A series of dancefilms produced by Moving Pictures Festival of Dance on Film & Video A series of dancefilms produced by Moving Pictures Festival of Dance on Film & Video
"Aerobia!" explores the absurd phenomenon of wanting to obtain physical and psychological perfection by emulating and parodying the notion of obtaining excellence through mass consumption. With a confluence of music, dance, choreography, and graphic elements, this short film satirises a cultural desire through the late-night infomercial aesthetic.
Along the Indian seacoast, men break down ships by hand. A tribute to the dying ships and the men who risk life and limb to scratch out a meager living.
A fantastical fictional examination of how the imaingation is colonized - how alien archtypes, media, and forms can pervade a culture and overwhelm it.
11 year-old Aaron plays a game of Hide and Seek in which his friend Tony is never found. The mystery of their relationship can only be revealed, it turns out, through hypnosis.
A transformational dance film that tells the story of a young woman who becomes possessed by spirits and, through this experience, finds her history, her 'self', and her power.
This epic tale, with a nod to poet Dylan Thomas' oft-cited line "Rage, rage against the dying of the light," celebrates death and renewal through the experiences of two heroes: an octopus and a man in a boat.
Buck floats away from his couch potato life and rubs shoulders with mindless Martians, upsets their civilization and becomes the big bang himself shedding light on all existence.
A young coiffeuse with big hair and an attitude to match thinks she is much better than the bargain-basement salon where she works. But when an old man comes in for a Christmas haircut, her grumpy spirit is tested.
A young man in a church pew observes the strange actions of a particularly pious individual doing his devotions. Adapted from the short story by Frank Kafka.
Ed fell in love for the first time as a nine-year-old; it didn't work out so well. Now he's in his thirties, and not much has changed. But then he meets his childhood love for a second time... Featuring Fabrizio Filippo, of Queer As Folk fame.
Set in a dystopic, near future, David and the Conglomerate is an ironic, absurd, and paranoid twist on the David and Goliath myth. This time it's Man vs. Pop Machine.
A duet between music and food: violinist Yi-Ja Susanne Hou plays "Obsession" from Eugene Ysaye's Violin Sonata #2 while chef Joseph Montinaro prepares a dessert inspired by the music.
Jeremy needs to leave his conservative Manitoba town in order to fully live his sexuality in the city, so he marries a rich man who wants a Canadian passport.
In a strange 1940's world, two men illegally record a jazz concert, leading to a double-cross and murder. Featuring Canada's finest jazz musicians, including David Braid and Juno winners, Mike Murley and Steve Wallace.
Lily Frost, as a nocturnal half-bird, half-woman, dances through a magical forest at night. As the sun begins to rise, we watch her nestle back into her white, feathered nest and return to dreamland.
What do Frida Kahlo and a "chilanga" living in Vancouver have in common? Nothing really, except that both were born in Mexico City. But for Honoria Delgado, Frida Kahlo represents everything that keeps her from finding happiness.
Ten-year-old Ben thinks he has only a few hours to live. This film is a snapshot of what happens when an ordinary boy is thrown into an extraordinary circumstance.
A highly choreographed cinematic piece that raises questions about the way we celebrate the effects of appliances, computers, and the Internet on our bodies.
A comedy about a group of aspiring pilots who go through training drills communicating primarily through body language, incomprehensible sounds and military songs.
Created for The National Ballet of Canada, James Kudelka's The Four Seasons is an abstract ballet exploring the journey of life. Winter is rich with emotional conflict and connection.
The Heart follows a woman through phases of her life and explores the chambers of her heart. Commissioned by Becel to promote the The Heart and Stroke Foundation's The Heart Truth Campaign in association with CTV and Bravo!FACT.
A series of candid and often hilarious comments by men - exposing the male psyche - wrapped up in an old-school jazz number, made famous by singer Peggy Lee but sung here by Carol Welsman.
WINNER of 2009 Daytime Emmy Award! In May 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fan invited himself into John Lennon's hotel room and convinced him to do an interview.
Henry Moore's “Two Large Forms” is an integral part of the downtown Toronto community in which it stands. Lives, relationships, and the perception of the sculpture may change, but the sculpture itself remains the same.
In a waiting room limbo between Life and Death a composer and musicians create music that translates into surreal images. Featuring The Art of Time Ensemble, an ever-evolving chamber music series integrating performers from dance, theatre, film, literary, circus and non-classical worlds into creations with classical musicians.
Pairing the gestures of contemporary and interpretive dance to this ecstatically high-energy pop song, this film depicts a scientific experiment in hypnotism and human behaviour gone awry.
A woman adrift at sea washes up on a distant shore of a very unusual and seemingly deserted place. Drawn to the powerful beam of a lighthouse on the horizon, she begins to realise that she is not alone, and is soon surrounded by a group of strange creatures that only come out at night...
A tribute to the movement and talent of figure skater Petra Burka, this short uses 1960s footage and original music inspired by the performance to create a moving design, etched on ice.
Life can change in an instant. A car accident on a desolate stretch of highway sets off a power struggle - every word spoken loaded with subtext and the potential to do serious damage.
Leo's a lonely loveless soul. And there's no hiding from his predicament as he's the number one witness everyday to other people's happiest moments. As a flower delivery-man he's front and centre when love embodied gets passed on. But when Leo takes destiny into his own hands... his future changes.
The mundane transforms into the sublime when a man gets trapped in a glass revolving door. The word mandala, loosly translated from Sanskrit, means 'circle' and represents wholeness.
A music video for Tamara Podemski's song 'Giving Thanks' presented in the form of a prayer, whereby the artist will offer tobacco to give thanks for different joys in the world.
When five-year-old Miranda scurries down the stairs, avoiding tea with her haughty grandmother, she meets an interesting gentleman on the landing. Through him she discovers a little known fact about her grandmother that becomes the key to rekindling the old lady's ability to see the magic that exists when you look through the eyes of a child.
In a studio, with no theatrical adornments, a dancer and musician move from a soft gentle beauty to a taut macho sexuality with the most simple of means: a body and a cello.
A black man and white woman, both nude, engage in a power struggle of opposites: males versus female, hunter versus hunted, black versus white, light versus dark.
Juno-winner Richard Underhill and his Tales From the Blue Lounge All-Stars take a trip into the past to the days of live television and all of the unexpected moments it entails.
Inspired by the story of Zackie Achmat, a South African AIDS activist who he refused to take his AIDS drugs in 2001, until the government made the drugs available to all South Africans. Achmat was nominated for the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize.
The hilarious story of a non-confidence vote gone horribly wrong and the lengths the party in power will go to, to set it right. Based on Michael Healey's play "Generous" and starring Peter Keleghan, Patrick McKenna, C David Johnson, David Storch, Melody A Johnson, and Dan Lett.
Dancers perched on the curves of the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College in upstage New York merge with the unique architecture and make this man-made landscape sing.
Artists: Alan Catlin, Danny Smith, David Julian Hirsh, Jeff Kassel, Paul Popowich, Stephen Markle; Director: Jeff Kassell; Producers: Jeff Kassell, David Julian Hirsch
An actress auditioning for the role of a stripper in an independent film is caught off-guard when the director asks her to take off her clothes to prove that she has the mettle for the part.
An innovative initiative by Bravo!FACT (Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent) and the National Film Board of Canada, Shorts In Motion features micro-movies for video cell phones by four celebrated Canadian artists.
A filmic sonnet, set in the early morning hours in a subway station, Soup explores lost love, chance meetings, and the micro-moments that make up everyday life.
Artists: Julia Aplin, Learie McNicolls, Michael English, Michael Sean Marye, Philip Drube; Director: Michael Downing; Producer: Mihkel Harilaid, Trisha Emerson
Everything you've ever wanted in life is falling into place. But in a matter of seconds, it all gets ripped away. Ten seconds, either way, and life would be irrevocably different.
The story of a lonely, misfit 10-year-old black kid who sees all his white school friends and their families in a mass migration, heading to cottage country for the weekend.
Two Easter bunnies are fired after one little girl doesn't receive her chocolate. An all-out, no holds barred surreal comedy and sharp political parody that engages the deep-seeded need to laugh at the absurdities of this modern day world.
Couples are eliminated from a dance when the Caller describes embarrassing incidents from their past. Will anyone be left standing at the end? A darkly humorous look at love and vulnerability.