(Picture of Alison Duke’s Promise Me Short.)
Written By Marina Hanna | October 13, 2020
A city can only be as compelling as the stories it has to tell. Even civilizations that have long diminished still live on in our collective conscience by way of lore and legends. In a way, it is the storytellers that feed and nurture the conscience of our city.
There is a kind of exhilaration to discovering a great storyteller. Or, more specifically, in my case, getting to view films or series that almost no one has watched before. As a programmer at the Reelworld Film Festival, I watch hundreds of films a year searching for the stories that elicit a reaction and work their way into my own mind.
But, there is more to Reelworld than that. For the last twenty years, the Reelworld mission has been resolute in showcasing racialized filmmakers in the hopes that their voice will be contributing in an impactful way to the collective conscience, not just of our city but the entire nation.
The founder of the Reelworld Festival, Tonya Williams, describes it like this: “Talent is like an ocean; it is everywhere but no one can see it unless there is a space to show it. Our programmers have done an outstanding job seeking out new and exciting Canadian talent from the Black, Indigenous, People of Colour that most Canadians have never heard of. But they will. A film festival is a starting place for the journey of success that many of these filmmakers are embarking on.”
This year the Reelworld Film Festival is streaming online Oct. 14–19 and is featuring a 100 per cent Canadian lineup. Out of the hundreds of projects, I and my fellow programmers (Aisha Evelyna, Reza Sameni, Suri Parmar and Ella Cooper) viewed, we chose 36 projects—features, docs, and web series by 38 Black, Indigenous, Asian, South Asian, Middle Eastern and Latinx Canadians to present to you.
These are the latest short films by Toronto-based filmmakers who are just breaking out onto the scene, with a couple of exceptions, namely Richard B. Pierre and Alison Duke, who have been making films in Toronto for some time. The others may only have one or two credits on their IMDB page, but remember their names and more importantly watch their films. As my fellow programmer Sameni puts it, “in an industry where most prefer to take a path that has already been experienced, these promising filmmakers are courageous enough to shape their own way of storytelling.”
“Next Stop” (Comedy, series)
From the enterprising minds of Jabbari Weekes, Tichaona Tapambwa, and Phil Witmer comes a web series chronicling the lives of Black Torontonians as they struggle to stay afloat in a rapidly changing city, one TTC stop at a time.
“déraciné” (Drama, 11 min)
Told in Arabic and English, director Rolla Tahir tells the story of a young woman whose day-to-day life is disrupted by her father’s impending deportation. Programmer Aisha Evelyna, a filmmaker and actor herself, points out that déraciné “highlights how resilience is at the heart of the immigrant experience.”
“The Sky is Blue, Kalthoum” (Drama, 16 min)
Darani Urgessa is a recent film school graduate with one other credit under her belt. In this short film, a young woman, Kaltoum, after being painfully humiliated by school mates, must find a way to push past it. Urgessa so precisely captures the conflict between the life lessons we learn from our family versus that which we pick up from our peers in this coming-of-age story.
“An Object of Merit” (Documentary, 24 min)
Following the artist and potter Minjae Lee, this thoughtful and beautifully shot documentary is about finding purpose in one’s art. Making her documentary debut, filmmaker, Amanda Ann-Min Wong, seeks to discover through Lee, what it means for art to serve a function.
“An Uninvited Guest” (Horror-Thriller, 4 min)
For such a short film, with no dialogue, director Richard B. Pierre has a lot to say. We watch along, through the eyes of a Black man—the only guest at the dinner table who is perturbed by a violent act he sees in real time outside the dining room window. Programmer Aisha Evelyna says “Pierre captures the precariousness and horror of being Black under white hegemony—this is the most astute commentary on policing that I have seen.”
“Promise Me” (Drama, 25 min)
Inspired by true events, “Promise Me” portrays the unrelenting bond between a mother and her daughter. When Charlie’s mother’s health takes a turn for the worse, and she begins to skip school to look after her, life as they know it becomes untenable. Alison Duke tells a story of how the system can forsake those who are most vulnerable in our community.
“Cranberry Flirt” (Comedy, 5 min)
Marianna Phung is no stranger to comedy. She stars in and directs “Cranberry Flirt,” a Toronto rom-com about a well-intentioned meddling mother who is trying to do the best for her daughter—making sure she will not end up alone, of course. A very relatable tale that finds its funny moments in the gaping generational gap.
“The Onyx Butterfly” (Documentary, 6 min)
In her documentary, directorial debut, recent film studies grad Yasmin Evering-Kerr profiles a young Black man—and ballet dancer—struggling to redefine masculinity in a space that is often perceived as being white and female.
“D.N.A.” (Drama, 17 min)
An enigmatic psychiatrist is leading a retreat in cottage country. When one participant begins to question his authenticity, the self-proclaimed visionary begins to unravel. Writer-director Alpha Nicky contemplates a wellness industry that profits from personal pain and trauma.
“Turkish Mesir Macunu” (Comedy, 16 min)
Director Sibel Guvenc tells a love story of a couple on the night of their wedding—though unfortunately, they are not in love with each other. In Turkish, with subtitles, this comedy of errors is a commentary on the perils of keeping up with appearance for the sake of tradition.
“To Kill A Secret” (Drama, 17 min)
Four friends face the most difficult decision of their lives one fateful night when a bachelor party goes wildly off track. Director Jevon Boreland skilfully turns up the tension, when it matters most, resulting in a thought-provoking character study that leaves audiences wondering what they would do if confronted with a deadly secret.
Finally, one surprising submission needs to be mentioned for being oh-so au courant— “A Love Letter to Theresa Tam.” This musical ode, directed by Maninder Chana is part love song and part public service anthem from the two-man troop, “The Ventilators.”
For $25 you can watch all these Toronto films, plus the rest of the lineup made up of features, shorts, docs, and series from across the country. I’ll close with the words of Reelworld programmer Ella Cooper: “It’s so important for us to support and watch the works of B.I.P.O.C. filmmakers because it is the audience who essentially decide if our works thrive.”