Latest posts from National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI)

Sonder

Posted: 06 Sep 2018 11:48 AM PDT

‘Sonder’: an unofficial colloquial word with an official definition – n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.

Aveline, a young competitive aerial silk artist, struggles to return to her sport and everyday life after a devastating freak accident. Lonely for companionship, she turns to an online dating app, methodically tracking her chemistry with each candidate. She meets an equally lonely stranger, which leads to an unexpected journey.

Creative team

Writer/director: Mia Fiona Kut
Producers: Ingo Lou, Kris McRonney

Filmmaker’s statement

‘Sonder’ may be an unofficial colloquial word, but the official definition is: ‘the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.’ Our film encompasses this theme wholeheartedly, showing that a stranger’s story is not what it seems and unexpected hope can emerge from grief.

Please enjoy Sonder, which is based on a true story, with our team’s passionate hard work led by a diverse female director and cast, including acting veterans Donna Yamomoto (CW’s The 100), and Tammy Gillis (Freeform’s Siren).

Our goal was to cast as diversely as possible to reflect what we see in society, and we are proud to depict Asian lead characters in a non-stereotypical, universal plot.

About Mia Fiona Kut

Mia Fiona Kut is an actress and filmmaker born in the rural suburb of Richmond, BC.

Ever since her role as The Deranged Man in a second grade play which she also wrote, her passion for storytelling has fuelled her versatile abilities in acting and filmmaking.

Mia pursued film after completing her marketing degree at Simon Fraser University. Her first web series, Ivy Tower, landed a spot at the Los Angeles Web Fest, and she has recently directed, written, produced and acted in the short film Wildhouse, which won the special jury award at the North American Film Awards, the award of excellence at Canada Shorts, and spots at Canadian Diversity Film Festival and Second Asia International Youth Exhibition.

She was also chosen as one of the Top 30 Under 30 Youth for the Richmond Review newspaper and was featured on the cover. She is the face of diversity in the Asians in Movies worldwide campaign, sponsored by Vancouver Asian Film Festival and the creator of the #StarringJohnCho campaign.

Her sci-fi feature film has placed in the top 12 in Telefilm Canada/TELUS/Women in Film’s genre screenplay competition, with a jury consisting of writers from Van Helsing, Continuum and Nightmare on Elm Street.

She recently appeared on CW’s The Flash, FOX’s Wayward Pines and Minority Report, DirecTV’s Rogue, horror feature film Poignant opening at the Rio Grind Film Festival, and arthouse feature Floating Away in which she was awarded at the Los Angeles International Film Festival as part of best ensemble cast.

Mia is also the founder of the 100% natural and vegan skincare company Luna Nectar, which has been featured in publications such as Brit+Co and Jetsetter.

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

Mustard Seed

Posted: 06 Sep 2018 11:42 AM PDT

The story of a senseless murder, and how one can never truly escape the nightmare of one’s past.

Creative team

Writer/director: Lina Roessler
Producer: Ravens Call Inc.

Filmmaker’s statement

Mustard Seed is my third short film, and the third in a series titled Little Whispers, which examines the unique ability children have in using their imagination to solve their problems.

Ever since I can remember, I’ve been described as being a sensitive type. When I was a kid, I was constantly being told to “stop being so serious.”

Looking back, I realize this description was far more accurate than I ever gave credit. I was indeed a very serious, very sensitive kid. I was serious about what I could dream up in my head. I would spend hours hanging upside down from my bed trying to map a way out of my room just in case the world would turn upside down and I had to navigate it. The best games I played with my sisters involved intricate imaginary worlds, special quests, escape plans and impossible foes only the bravest could defeat.

The thing is, I was a lucky kid. The brushes with death, the evil wizards, the monsters and kidnappers and quicksand and erupting volcanoes and sharks I created would magically disappear when we were called for dinner.

Not all children have that luxury. The nightmares they live in are real, and what they escape to when they imagine otherwise is all they’ve got. Sometimes, they can’t escape their past. The child remains trapped within the adult, locked in a tragic moment in time.

Mustard Seed is an expression of this childhood prison of trauma, where there is no key to set one free.

About Lina Roessler

Lina Roessler studied English and creative writing at Concordia University, received a performance degree from the American Academy of Dramatic Art in New York, and recently completed an MFA in film production at York University.

Acting credits include a recurring role on Lost Girl, as well as numerous guest stars on series such as Private Eyes, Murdoch Mysteries, Motive, Supernatural and Killjoys.

Her directorial debut, Little Whispers: The Vow (2015), has screened at dozens of festivals, including TIFF Kids, and also won first prize, best children’s short at Rhode Island International Film Festival. Winter (2016), the second film in the Little Whispers series, screened at festivals all over the world, received its Canadian premiere at 2016 TIFF Kids, and was selected to screen at Cannes as part of Telefilm Canada’s Not Short on Talent program.

Mustard Seed (2017), the third short in her series, was completed in Berlin last fall, and recently won first prize, Heart, Minds and Soul Award at its world premiere in Rhode Island, and was named one of Canada’s TIFF Top Ten films of 2017. It also won a coveted Golden Sheaf Award for best student production at Yorkton International Film Festival.

Lina was a member of the 2017 competitive TIFF Talent Lab, and was selected to attend the prestigious Berlinale Talents Campus and Short Script Station with her fourth short film project, Shell of a Dead One, in February 2018.

Her feature script, The Rescuer, is in development and recently placed in the top 10 at the Canadian Film Festival Script Competition. Lina is also gearing up to direct a feature film.

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