JULY 2019
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE
N.O.N. by Zebulon Zang
An episodic narrative following a mostly silent central character as he searches for employment after being cut off from social assistance. Moving through the lives and locations of each job interview, the nameless cast of other characters discuss various anxieties from porn to apocalypse while biding their time, looking towards the end of the work day.
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
THE INSUFFERABLE GROO by Scott Christopherson
After 20 years and 205 films, DIY eccentric oddball filmmaker Stephen Groo tries to make it big as he attempts to get one of his Hollywood fans, Jack Black, to be in his newest elf/human love story film ‘The Unexpected Race.’
BEST NARRATIVE SHORT
THE FIELD by Sandhya Suri
A poor agricultural labourer leads a double life in the village’s last remaining cornfield but the harvest i s approaching…
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
BIRD CITY LIGHTS by Zachary Finkelstein & Kalli Anderson
An estimated one million migratory birds slam into Toronto’s glass buildings every year. Bird City Lights follows a day in the life of a bird rescuer as she scours the sidewalks, nooks and crannies of the financial district for fallen birds in the early hours of the morning. The film offers a rare glimpse into the delicate moments between the injured birds and their devoted caretaker. This visually captivating documentary shows us the city from the perspective of the birds, off the beaten paths of human efficiency and distraction. From this point of view, the city is revealed to be a hostile and disorienting environment, but one that is also full of overlooked wild spaces and quiet hideaways. With a soundtrack of original songs from Whitehorse duo Sauna Music and insightful voiceover based on interviews with Lori Nichols, the bird rescuer, this film gives an intimate account of a large-scale ecological disaster.
BEST ANIMATION
CORKY by Ty Primosch
A corkscrew with a screw loose battles a giant glass bottle to uncork seven magical lightning bugs trapped inside.
BEST EXPERIMENTAL
AFTERWORD by Boris Seewald
Approaching the microphone in a small room, a young woman prepares to make the speech of her life.
Desperate to find her voice in the wake of an ended relationship, she resorts to sharing any piece of advice she can muster.
Her reflection on their differences strikes up an imaginary conversation.
BEST STUDENT FILM
AMAL by Aziz Zoromba
Without her conservative mother’s approval, Amal, a Middle-Eastern Canadian woman, decides to foster a white child. She now has to deal with the judgement of her own mother after the disappearance of an important object.
BEST MICRO FILM
LIMBO by Gokce Erenmemisoglu
Limbo is a short film that is a part of a project by the director. It involves both photography and film. The project tries to make critic of modern humanity and relationships, how senseless we have become by using toy body parts and plastic dolls.
