arc2011

Here’s the winners for the 2011 Toronto Indie.

All films were screened at the Toronto Underground Cinema
See below for the full line-up.
Winners 2011

Feature Film (budget over $250k USD):  Killer God, Director: Stasch Radwanski
Micro-budget Feature (budget under $250k USD): Blue Collar Boys, Director: Mark Nistico
No-Budget Feature (budget under $25k USD): No Fun City, Director: Melissa James
Documentary Feature: Vegucated, Director: Marisa Miller Wolfson
LGBT Film:  Freak, Director: Eric Casaccio
Music Video:  Legalize, Director: Thomas Simon
Short Film:  Lullaby for Ray, Director: Marina Shron
Animated Film  The Lady of Names, Director: Adam Ciolfi
Horror / Sci-Fi Short:  Stealin Home, Director: Joe Mari

Screenplay Award categories:
Feature Screenplay: Warriors of Love, by Sassia Hove
Sci-Fi / Horror Screenplay: More Gore, by Peter Callaway
Comedy Screenplay: Zero Sum Game, Wendy Pickard & Chesh Baker

2011 Festival Line up

THURSDAY SEPT 8
OPENING NIGHT
Opening Night costs just a Toonie, so show up at the cinema for a taste of the best of indie cinema

6 PM

The Lady Of Names (79m)
dir. by Adam Ciolfi

FANTASY: A beautiful librarian discovers the power of magic when an ill-conceived wish catapults her into the world of fairy tales. She falls into the clutches of the Troll King, a monster obsessed with imprisoning all the fairy tale folk. Her only hope for rescue is Zack Driscoll, a young handyman in love with her. Kidnapped by a pompous mushroom and an elfin creature, Zack braves goblin magic and the icy domain of the Memine to reach the home of the Great Owl. The Owl reveals the key to the Troll King’s power. Armed with this knowledge, Zack and his friends race back to the tower thereby setting the stage for the last epic battle between our heroes and the armies of the Troll King.

Website: http://www.theladyofnames.com

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Sept 8 at 8pm
Shorts Block 1:
Freak (18m) dir. by Eric Casaccio
Bit Epicure (5m) dir. by Rosa Aiello
Sisters of Karnataka (26m) dir. by Karl Mattson
Birthday Circle (5m) dir. by Philip Lepherd
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THURSDAY SEPT 8
9:30 PM

ANDANTE (96m)
dir. by Assaf Tager

SCI-FI/EXPERIMENTAL: In a post-industrial world people are no longer able to dream. A factory run by Mr Terrier sells the frightened, sleepless masses a dreaming experience. Sarah, the single surviving dreamer, sets out to the only place that can provide answers to her strange night-time visions: the dream factory.

Website: http://www.andantefilm.com

FRIDAY Sept 9
6 PM

I Hate Toronto: A Love Story (95m)
dir. by Daniel Wilson

DRAMA/COMEDY: A man endures a horrific tragedy in which he loses everything, so he gives himself a year to live and decides to sleep with as many woman as possible before he dies, but in the process, he learns about love and meets the one woman who could be his reason to keep on living.

Website: http://ihatetorontomovie.com/

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Sept 9 at 8pm
Shorts Block 2:
Les Trois Petits Cochons: La crise Porcine (25m) dir. by Frederic Fortier
The Retreat (30m) dir. by Chelsea Marino
Burning Sensation (6m) dir. by Saul Berenbaum
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FRIDAY Sept 9
9:30 PM

Killer God (84m)
dir. by Stasch Radwanski

THRILLER: When Charlize Elkin is asked by the authorities to fly home to Canada and identify the remains of her dead grandfather Professor Rufus Elkin, she quickly realizes that his studies into the Balinese occult may have caused his death.Charlize must unravel a complex message left by her grandfather: The message hides the island location of three mysterious Balinese statues that hold a fearful secret, a secret that threatens to destroy the mystical balance of the spirit world.

Website: http://www.killergodmovie.com

SATURDAY Sept 10
6 PM

HEMORRHAGE (78m)
dir. by Braden Croft

THRILLER: Released from a mental institution, murderer Oliver Lorenz attempts to piece together his life when everything falls apart… he falls in love. Now, after a violent relapse, Oliver kidnaps the young woman he loves and hits the road as he evades capture to conquer his homicidal urges. ‘Hemorrhage’ is a suspense/drama about dealing with the past, self perception and the darker parts of our nature.

Website: http://www.bmcpictures.com/

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Sept 10 at 8pm
Shorts Block 3:
Still Here (21m) dir. by Alex Camilleri
Pipe Dreams (22m) dir. by Ben Green
ESHA (14m) dir. by Reza Dahya
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SATURDAY Sept 10

9:30 PM

Vegucated (76m)
dir. by Marisa Miller Wolfson

DOCUMENTARY: Follow three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks. There’s Brian, the bacon-loving bachelor who eats out all the time, Ellen, the single mom who prefers comedy to cooking, and Tesla, the college student who avoids vegetables and bans beans. They have no idea that so much more than steak is at stake and that the fate of the world may fall on their plates. Lured with true tales of weight lost and health regained, they begin to uncover hidden sides of animal agriculture and soon start to wonder whether solutions offered in films like Food, Inc. go far enough. Before long, they find themselves risking everything to expose an industry they supported just weeks before.

Website: http://www.getvegucated.com

SUNDAY Sept 11
6 PM

Heaven + Earth + Joe Davis (85m)
dir. by Peter Sasowsky

Almost thirty years ago, a peg-legged artist and motorcycle mechanic from Mississippi walked into MITs Center for Advanced Visual Studies and demanded a meeting with the Director. Forty-five minutes later, after trashing the receptionist’s desk and holding off the Cambridge police, Joe Davis walked out with an academic appointment at MIT.

His status there has provided him with resources for much of his work – including sending vaginal contractions into space to communicate with aliens, poetry encoded into DNA, and a language to write the world beneath the world.

His is a story of self-discovery, sacrifice, and the complexity of human endeavor, constructed around a theme central to his work; that everything is connected, often in the most unexpected ways.

Website: http://www.joedavisthemovie.com

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Sept 11 at 8pm
Shorts Block 4:
Apartheid Nation (29m) dir. by Angela O’Leary
Missing Pieces (22m) dir. by Graham Sheppard & Vanessa Jung
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SUNDAY Sept 11
9 PM

A Decent Arrangement (98m)
dir. by Sarovar Banka

DRAMA/COMEDY: The story of Ashok Khosla, an Indian-American copywriter, who journeys to India seeking an arranged marriage. After he encounters an American woman traveling through India and is set up with an Indian woman who unexpectedly captivates him, Ashok must navigate the complexity of cultural traditions and the leanings of his own heart. With subtle comedy and true-to-life drama, A Decent Arrangement shows us a side of India not commonly seen by western audiences and delivers an affecting story that resonates with those of us in search of our place in a changing world.

Website: http://www.adecentarrangement.com

MONDAY Sept 12
6 PM

Leatha Accidents (88m)
dir. by Nicholas Kinsey

COMEDY: Fran and Jessica are neighbors and best friends. Fran is Brick’s trophy wife and a Perfection Cosmetics sales rep, while Jessica is Mal’s wife and a grocery store demonstrator. The only dark cloud in the friendship is their husbands. Brick is “so boring” and wants babies, a desire that Fran certainly does not share. Mal is a drunk and having an affair with his ex-wife Dana. One day Mal tells Jessica he has put up the house for sale and they are moving out. This is last straw for the two best friends who decide that their husbands must go – violently.

Website: http://www.carltonfilms.com/Leatha_Acidents.php

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Sept 12 at 8pm
Shorts Block 5:
Underground (13m) dir. by Sandra Lim
Hope (21m) dir. by Steven Ahola
Cut Throat (16m) dir. by Richard Rotter
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MONDAY SEPT 12
9 PM

True Nature (92m)
dir. by Patrick Steele

THRILLER: The Pascal family has it all – wealth, power, privilege – but their picture perfect lives change forever when their college-athlete daughter Marianne disappears one night while running. She mysteriously returns a year later with no memory of what happened to her. Despite being haunted by strange visions and nightmares that encroach upon her waking hours, Marianne struggles to resume a normal life. But other forces are at work and the world the Pascals have built starts to unravel the closer Marianne gets to discovering that somewhere between life and death, lies the truth.

Website: http://www.truenaturethefilm.com/

TUESDAY Sept 13
6 PM

Fighting Fish (84m)
dir. by Annette Apitz

DRAMA: 21-year-old David still lives at home in upstate New York, caring for his small siblings while his mother recuperates in a mental institution. Though he aches to leave and find his own way in life, he also feels responsible to his family. His wild, complicated, and beautiful sister Alice suddenly returns home after a long absence, and new domestic tensions erupt. When David falls in love with the new girl in town, Alice is driven to desperate measures to keep her brother close, and her world intact.

Website: http://www.fightingfishfilm.com

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Sept 13 at 8pm
Shorts Block 6:
Protect The Nation (16m) dir. by C. R. Reisser
Istvan – even there no kiddin (5m) dir. by Mike Yuhasz
The Breakout (10m) dir. by Tyler Williams
Sunday Night Dinner (8m) dir. by Jean Mahoney
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TUESDAY Sept 13
9 PM

Three Veils (117m)
dir. by Rolla Selbak

DRAMA: The lives of three young Middle Eastern women intertwine as they struggle to defy tradition and create their own realities. From an arranged marriage and a lesbian love affair to an abusive family situation, the film daringly tackles issues Middle Eastern women are confronted with today and carries a unique social message that women worldwide can relate to.

Website: http://www.threeveilsmovie.com

WEDNESDAY Sept 14
6 PM

Finding Shakespeare (36m)
dir. by Virginia Beld

DOCUMENTARY: Four summer stock actors preparing for and executing roles from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. These actors discuss taking on the roles of Romeo, Juliet, Mercutio, and Tybalt. They also discuss why they are involved in theater and why they think Shakespeare is so important even in the modern world of mass media

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WEDNESDAY Sept 14
7:00 PM

Never Happen Here: The Whitehorse 9/11 Story (45m)
dir. by Max Fraser

DOCUMENTARY: On 9/11, the safe peaceful world of a remote northern town was shattered when a ‘hijacked’ 747 approached with fighter jets on its tail. Already shaken that day by images of the tragedy in New York, thousands of parents raced in panic to find their children after hearing RCMP say on the radio that schools have been evacuated. Until 9/11, the people of Whitehorse thought that kind of thing could ‘never happen here.’ Almost ten years later, questions are still asked about why a hostile Korean airliner was diverted to Canada and not land in Alaska. This documentary reveals new information about the mysterious flight of KAL 085, a strange but true story. A northern point of view documentary with national and international dimensions.

Website: http://maxfraser.ca

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Sept 14 at 8pm
Shorts Block 7:
Ken Fucks Up (5m) dir. by Ruby Boutilier
Tick Tock (9m) dir. by Jeffrey Reyna
Lullaby for Ray (18m) dir. by Marina Shron
An Evening With My Comatose Mother (33m) dir. by Jonathan Martin
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WEDNESDAY SEPT 14
9 PM

Blue Collar Boys (92m)
dir. by Mark Nistico

DRAMA: A 27-year-old construction worker must take over his father’s business in order to save his family. Motivated by financial hardship, Red and his lifelong friends fall into a lifestyle of hatred and thirst for revenge. Together, they are faced with a dilemma that will test their morals, faith, and ultimately, their loyalties to each other. In a world that refuses to let the working man thrive, they want a better way.

Website: http://www.facebook.com/BlueCollarBoys

THURSDAY Sept 15
6 PM

MARRIED IN SPANDEX (55m)
dir. by Devin Gallagher, Allison Kole

DOCUMENTARY: A love story about Amanda and Rachel, a young lesbian couple who decide to go from Philadelphia to Ames, Iowa to get married by gold lame devotee and lady rapper Leslie Hall. While the couple begins the trip as a wacky adventure for themselves and their friends, it quickly becomes a family affair in an unfamiliar state.

Website: http://www.marriedinspandex.com/

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Sept 15
7:30pm

Music Video Night:
20 Minutes of Oxygen (4m) dir. by Mike Jackson
Harpies — GIVING THE TABLE A NAME (4m) dir. by Jeff Allyn Szwast
Closer (3m) dir. by Diana Cordero
Me You Tonight Fuck (3m) dir. by Jason Chilcott
3 Songs from Trailer Hell (10m) dir. by Jackson Hill
Corps et âmes (7m, Canada) dir. by Robert Paquin
Just Another Thing (3m) dir. by Jon Reno
Chapel Song (3m) dir. by Matthew Mills
Don’t Wake Me Up (4m) dir. by lydia galeno
Baths – Lovely Bloodflow (4m) dir. by Alex Takacs
Legalize (6m) dir. by Jillie and Thomas Simon
You Told A Lie (4m) dir. by Brent Green
Titarius – D.O.A (4m) dir. by Charles Quinn Frutos
Judaaiyaan – The Separation (7m) dir. by Harpreet Sandhu
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FRIDAY Sept 16
6 PM

No Fun City (85m)
dir. by Melissa James and Kate Kroll

DOCUMENTARY: Rabid gentrification and downtown development are killing the live music scene in Vancouver, giving it the unofficial nickname “No Fun City.” Melissa James and Kate Kroll’s depressing yet exciting documentary tracks the efforts by bands, club owners, and fans to adapt to or subvert the city’s efforts to shut them down. Skinny Puppy and D.O.A. join longtime club owners and upstart underground concert promoters (sometimes literally underground) in discussing a problem that exists in cities worldwide.

Website: http://www.nofuncity.org

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Sept 16 at 8pm
Horror Shorts:
Enter The Dark (18m) dir. by Todd Miro
The Suicide Tapes (25m) dir. by Billy Senese
Black Goat (5m) dir. by Erik Wilson
Stealin’ Home (16m) dir. by Joe Mari
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FRIDAY Sept 16
9:30 PM

The Watermen (92m)
dir. by Matt Lockhart

HORROR: A group of friends set out for the deep sea fishing trip of a lifetime aboard a million-dollar dreamboat. Suddenly, an electrical fire sets the party adrift with no way to contact help. As the days pass, food and water run short and the crew becomes desperate. A bad situation turns worse when they are captured by a group of backwoods watermen intent on terrorizing and killing them. It’s a fight for survival as the friends try to escape the remote island and merciless clutches of the watermen.

Website: http://www.thewatermenmovie.com

SATURDAY Sept 17
6 PM

The Pack (95m)
dir. by Alyssa Rallo Bennett

DRAMA: A portrait of a family torn apart by cancer. Non-smoker Jack Jordan has died of lung cancer at the age of 47, presumably brought on by 30 years of breathing his wife Eleanor’s second-hand smoke. An ambitious Assistant DA brings Eleanor to trial on murder charges, and Jack Jr., their son, is caught in the middle.

Website: http://www.thepack.info

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Sept 17 at 8pm
Shorts Block 8:
Slip Cue (25m) dir. by Robin Kupferman
Come Here Go Away (10m) dir. by Craig Macnaughton
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SATURDAY Sept 17
9:30 PM

Fanny, Annie & Danny (82m)
dir. by Chris Brown

DRAMA: Fanny is a developmentally disabled 39-year-old living in a home for dependent adults. Her world starts to implode when the candy factory where she works goes bankrupt. The oldest of three children, Fanny has long been a source of strain and resentment within her family. Her jittery sister Annie has spent her life taking care of her, while their successful but elusive brother Danny has thus far escaped responsibility. When the three siblings are forced by their powerful mother to reunite for a holiday dinner, everyone’s worst fears are realized.

Website: http://www.fannyannieanddanny.com