Hunted Dreams
Yannay Matrasso & Daniella Meroz
1:32 | 2016
Set to one of Winnipeg producer Venetian Snares’ most atmospheric tunes, Hunted Dreams pushes its dancers beyond physical limits with a visceral blend of choreography and pixilation to match the elastic intensity of the song.
Swatted
Ismaël Joffroy Chandoutis
21:21 | 2018
Experimental documentary filmmaking, depicting one of the internet’s most malicious pranks through a mix of interviews, actual footage, and dreamlike wireframe interludes.
Also a Monday Short.
There Were Four of Us
Cassie Shao
6:47 | 2019
Shao’s graduation film from USC School of Cinematic Arts is intensely colourful despite its somewhat somber subject matter. Inspired by a dream, the film is a sensation to be experienced, not a puzzle to be solved.
Bonus: Directors Notes offers some insight into Shao’s process
The New Exhibition
Jonathan Djob Nkondo
2:47 | 2021
No one plays with perspective quite like Nkondo. His latest short is the third of his “exhibitions,” and like the others, is determined to break through the boundaries of frames and cuts to establish its own animated language.
Also a Monday Short.
And Then the Bear
Agnès Patron
13:52 | 2019
Steeped in darkness literally and metaphorically, Patron’s film pulls from primal instincts to create something disturbing and beautiful. The climax, with its frenzied dance and unnerving violence, is one of the year’s most striking animated moments.
Onions
Anna Scott
4:30 | 2020
Pitched somewhere between a nature documentary and a children’s fable, Scott’s CalArts student film is a sweet and melancholy story, full of imaginative creatures and quietly magical moments.
The Big Boy
Lee Kyutae
5:55 | 2012
Another selection whose storybook-style illustrations belies a more complex mood, The Big Boy follows a sweet, simple giant whose relationship to a small village is thrown off by a moment of clumsiness.
Morning
Vojtěch Domlátil
3:33 | 2019
Part of our Transcendental Animation package at GIRAF16, Domláil’s Morning is a moment of stillness and reflection, an opportunity to slow down and watch the world breathe.
The Lost Sound
Steffie Yee
1:53 | 2018
A mixed-media animation that includes a rare example of strata-cut animation (where images are revealed by slicing through layers of plasticine), Yee’s film uses a poem by Hiromi Itō to explore the preciousness of language and the consequences of cultural loss.
Kapaemahu
Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson
8:30 | 2020
Shortlisted for the 2021 Academy Awards, with animation by Feral’s Daniel Sousa, Kapaemahu shares a recently uncovered story from Polynesian history, and in the process tries to understand the power of storytelling and representation.
Also a Monday Short.
Light Conductor – Triggering the Radio Storms
James Paterson
11:12 | 2021
Montreal’s Constellation Records has been releasing a steady stream of long-form music and experimental videos in their Corona Borealis series. It’s an opportunity to cultivate patience and attention with the help of some of Canada’s most thought-provoking artists.