By Laura Anne Harris
After experiencing the quintessentially small-town occurrence of sharing a cab with an older couple, only to have them pay for my entire ride, I arrived at the Malaspina Theatre in Nanaimo, British Columbia for the 14th annual Vancouver Island Short Film Festival (VISFF). This community-oriented event celebrates both the creators of short films, and the projects themselves. Short film festivals are so vital, because these films are likely to launch the careers of many filmmakers. Organizers Hilary Eastmure and Greg Brown greeted me immediately and made me feel completely at home amongst the festivities. The atmosphere was lively and communal. The bar was open for drinks, volunteers were giving away free popcorn, delicious pizza was served at intermission, and a live jazz band played as the audience entered. Hiring local musicians was a great way to bring together different members of the artistic community for one evening. The film festival itself was comprised of a variety of genres: drama, comedy, animation, documentary, and quite a number of short horror films. There were four local Nanaimo filmmakers, including the only documentary short in the festival. There were two films from Vancouver, one from the US, one from the UK, one from Toronto, and three from Winnipeg. While there was certainly something to celebrate in each short film, there were five shorts that stood out for me.
Positions by Justin Ducharme
This short film caught my attention at the November launch of PRISM international’s DREAMS issue, which is where VISFF festival organizers saw the film and encouraged Ducharme to apply. Luckily, the selection committee agreed with organizers and included Positions within the festival. This day-in-the-life narrative follows a queer, Métis sex worker, played with a quiet confidence by MacKenzie Kingdon-Prouty. Ducharme treats the profession as just that, a job. He manages to show the complexities of being with clients, and the myriad complications that have to be navigated in order to perform this service. This is best depicted with a client who blatantly makes racist remarks before the sex worker strips down to have sex. The film doesn’t shy away from the realities of sex work, and the associated stigmas that are compounded when working at the intersections queer and indigenous identity. Nor does Ducharme portray his main character as a victim. Ducharme is a bright, dynamic filmmaker, with an authentic voice. In Positions, he’s taking on contentious subject matter and handling it with grace and understanding. Rumour has it that Ducharme would like to expand this short film into a feature. Fingers crossed!
Fisher Cove by Sean Skene
Winnipeg filmmaker Sean Skene’s, Fisher Cove is a hysterical comedy-horror that is expertly cut. The story is a classic monster-under-the-sea narrative. A man is out fishing when he is pulled into the lake by a mysterious force. A sea monster, of course, from which the man must escape. Skene, who is a professional fight choreographer and stunt man for feature films, puts some of his precise technical training to use for this short film. The shots are quick, visually impactful, and well designed. The SFX of the undersea world was gorgeously depicted. During the Q&A, Skene revealed that many of the shots were put together with a GoPro camera. A real feat of innovative filmmaking.
Claire by Spencer Ryerson
Toronto director Spencer Ryerson has created a slick, visually-stimulating, and hilariously twisted horror short. A couple end up in a car crash while bickering about the famous piano suite Clair De Lune. Despite the severity of their injuries, the couple continue their argument. The juxtaposition of the girlfriend pulling out the scrap of CD from her belly, all the while talking to her boyfriend about their relationship, is comedy gold. Made for roughly $7000, Claire is beautifully-lit, with cinematography that outshines plenty of films made for ten times as much. Ryerson is a bold filmmaker whom I’m excited to follow in the future.
Living With by Raymond Knight
This local Nanaimo film won $10,000 in Storyhive documentary funding from Telus this past year. The film chronicles the life of a young boy born with cancer and the lives of his extended family, many of whom are also at risk of the disease, which runs in the family. Wonderfully shot in a way that captures the youth of the protagonist, Living With was a moving portrait of grief and survival.
Piece of Mind by Erin Hembrador
Another great film out of Winnipeg, this subtle drama about a Filipino grandfather suffering from Alzheimer’s disease explores themes of loss and estrangement. The simplicity of the acting and storytelling was compelling, as was the refreshing portrayal of complex characters of colour. Hembrador is an exciting filmmaker who writes from her own experiences and about her own community. Kudos to VISFF for providing Hembrador a platform to showcase her talent as an emerging filmmaker.
Additional shout outs: The UK film Inanimate won many categories of the festival, including Best Film, and was one of the most ambitious works in the lineup. The two female animation filmmakers Lucia Bulgheroni (Inanimate) and Tara Audibert (The Importance of Dreaming,) contributed works that were original and worth checking out. Of the thirteen films in the festival, only four were directed by women. Hopefully, next year’s festival will showcase even more talented, local filmmakers.
If I take one thing away from VISFF it’s that, with a little help from your friends and a small budget, filmmakers can create worlds that are funny, compelling, visually-stimulating and memorable. This festival is well-worth the ferry ride from Vancouver, and I encourage anyone with an interest in the work of next-generation filmmakers to attend. You might end up meeting some friendly locals who’ll pay for your cab!
Laura Anne Harris is an internationally-renowned solo performer, director and playwright. Her solo show, Pitch Blonde has toured across North America and most recently at the Ware Center in Lancaster, PA, and the Toronto Centre for the Arts. Her first full length play Red/Rouge premiered at the IF Theatre Festival in Bangkok, Thailand. She has contributed as a reviewer/interviewer with The Seventh Row and My Entertainment World. She is currently a Creative Writing Masters Candidate at the University of British Columbia.