Short Films 2019
The night after defecting Cuba, a baseball player and his girlfriend are held up in a Mexican hotel room. The tension rises as the two become claustrophobic in this stressful situation that they are stuck in.
CANADIAN PREMIERE
All These Creatures
Charles Williams | Australia | 13′
The 2018-Palme d’Or winner about an adolescent boy who attempts to untangle his memories of a mysterious infestation, the unravelling of his father, and the little creatures inside us all.
All Inclusive
Corina Schwingruber Ilić | Switzerland | doc | 10′
A workout on the sun deck, a conga line in the dining hall, a photo shoot with the captain, or a beauty contest for all ages: fun around-the-clock is guaranteed on a cruise.
The Amazon
Alexandra Naoum | France | 13′
Elie lost her left breast fighting cancer and decided not to replace it. At a party, an encounter with an ex-lover forces her to confront doubts and insecurities regarding her new femininity.
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Ambi
Marija Apcevska | Macedonia | 18′
Another ordinary night for Deno and Sara, going through their usual routine. Only this time, as tension grows, a decision which may bring their future into question is born.
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Aria
Myrsini Aristidou | Greece | 14′
17-year-old Aria’s father promises to take her on her first driving lesson after work. When he leaves an illegal immigrant in her care and decides to go gambling with his friends instead, Aria decides to go on a joyride.
ONTARIO PREMIERE
August Sun
Franco Volpi | Argentina | UK | 20′
Following his father’s death, Javier heads to Buenos Aries to tend to his mother. As her medical bills pile up and her bipolar disorder worsens, he faces a difficult decision.
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Baghead
Alberto Corredor Marina | UK | 15′
Kevin is haunted by grief and has questions that only the recently deceased can answer. His search takes him to the most unremarkable of locations, a grotty storage room at the back of a rundown pub. However, what he finds there is anything but unremarkable.
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Botanica
Noël Loozen | Netherlands | 13′
A garden-center employee fears his possible infertility and realizes that sometimes you have to swallow your pride to let love overcome.
ONTARIO PREMIERE
Dog in the Woods
Christian Chapman & Paul Jason Hoffman | USA | 5′
A downtrodden house dog chases the psychedelic temptations of the natural world.
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Dear Chickens
Mauro Mueller | USA | 14′
A stubborn old man and a fretful teenaged girl develop an unexpected friendship over their hatred of fake cheerfulness, chemotherapy, and bad hospital food.
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Delay
Ali Asgari | Iran | 15′
A father and his two small children are stranded at an airport. When his daughter vanishes with the stranger whom he entrusts to watch her, the father must confront the horrifying consequences of his decisions.
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Equally Red and Blue
Georgiana Moldoveanu | Romania | 21′
On the day of her one-year anniversary with Stefan, Ana offers him an unexpected present – to be surrogate mother for the baby Stefan can’t have with his wife.
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Fake News
Dimitris Katsimiris | Greece | 15′
A popular Youtuber and her partner get their hands on an anonymously submitted video which shows the disturbing rape of a white woman by two masked men.
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
The Good Death
Tori Larsen | Canada | 15′
Mary welcomes her baby brother Chuck back to their family home on Staten Island, but at this point in their lives, these squabbling siblings have nothing in common except their last name.
CANADIAN PREMIERE
A Handful of Dust
Grayson Whitehurst | USA | 18′
When Dr. Neal Goodman sets out to fulfill a mother’s request to euthanize her “terminally-ill” daughter, he discovers that his procedure is the crux of an elaborate cult ritual that tests his ethics like never before.
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Human Sun
Carl Bird McLaughlin | USA | 12′
The sun, it is our star, and it is always burning. Imagine yourself as that ball of fire. Emitting light not just for yourself, but for all to feel.
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Inanimate
Lucia Bulgheroni | UK | 8′
Katrin has a normal life, a normal job, a normal boyfriend and a normal apartment in a normal city. Or at least that’s what she thinks until everything starts falling apart – literally!
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Jitters
Otoja Abit | USA | 12′
Minutes before his nuptials, a neurotic young man locks himself in the back room of a church with his best man. Recalling the women of his past, he questions his decision.
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
Maelstrøm
Carlos Gómez-Trigo | Spain | 3′
Karl spins the spoon from his coffee. Something spins even faster inside Tony’s head.
Mascarpone
Jonas Riemer | Germany | 14′
Francis, the dreamy film projectionist, accidentally crashes into the limousine of gangster boss Mascarpone. Suddenly he finds himself in a mobster film.
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Nightshade/Nachtschade
Shady El-Hamus | the Netherlands | 14′
Tarik helps his father Elias to transport illegal immigrants into the Netherlands. When an accident occurs, Tarik gains the acknowledgment from his father he has yearned for, but at a high price – the loss of his own innocence.
ONTARIO PREMIERE
Nikki Marianne
Guillaume Caramelle | France | 15′
Peter, an ordinary boy, is in love with Nikki, a girl as beautiful as inaccessible. At a celebration between high school students, he sees her getting along with a 30-year-old man.
TORONTO PREMIERE
On My Own/Mogu Sam
Nikola Polic | Serbia | 17′
Marko is living a lie. He has convinced his boss, his friends, casual strangers, and his mother that things in his life are going well. Marko must finally confront the truth that he has tried to bury for so long.
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Palookaville
Pim Algoed, Sem Bucman | Belgium | 17′
Palookaville is a black comedy about a fortysomething man who compensates his social isolation with hard work. When he sees his professional life slipping through his fingers he decides to fight back.
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Piggy/Cerdita
Carlota Pereda | Spain | 14′
Three girls ruthlessly tease an overweight teen named Sara whom they nickname ‘Cerdita’ (Piggy). They steal her clothes and belongings, leaving her to walk home in just her bikini. However, as events unfold, it is Sara who will have the last laugh.
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Ready
Melissa Farman | USA | 12′
A reclusive mother and her young son celebrate the end of their relationship before she releases him into the world.
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Red Dress. No Straps
Maryam Mohajer | UK | 8′
1985. Tehran. Iran-Iraq war. Marmar is waiting for granny to make her a dress exactly the same as the glamorous American Popstar; Bright red. No straps.
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Rembrandt’s Etching
Thomas Grascoeur | France | 2′
After losing his eyesight, a collector decides to give his daughter visiting the family home his most precious possession.
The Replacement
Sean Miller | USA | 16′
Election night, 2036: As clones roam among us, a disgruntled janitor must confront reality when one of his clones is elected President of the United States.
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Reverie
Julian Wilkins | Canada | 9′
An old van in the middle of nowhere. One final ritual. Perception, and reality.
WORLD PREMIERE
Re: Possessed Homes
Matt Landry | Canada | 15′
Shirley Parker is a go-getter real estate agent and a keen opportunist. With two children to feed, she uncovers a unique and untapped market; haunted houses. No one said this was a sustainable long-term solution.
WORLD PREMIERE
Rubber Dolphin
Ori Aharon | Israel | 28′
A gay love story set in a one bedroom apartment in Tel Aviv. They meet, they have sex, they fall in love. Will it last until the morning comes?
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Run in Circles
Marion Reymond |Switzerland | 4′
“Where is she? There must be a woman like me? That would love me and that I would love? I do want some love too. I want to love and feel loved.”
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Sac De Merde
Greg Chwerchak | USA | 13′
Based on a true story, “Sac de Merde” tells the tale of Mazel Mankewicz, an unlucky-in-love yet irrationally optimistic New Yorker who thinks her luck has changed when she spends the night with the man of her dreams. As it turns out, he might just be full of shit. Literally.
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Samuel David
Nenad Cicin-Sain | France | USA | 13′
Samuel David returns from a four-year tour in Iraq after his base is attacked. As he struggles to piece his life together, he finds the life he left behind is no longer one that he belongs to.
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Schoolyard Blues
Maria Eriksson-Hecht | Sweden | 16′
It’s John’s first day at school. Unexpectedly his eleven-year-old big brother Mika shows up to follow him to assembly. But Mika has plans other than just taking John to school.
Space Girls
Carys Watford | UK | 10′
During a sleepover, four space-obsessed 9-year-old girls embark on a secret mission in their cardboard rocket.
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Vacuum Packed
Elena Fiorenzani | Italy | 18′
Eleonora cheated on her husband with a younger man. Her therapist, meanwhile, has announced that, after ten years, Eleonora is ready to go on with her life, therapy-free. Eleonora is in shock.
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Where Flowers Bloom
Cam Be | US | 23′
Cam Be’s documentary presented by RocNation and Tidel explores the rise to climax, and the struggles of rapper Rapsody. It explores the process of her album Laila’s Wisdom, and is an inspirational tale about the value of sticking to your dreams, and pushing through.
CANADIAN PREMIERE
The Woodkin
Mateusz Motyka | Poland | 23′
After ten years of absence, Krzysiek takes his son for a hunting trip where he does everything to win the boy back. While two men are getting closer some lines get crossed. The Woodkin wakes up.