Latest posts from National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI)

After the final infuriating straw, Dan calls his internet provider to cancel the f—ing internet. Surviving the apathetic gauntlet of support staff, he finally reaches the retention department and their star agent: Gerald.

Things are finally looking up for Dan. That is, until Gerald makes it very clear just how much he knows about Dan’s browsing history, and how far he’s willing to go to maintain his perfect retention record.

Creative team

Writer/director: Ryan Kayet
Producer: Dave Gibson

Filmmaker’s statement

Cancel the F—ing Internet was me and some friends getting together and making something fun; most of the creative team previously collaborated on the sketch comedy troupe Fade to Brown.

We spent a weekend making this film on a shoestring budget and originally intended to release it online. However, after seeing the initial edit and landing a killer score from James Ervin, I realized we had something really special and decided to do a festival run.

The film really resonated with festival audiences across the continent; after screenings people would often share their personal horror stories of dealing with cable companies (I think everybody has at least one). On the surface, Cancel the F—ing Internet is a a fun film about the infuriating process of dealing with internet providers. Beneath this is a look into the growing concern of internet privacy and data collection.

If you have a hate for big telecom companies and a big love for crude humour, you’re going to f—king love our short as much as we do. Enjoy!

About Ryan Kayet

Ryan is an up-and-coming filmmaker who excels as a screenwriter, director and producer.

After receiving high praise for his thesis film, Lurker, Ryan co-founded Riverlife Productions with a desire to focus on strong character-driven narratives.

He has directed the bravoFACT funded short film One Day at a Time, based on the award-winning Canadian play Cancer Can’t Dance Like This, and several music videos. His previous short Interview, a dramatic short about race, power and the importance of choosing your words carefully, was funded by the Ontario Arts Council and played in several festivals.

His most recent project, Cancel the F—ing Internet, is a hilarious short about privacy and the universal struggle of dealing with the cable/internet companies.

Ryan is currently writing his first feature.

The post Cancel the F—ing Internet appeared first on National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI).

An iPhone obsessed gym-rat overdoses on a muscle relaxant and makes an unlikely connection with a stranger.

Creative team

Writer/director: Hannah Cheesman
Producers: Mackenzie Donaldson, Alexander Ordanis, Christopher Yurkovich

Filmmaker’s statement

Emmy came to me at a time when my father was in hospitals and medical centres for long stretches of time. Not surprisingly upon watching, the film came in images first and story second. I think there’s a reason for this: as a filmmaker, I wanted to push into areas I was less comfortable with.

I tend to gravitate toward dialogue-heavy, quippy and comedic genres. So, Emmy was an attempt to create a world of minimal dialogue, nuance and visual storytelling. For me, this film was a master class in using beautiful and rich imagery to take advantage of filmmaking as a visual medium.

At its heart, however, Emmy is about how ‘true’ connection can change a person for the better. At the centre of the story we have Emmy, a gym rat whose obsessions are narrow at best. Emmy is not a person who will likely change the world, but – and here’s my personal thesis for the film – even the most mundane or problematic of people have the ability to change for the better. It’s a rather optimistic statement in the end, if not a simple one.

Of course, true to form, we’ve got a punch of comedy in the story. I can’t help myself! But it’s also one of my favourite beats in the film.

I learned a lot in making this piece and consider myself so lucky to have been able to capitalize on the now-defunct bravoFACT fund. With that fund I was able to take a chance and try something I might not have otherwise been able to, taking a diversion from what I consider to be my ‘norm’ or taste as a filmmaker.

In this experiment I was able to work with the likes of Amanda Brugel, Clare Coulter, Matt Murray and Ronnie Rowe; director of photography Catherine Lutes; editor Bryan Atkinson and countless other talents. I’m grateful for the opportunity and for the sweet peach of a film we created together.

About Hannah Cheesman

Hannah Cheesman is a CSA-nominated filmmaker, writer and actor.

Named a Playback Five to Watch and a TIFF Emerging Canadian Filmmaker, Hannah’s hit digital series Whatever, Linda is currently in development as an hour-long television series with Bell Media, alongside executive producer Graeme Manson (Orphan Black, Snowpiercer), and recently scooped up the top prize during Cannes’ inaugural ‘Canneseries In Development’ competition (2018).

Hannah has directed and written three short films (Emmy, Cheese and Brunch Bitch) as well as co-directing her first feature film, The Definites (Whistler, Cucalorus), and has written on such shows as Workin’ Moms and Find Me in Paris.

Currently, Hannah is writing her second feature film Boring Girls with Aiken Heart Films, and is developing her forthcoming 30-minute cable dark comedy, Badger, co-producing alongside Patrick O’Sullivan (High Dive Media) and with her own company, The Long Reach Company.

The post Emmy appeared first on National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI).

When a lonely dentist is seduced by one of his patients, his perfect relationship turns into a living nightmare.

Creative team

Writer/director: Amy McLeish
Producers: Amanda Verhagen, Amelia Morris

Filmmaker’s statement

Pearly Nights is the story of Brian – a lonely, troubled dentist who embarks upon an intense relationship with one of his patients.

The film opens with a heartbroken Brian in his therapist’s office, where he talks through his break-up with Kate. We are guided through their relationship by Brian’s therapist, who eventually reveals the affair was fabricated in Brian’s mind and he is not the innocent victim we first believed him to be.

As the first screenplay I had ever written, Pearly Nights took a lot of inspiration from my personal favourite films. First and foremost, Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry’s masterpiece, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Among its soft, hazy colours and beautiful score, Eternal Sunshine, for me, is an ode to the concept of memory and a fabulously nonlinear journey through a relationship.

I drew on this idea for Pearly Nights. I wanted to explore a relationship between two people in a non-traditional way, with a dark twist. Pearly Nights invites its audience into the darkness under the dentist’s lamp.

About Amy McLeish

Amy is a British filmmaker currently living in Vancouver.

With her work in performing arts grounded in theatre, Amy’s focus is on character-driven, detail-orientated storytelling. Having written her dissertation at the University of Manchester on gender film theory (focused particularly around serial killers and psychopaths in film), Amy’s directorial practice is often focused around gender.

Alongside Pearly Nights, Amy is currently in post-production for the short horror film, Camping Trip, which she directed in September 2017, scheduled for release in 2018.

The post Pearly Nights appeared first on National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI).

The stories of two individuals, Gord and Nick, and their experiences with methadone.

Creative team

Writers: Chris Norman, Tim Lopers
Director: Chris Norman
Producer: Tim Lopers

Filmmaker’s statement

Our first goal with making this film was to create a dialogue about methadone treatment in its current state.

Methadone, an opiate replacement drug, is extremely effective at doing its job: getting people off other opiates. However, those who traverse this landscape soon find out that a majority of the time they are replacing one addiction with another but, this time, with all the cognitive dissonance that comes with taking it via medicinal treatment.

Our ultimate goal was to bring this notion to light that is so common among those that are now addicted to methadone. In doing so we hope the film, at the very least, gives people a different way of viewing this drug or methadone addicts.

Our greatest hope would be a discourse within the medical community about the ways to make use of the drug more effective in weaning off all opiates, including methadone. By speaking to individuals who have been through this hell, the dangers of this government-approved drug become clear.

Our second goal was to tackle an uncomfortable topic in an uncomfortable way as we felt this was the best way to help the audience understand the horrors of addiction. This idea was always in the back of our minds at every point in the movie-making process including our editing style, score, shot composition, and every other aspect in the making of this film.

Ultimately, this film’s final goal, despite the grime and horrors contained within, was to plant the seed of hope within someone’s mind who is going through this hell and tell them to keep going. However we also needed to present the ultimate truth that is not easy and that, while we portray a character who after years of addiction weans off his drug of choice, we also have a character that may never get off methadone.

An excellent question to ask would be why is this the right time for this film to enter public discourse. Currently, fentanyl overdoses are a daily occurrence and the Ontario government is advertising on social media about the availability of free Naloxone kits. The term “opioid crisis” has entered the household and the daily consciousness of the population.

Right now is the perfect time to discuss strategies and options for those who feel alone and unable to complete this difficult task in the hopes that it leads individuals to get clean, not only from opiates but also from methadone.

About Chris Norman

Chris Norman is an emerging filmmaker currently attending Humber’s film and television production program with an emphasis on directing and writing.

He obtained an honours bachelor of science with distinction from the University of Toronto, majoring in psychology and English, which he uses to assist with writing and crafting stories, as well as understanding behaviour and psychology with relation to blocking and directing.

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