Latest posts from National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI)

A heartwarming story of brotherly love at the darkest time of year.

Each year, despite his challenges, Bill decorates his house with Christmas lights. Memories of days gone by inspire and guide his work. This year Bill decorates with special purpose: his brother is coming!

Accessible versions

With descriptive video
With captioning

Creative team

Writer/Director/Producer: Beth Wishart MacKenzie

Filmmaker’s statement

From a Light Within features my neighbour, Bill Thompson, a man with an indomitable spirit. I have watched him navigate the world around him for years, never letting his disability of blindness inhibit his full engagement in life.

What seems remarkable to others is just ordinary to him, like decorating his house in Christmas lights when winter sets in. His display is a delight to everyone in the neighbourhood; a gift he gives us all at the darkest time of year.

About Beth Wishart MacKenzie

Beth is an educator and award-winning documentary filmmaker based in Edmonton.

She holds an MA in comparative literature and religious studies from the University of Alberta (2001) where she served as a lecturer in religious studies for more than 10 years.

Introduced to the art and craft of documentary filmmaking in 2006, she has since used the camera to continue her cultural-religious studies. As a socially engaged filmmaker, Beth seeks to use the creative medium of film to build community.

Beth’s documentary films include Unforgotten (2015); Brothers in the Buddha (2014) and Gently Whispering the Circle Back (2013) which is a companion piece to her film, Lana Gets Her Talk (2017).

Lana Gets Her Talk forms part of the cross-Canada touring art and film installation pîkiskwe-speak: An Invitation to Conversations in Reconciliation. pîkiskwe-speak “… is one 200 exceptional projects funded through the Canada Council for the Arts’ New Chapter Program” and will tour Canada throughout 2018-2019.

Her most recent work is the short documentary From a Light Within (2018).

Beth is also the lead in the development of Edmonton’s Gotta Minute Film Festival, a festival of one-minute, silent short films co-produced by the Film and Video Arts Society of Alberta (FAVA) and Pattison Onestop. Gotta Minute is a public art festival that reaches its audience on public transit, in public libraries and in other public spaces. Beth is dedicated to bringing media art to audiences young and old and from every walk of life.

The post From a Light Within appeared first on National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI).

A young Indigenous singer decides whether or not to debut a song internationally that will expose her turbulent past and the adoption of her child.

Creative team

Writer/Director: Nauzanin Knight
Producers: Mitra Knight, Nauzanin Knight

About Nauzanin Knight

A Canadian woman of Caribbean and Middle Eastern descent, Nauzanin’s nuanced stories reflect the uniqueness of her heritage as well as her international life.

Nauzanin began her career in creative writing before directing her attention to film projects. Upon completing her MSc in countering organized crime and terrorism at University College London, UK, Nauzanin set out to share stories about human beings who have been forced into extremes of situation, ideology, belief.

After publishing her non-fiction book State Terrorism in Iran: understanding the case of the Iranian Bahá’í Community, based on a series of in-depth interviews with Iranian immigrants and refugees who suffered severe persecution at the hands of the Iranian government and its agents, her screenwriting work has been recognized at international festivals.

Nauzanin is the executive producer at 1844 Studios, a film production company dedicated to fostering international artistic collaborations and exposing striking stories which tell us about the universality of human emotion despite diversity of human experience.

The post My Lyric I Never Knew appeared first on National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI).

A down-on-his-luck elf must deliver a lump of coal on Christmas Eve to earn his way back into Santa’s good books but when an eight-year old girl, who’s definitely on the naughty list, catches him in the act the elf must find a way to escape by any means necessary.

Creative team

Writer/director/producer: Alex Hatz

Filmmaker’s statement

I wanted to do a Christmas-themed film that my daughter could act in. When I came up with the idea for Santa’s Helper there was only one person I knew who could play the part of the elf, and that was Ken Hall. Thankfully he agreed.

About Alex Hatz

Alex is an award-winning filmmaker. His short films have screened at film festivals and been televised in Canada and internationally.

Alex came to directing as an actor, having appeared in film, TV and countless commercials. As an improviser he has been nominated for three Canadian Comedy Awards. His background in acting and comedy make Alex a versatile director who can meld both performance and comedy in just the right balance.

The post Santa’s Helper appeared first on National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI).

A gritty anti-hero’s interrogation of a criminal mastermind is derailed when her naïve sidekick arrives on the scene.

Creative team

Starring: Marcella Young, Kira Hall, Brian Quintero
Writers: Kira Hall, Rob Walker
Director/DOP/Editor: Ryan Couldrey
Producers: Kira Hall, Ryan Couldrey
First Assistant Camera: Vy Nguyen
Sound Recordist: Graham Robinson
Hair/Makeup: Margo Paige
Script Supervisor: Rob Walker
Production Assistants: Sean Galbraith, Mariam Bastani
Special thanks to Andrea Subissati, Dustin Pepper and Dante

Filmmaker’s statement

The Trainee was made for the 2018 Toronto 48 Hour Film Challenge – out of 30 possible genres, we drew ‘superhero.’ After we drew our genre and a few other requirements (notably, a door-to-door salesperson character named Riley Ludwig) writers Kira Hall (who also plays the titular trainee) and Rob Walker got to work gathering story pitches for me to choose from. Once they hit on what would become The Trainee, I set off with crew members to gather costumes and props (bless the Spirit of Halloween stores) while confirming our interrogation location – we filmed the short in the dusty-as-heck murder-basement of the legendary Rue Morgue Magazine‘s headquarters.

The short went on from its initial 48 Hour bracket screening to the best-of event where it took home an audience choice award as well as best FX.

For a little extra fun, check out the extremely silly 48-second trailer we cut for the initial screening set to the music of Blue Monday.

By the time The Trainee screens in the NSI Online Short Film Festival we’ll already have done our next 48 Hour Film Challenge. I heartily recommend other filmmakers take part in this whirlwind event just so they can see what kind of magic happens when they draw ‘silent film,’ ‘musical’ or ‘time travel’ as a genre and have 48 hours to deliver their final render on a USB stick in person.

About Ryan Couldrey

Ryan is a Toronto-based filmmaker who has directed a feature and a bunch of shorts, but sadly missed out on the Vine craze.

He’s got a couple of genre features he’s looking to make and will no doubt be doing more 48-hour film fests in between. The Trainee is Ryan’s fifth short film to be featured by the National Screen Institute.

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