want that story told? This loving and wistful portrait of a sibling creatively addresses entrenched societal prejudices against people with differences.
Absence
Absence describes the human journey of loss as one of the natural cycles of the earth. Patterns of colour, motion and rhythm evoke the experience musically, allowing the viewer space for their own interpretation of this experimental film.
Al Neil: A Portrait
Film artist David Rimmer pays tribute to Al Neil, an institution in West Coast art mythology in this portrait of the musician, poet and sculptor.
Along the Road to Altamira
"The lateral movement of the title, Along the Road to Altamira, signals that we are about to embark on a journey through Spain. Our final destination is Altamira, where the first forms of representation by Paleolithic humans still remain...Rimmer's consummate talents make this film a unique cinematic experience."
- Maria Insell
apart
Filmmaker Richard Martin creates an atmospheric meditation in apart. He marries fluid visuals and views of the world through tracks of raindrops on glass with a powerful yet subtle sound design to created a cinematic poem on rain.
As Seen on TV
Much of the imagery seen on TV is first captured on film; here the filmmaker has reversed the process.
Atmosphere
In Atmosphere the camera pans back and forth over a body of water at a varying tempo and most people assume that a camera operator is in charge. The final image of the film carries a great deal of significance. It opens up a gap between the film's appearance and its reality; what it appears to be - what it imitates - is not an object or scene from everyday life, but a film.
BACKBONE: Vancouver Experimental Cinema 1967-1981
Celebrating artistic innovation in Vancouver from 1967 to 1981, this documentary follows a period when Canada was an international hub for experimental film. Vancouver artists, on Canada's west coast, had a particularly dynamic scene that inspired an enduring body of work that resonates today.
Between You and Me (Tangled Garden, Act III, Scene I)
Between You and Me (Tangled Garden, Act III, Scene I) looks at the internalization of homophobia and fatalism present in mainstream representations of the AIDS pandemic, as it reflects on the conflict between grief and desire in a gay man's psyche.
Blue Movie
"Clouds & waves passing over & under hypnotic reductions of elements washing yr eyeballs the rainbow edges are all in yr mind recommended for seeing."
- Sigmund Freud
Brain Clever
China is the largest manufacturer in the world, and English translations of Chinese instructions often say more about the culture than they do about the product. Filmmaker Lulu Keating brings the "Hand-Pressing Flashlight" instructions to life, creating a land of extremes.
Bricolage
Using found footage of the Queen, an old radio, a scene from a fifties movie, and phrases that are repeated, echoed, and transformed electronically, Rimmer presents another in his series of meditations on the nature of the cinematic images.
Call It A Day
Voice over spoken work and a simple piano score combine to create a contemplative essay on everyday existence.
Canadian Pacific I
Designed as a companion piece to Canadian Pacific II, this film was shot near the artist's studio, from a window two storeys below on the second floor of a next-door building, between December, 1974, and February, 1975. It can be projected alone or in double-screen format with Canadian Pacific II.
Canadian Pacific II
Designed as a companion piece to Canadian Pacific I, this film was shot near the artist's studio, from a window two storeys higher on the fourth floor of a next-door building, between December, 1974, and February, 1975. It can be projected alone or in double-screen format with Canadian Pacific I.
Cest Moi
Set in modern-day Montréal, C'est Moi explores the collision of the past as it meets the present. Performance by Montréal native Jenny Brizard evokes the return of a ghostly figure, Marie-Josèph Angélique, a runaway slave in 18th century New France (Québec). She was accused of setting a fire in Vieux Montréal and subsequently tortured and hanged. As it prepared to celebrate its 375th anniversary, the City of Montréal removed a plaque that stated a declaration against racial discrimination, thus posing the question, "How much of our past is erased in the restoration of history?"
Chanterelle Rain
Chanterelle Rain is an evocative, animated love song to the summer rains that give us the treasured culinary gift of chanterelle mushrooms.
Cityaniscape
This black and white artistic travelogue pokes and probes the city of Calgary through the eyes of four very different cinematographers.
Codes of Conduct
Codes of Conduct playfully upends the moral order by which man has historically seen fit to measure so-called correct behaviour. By ironically re-positioning the rules, filmmaker David Rimmer uncovers their arbitrariness.
Dan
Digitally hand-drawn animation in TV Paint portrays the journey of Dan, from his existence as an egg with plans to hatch into a beautiful rooster like all the other eggs only to find out that he was never born to be a rooster.
The Dance
"With an irresistible humour, Rimmer speculates in The Dance on the nature of the film loop. We see a 1920s couple whirling around a dance floor ata dizzying pace ... Even after the technical building block of the film is evident, the vertiginous effect remains ... Uncanny in its ability to evoke acomplexity of responses from a simplicity of means."
- Art and Cinema #2
Dawson Town Melted Down
"1,300 people, 2,000 dogs. Why did you move to Dawson City, Yukon?" Legendary local filmmaker Lulu Keating tries to answer that question in this playful (and hand-processed) romp through her new hometown.
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