Here are the Winners of the Toronto Independent Film Festival 2021
No-Budget Feature (budget under $25k): The Beautiful Logic by Tomomi Muraguchi Micro-Budget Feature (budget under $250k): Along Came Wanda by Jan Miller Corran Low-Budget Feature (budget over $250k): Good Life by Bonnie Rodini Sci-Fi/Fantasy Feature: The Immensity and Carl Sagan by Clara Martínez- Lázaro Thriller Feature: The Lost One by Damian Hussey International Feature: Let Go by Brigitte Drodtloff Documentary Feature: What Fish Want by Christoph J. Walder Documentary Short: Fairies Baseball by Ruth Fowler Music Video: Machine Driven by Luca Schild Short Film (Jury Award): A Lost Space in the Return by Ferguson Sauvé-Rogan Short Film (Audience Award): Mirror Jellies by Rebecca Allcock Short Film (Festival Director Award): Sparks Underwater by Will Hutchins Animated Short: Akplokplobito by Ingrid Agbo Horror Short: Katu by Oskar Johansson Sci-Fi/Fantasy Short: Birthday Boy by Kamran Rathod Short Short: Lessons by Jude Kalman Experimental Short: Hess by Lisa Simmons
Screenplay Award categories: Feature Screenplay: The California Child by Keertana Sreekumar Sci-Fi / Horror Screenplay: Secret Library by Laurel King
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Here’s the schedule for the 2021 Toronto Independent Film Festival.
All films are screened on the Eventive online platform.
Feature film tickets cost $10 per feature film, shorts blocks cost $10 per 75 minute block. Films can be watched anytime during the festival run, Sept 9-18.
Shorts Block 1 [Buy here] Obscenities by Will Nash Oh, Mighty Ocean! by Nathan Xia Little Miss Hit Girl by Emily Hannah Ventimiglia BabyThump by Ian Killick WHO by Robbin Li
Shorts Block 2 [Buy here] Birthday Boy by Kamran Rathod The Queue by Laurie Waplington Katu by Oskar Johansson A Trout’s Journey by Felix Emmanuel The Gardener’s Deities by Pascal Bronner
Shorts Block 3 [Buy here] Sparks Underwater by Will Hutchins Resignation Day by Adam Brashaw & Adam Basil The Rickety Man by Cameron Gallagher Akplokplobito by Ingrid Agbo BFF Thelma & Louise: Tanya & Lucy Revisit 30 Years On by Lucy Brown
Shorts Block 4 [Buy here] The Beautiful Logic by Tomomi Muraguchi After The Egg by Chelsea Slayter Defense Contract by Doug LeBow Alba by Margherita Mazza Time and Tide by Hannah Hilliard
Shorts Block 5 [Buy here] Chameleon (A Visual Album) by Jaamil Olawale Kosoko & Ima Iduozee Beautiful Moment! by Berkan Dörtkardeş The Chamber Where A Dreamer Slumbers by Hongbo Cai HESS by Lisa Simmons Take a Step by Ben Corlett Lessons by Jude Kalman
Shorts Block 6 [Buy here] The Fall by Nathan Horrocks Eyre & Sea by Jem Cresswell Fairies Baseball by Ruth Fowler Black.Eco by Shauna Davis I See Before Me by Jason J Thomas Machine Driven by Luca Schild
Shorts Block 7 [Buy here] The Outsider by Sukhvir Parmar Ted by Zixin Zhang The Passing of the Moment: An Athlete’s Journey by Luke de la Nougerede The Decipio by Jason Gullifer Mirror Jellies by Rebecca Allcock Claire by Brendan Kays
Shorts Block 8 [Buy here] Arabacciu by Oppecini Alexandre Shadows of the World by Marios P. Papageorgiou A Lost Space in the Return by Ferguson Sauvé-Rogan I Hope This Feeling Doesn’t Last by Marie Boulougouris Urritjara by Tim Georgeson
__ Feature Film: Along Came Wanda (90m) [Buy here] Directed by Jan Miller Corran
LGBTQ+ ROMANCE https://www.threewomeninabox.com/along-came-wanda/ A memory jogged by a teapot from an old lover quickly turns into an adventure of discovery for Mary Beth Higgins and her new found friend Wanda as they hit the road in Wanda’s RV/Soup Truck. Along the way they meet guru Daiku and the enticing Laura, a psychic named Davina Moonbeam, a ranch hand Karl and his horse Blaze all the while two friends are falling in love.
__ Feature Film: Architecture of RA (75m) [Buy here] Directed by Kyle Weyburne
DOCUMENTARY An exploration of the pyramids and temples of Ancient Egypt, interspersed with snapshots of everyday life from modern day Egypt. The concept is that pyramids were more than simply tombs; they were designed to interact with the sun on a set date in the year.
__ Feature Film: Club Habana (80m) [Buy here] Directed by Jorge Herrera
DRAMA Barbara is about to travel to Spain for an exhibition of her paintings. The night before starting her journey there is a hurricane and she has to stay in a nightclub until the morning. During the night she comes into contact with different people who have a variety of conflicts and interests. She is drawn into this microcosm which seems to be a reflection of Cuban society today.
__ Feature Film: Come to Harm (105m) [Buy here] Directed by Ásgeir Sigurðsson & Anton Karl Kristensen
DRAMA When his mother relapses, Oliver is forced to go look for his younger brother in the world of crime throughout the night.
__ Feature Film: Drills of Liberation (121m) [Buy here] Directed by Juan C. Dávila Santiago
DOCUMENTARY https://instagram.com/simulacrosdeliberacion After experiencing a ten-year economic crisis, and facing the perils of climate change, Puerto Rican youth do not trust the State anymore. They take to the streets to demand accountability from the government, and organize autonomous community centers to ensure their survival as People of Puerto Rico
__ Feature Film: Good Life (109m) [Buy here] Directed by Bonnie Rodini
ROM-COM http://goodlifefilm.co.za/ Olive Pappadopoulous, 35, an Oral Hygienist, flees Cape Town for Greece to try outwit a broken heart, but is faced with the local villagers hilarious hostility and is befriended by a cheeky 7 year old refugee who teaches her how to live “The Good Life”.
__ Feature Film: Hiroshima: City of Water (68m) [Buy here] Directed by Chris John Brooke
DOCUMENTARY https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14421692/ In Hiroshima water is the element that binds life and death. The seven rivers that flow through the city gave it the name City of Water. Scattered around this huge metropolitan city are monuments to the dead – those who perished both in the moment, and also the aftermath, of the detonation of a nuclear weapon by American forces on 6th August 1945.
__ Feature Film: Let Go (84) [Buy here] Directed by Brigitte Drodtloff
DRAMA https://www.losgelassen-film.com/en/home-en/ Six women are forced to stay locked in an apartment. At this point one of them is about to give birth to a baby. All the conflicts, the fighting, the funny and dramatic disputes between them must vanish – confronted by saving a new life.
__ Feature Film: Mise-en-scéne: the artist’s craft (71m) [Buy here] Directed by Manuh Fontes
DOCUMENTARY https://www.instagram.com/miseenscene_artesania/ Through the creative process of several artists, the film “Mise en scené, a artesania do artista”, seeks to enhance the importance of art, from the standpoint of the work of philosopher and poet Rainer Maria Rilke.
__ Feature Film: Nessmuk: In Defense of Nature (87m) [Buy here] Directed by Gale Peter Largey
D0CUMENTARY “”Nessmuk” is the nom-de plume of George Washington Sears (1821-1890) a poet-philosopher naturalist who is commonly known as the originator of the “Back to Nature Movement.” His books Woodcraft (1884) and Forest Runes(1887) remain classics among naturalists, campers, and survivalists.
A romantic optimist, Nessmuk ‘s final essays envisioned a society in which an inherent human love of Nature would limit the ugly urges for profit leading to assaults on Nature.
__ Feature Film: Rico: The Richard Demarco Story (85m) [Buy here] Directed by Dr Marco J Federici
DOCUMENTARY https://www.mlcproductionsuk.com/ Emmy award winner Brian Cox (“Braveheart” and HBO’s “Succession”) meets Richard Demarco CBE, the Scottish artist and iconic promoter, who across six decades brought 1000s of artists to the Edinburgh Festival.
FROM SEAN CONNERY TO JOSEPH BEUYS, “Rico” launched the careers of some of the most famous names in contemporary art, also bringing creatives from parts of the globe that many others would have ignored; Poland, Romania, Nigeria, Columbia…yet today, Demarco struggles to make ends meet and is out of favour with the modern art world. Possibly because he fears no one and will call out those he thinks are the charlatans of art.
The film is a “love letter” to the heyday of the Edinburgh Festival and also discusses how art has been commodified by dominant forces. How can society remedy the absence of art in the lives of those who feel excluded from either creating or owning art? Demarco wants to put this right before his final breath!
Brian Cox is joined by the famed Serbian artist, Marina Abramovic among many other names from the art world who ask us to reconsider the contribution of this inspiring man who was voted “European of the Year” in 2014.
__ Feature Film: Seven Square Miles (72m) [Buy here] Directed by LJ Frizell
DOCUMENTARY https://lajffilms.org/seven-square-miles-the-film/ Can policing be reimagined? When a small New Jersey city realizes it cannot solve the epidemic of gun violence by arresting their way out of the problem – they try another strategy. With funding from the Attorney General’s office, the city pilots a program to support those who are at risk for reentering the criminal justice system. They call it Trenton Violence Reduction Strategy. With the help of a formerly incarcerated activist and a team of city residents –a young women police detective creates a program whose goal is to support and mentor rather than punish those who are at risk for recidivism.
__ Feature Film: Some Happy Day (74m) [Buy here] Directed by Catherine Hill
Tina questions whether life is worth it as she tries to find her partner before he spends all the money he has stolen from her. At a crisis centre she meets Frances, a social worker who is 40, finally pregnant and has just discovered her husband’s secret. Their meeting is violently interrupted by Tina’s boyfriend who drags her away. The ramifications lead both women to confront not only their partners, but everything they ever believed in.
__ Feature Film: The Lost One (105m) [Buy here] Directed by Damian Hussey
ACTION https://www.damianhussey.com/the-lost-one While tracking down a missing teenage girl, former police officer Shae Conway uncovers shocking secrets of the elite, who will do anything to keep them hidden.
__ Feature Film: True Calling (88m) [Buy here] Directed by Erik Knudsen
DRAMA https://www.onedayfilms.com/films/true-calling/ On the eve of a critical pre-election television debate that he is due to participate in, Josh Joseph, who is earmarked for continued ministerial success, decides, on impulse, to take a significant political risk. He disrupts his hectic electioneering schedule to leave London and drive to the north of England, in order to visit a female childhood friend, Maddy, whom he has not seen for 17 years. He has discovered that she is getting married on the day of the election and is sufficiently troubled by this news to feel the need to intervene in her decision.
__ Feature Film: What Fish Want (59m) [Buy here] Directed by Christoph J. Walder
DOCUMENTARY https://www.ecotone.at/wasfischewollen/ Riverside construction, dams and climate change have had a dramatic impact on alpine rivers – and caused catastrophic environmental damage. This film takes the viewer below the surface, revealing the mating process of brown trout and swimming alongside male graylings as they compete for the attention of the females.
__ Feature Film: The Turn of the Screw (87m) [Buy here] Directed by Alex Galvin
DRAMA http://turnofthescrewfilm.com/ Adapted from the famous Henry James novel, and set in an empty theatre over the course of one evening. Julia finds herself as a last minute replacement for another actress at the dress rehearsal of a stage play version of The Turn of the Screw, set in 1890.
Arriving at the theatre late that night, Julia is immediately thrown on stage and into her role, playing to an empty auditorium. As she interacts with the other characters and the story becomes increasingly terrifying, Julia begins to believe that not only is the fictitious house haunted… but also the theatre itself! – –
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2021
SHORT FILMS Lessons by Jude Kalman Machine Driven by Luca Schild Claire by Brendan Kays Urritjara by Tim Georgeson I Hope This Feeling Doesn’t Last by Marie Boulougouris Mirror Jellies by Rebecca Allcock Take a Step by Ben Corlett Time and Tide by Hannah Hilliard BFF Thelma & Louise: Tanya & Lucy Revisit 30 Years On by Lucy Brown The Gardener’s Deities by Pascal Bronner WHO by Robbin Li BabyThump by Ian Killick A Trout’s Journey by Felix Emmanuel Akplokplobito by Ingrid Agbo Alba by Margherita Mazza HESS by Lisa Simmons Black.Eco by Shauna Davis The Decipio by Jason Gullifer What We Bury (When We Bury Our Dead) by Sebastian Nylén A Lost Space in the Return by Ferguson Sauvé-Rogan The Passing of the Moment: An Athlete’s Journey by Luke de la Nougerede Fairies Baseball by Ruth Fowler The Chamber Where A Dreamer Slumbers by Hongbo Cai Defense Contract by Doug LeBow The Rickety Man by Cameron Gallagher Katu by Oskar Johansson Little Miss Hit Girl by Emily Hannah Ventimiglia Oh, Mighty Ocean! by Nathan Xia The Queue by Laurie Waplington Resignation Day by Adam Brashaw & Adam Basil After The Egg by Chelsea Slayter Beautiful Moment! by Berkan Dörtkardeş Eyre & Sea by Jem Cresswell Ted by Zixin Zhang Shadows of the World by Marios P. Papageorgiou Arabacciu by Oppecini Alexandre The Outsider by Sukhvir Parmar The Fall by Nathan Horrocks Chameleon (A Visual Album) by Jaamil Olawale Kosoko & Ima Iduozee The Beautiful Logic by Tomomi Muraguchi Sparks Underwater by Will Hutchins Birthday Boy by Kamran Rathod Obscenities by Will Nash I See Before Me by Jason J Thomas
FEATURE FILMS What Fish Want by Christoph J. Walder Hiroshima: City of Water by Chris John Brooke Mise-en-scéne, the artist’s craft by Manuh Fontes Seven Square Miles by LJ Frizell Dream Big Little One by Marcus Graham Some Happy Day by Catherine Hill Architecture of RA by Kyle Weyburne Club Habana by Jorge Herrera Let Go by Brigitte Drodtloff Nessmuk: In Defense of Nature by Gale Peter Largey The Turn of the Screw by Alex Galvin True Calling by Erik Knudsen Along Came Wanda by Jan Miller Corran Rico (The Richard Demarco Story) by Dr Marco J Federici Come to Harm by Ásgeir Sigurðsson & Anton Karl Kristensen The Lost One by Damian Hussey Good Life by Bonnie Rodini Drills of Liberation by Juan C. Dávila Santiago
