Latest posts from National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI)

Two new films in this week’s NSI Online Short Film Festival from directors Frederick Kroetsch and Kurt Spenrath, and Adonay Guerrero.

Beneath the Surface

Beneath the Surface | Documentary, 18:30, English, AB, 2016 | Directors: various

Daniel Ennett attempts to become the first scuba certified quadruple amputee.

And then the sharks show up.

Directed by Frederick Kroetsch and Kurt Spenrath.

The Last Deaths of Joe

The Last Deaths of Joe | Comedy, 10:22, English, NS, 2012 | Director: Adonay Guerrero

Joe is an extra playing an Indian in a traditional Western, but he is having problems dying in the scene. Something is bothering him.

After one too many takes, Joe decides to change the fate of his character.

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Call for films / submit by March 24

Films are now being accepted through FilmFreeway until Friday, March 24, 2017.

If your film is programmed, you have a chance of winning up to $4,750 in cash awards. We accept films released after January 1, 2012.

Your film must be less than 30 mins long. Drama, comedy, animation, documentary, sci-fi, horror, music video and experimental are all eligible and must be made by a Canadian writer, director or producer.

Submit your film

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The NSI Online Short Film Festival is made possible through the support of Festival Partner Telefilm Canada; Supporting Sponsors Entertainment One, Super Channel, Corus Entertainment, Blue Ant Media, The Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation and Breakthrough Entertainment; Award Sponsors A&E Television Networks, The Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation; Corus Entertainment and Blue Ant Media; and Industry Partner the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

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Gibraltar Point (transformed), a new short from Penny McCann (NSI Drama Prize), celebrates its world premiere at the International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA) in Montreal on March 31.

Gibraltar Point (transformed) was created during a residency at Artscape Gibraltar Point on Toronto Island. In this experimental short, the random alchemy of hand-processing techniques creates a landscape that transcends the observable, edging into the sublime.

FIFA is a non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to the worldwide promotion and recognition of films on art and media arts.

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Congratulations to the NSI grads who won Canadian Screen Awards over the weekend.

Best comedy series

Letterkenny from producer Mark Montefiore (NSI Totally Television)

Best documentary program

My Millennial Life from director and co-producer Maureen Judge (NSI Global Marketing)

Best variety or sketch comedy program or series

Baroness von Sketch Show from supervising producer Jeff Peeler (NSI Global Marketing)

John Dunning Discovery Award

Randall Okita (Corus Diverse TV Director) for The Lockpicker

The post NSI grads win 2017 Canadian Screen Awards appeared first on National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI).

Joe is an extra playing an Indian in a traditional Western, but he is having problems dying in the scene. Something is bothering him.

After one too many takes, Joe decides to change the fate of his character.

Creative team

Writer/director/producer: Adonay Guerrero

Filmmaker’s statement

This project started as a narrative exercise [with specific criteria]: the location had to be a film set, [it had to include] two main characters, and have less than 10 lines of dialogue. With these conditions I added a personal reflection about the way racial stereotypes are represented and reinforced in film and media industry.

The process of writing and producing The Last Deaths of Joe helped me to reflect on the importance of not perpetuating racial and cultural stereotypes as a writer and director, as well as to have more cultural awareness in all my projects.

About Adonay Guerrero

Adonay Guerrero is a screenwriter, filmmaker and graphic artist with Tenek heritage born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, and currently based in Antigonish, NS.

He holds a master’s degree in film production from York University where he developed his thesis project Hidden Gods which was awarded a scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). He has a BA in audio-visual arts from Universidad de Guadalajara.

Adonay has won grants from different arts and culture programs in Mexico. Some of his works have screened in film festivals such as San Diego Comic Con International Independent and Edmonton International Film Festival (The Son of Santo), imagineNATIVE (The Last Deaths of Joe), and Diaspora International Film Festival (I live here: Windows).

As an editor, Adonay has been collaborating with the TV series Battle Scars which is about the Canadian military in times of peace and war.

After teaching some courses at the University of New Brunswick, Guerrero is currently teaching at St. Francis Xavier University, and is in pre-production on short film Distant Altars thanks to a grant awarded by the Canada Council of the Arts.

The post The Last Deaths of Joe appeared first on National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI).

Daniel Ennett attempts to become the first scuba certified quadruple amputee.

And then the sharks show up.

Creative team

Writer: Kurt Spenrath
Directors/producers: Frederick Kroetsch, Kurt Spenrath

Filmmakers’ statement

We’ve been filming a TV series called Invincible about our friend Daniel Ennett for many years. He’s a quadruple amputee with a taste for adventure.

We’ve filmed him sailing, skiing, painting. We’ve done it all.

Except getting him certified for scuba diving. We had to fly a disability scuba expert in from Kenya to make this work. I’m pretty sure we made history with this short doc.

About Frederick Kroetsch and Kurt Spenrath

Frederick and Kurt have spent the last three years travelling the globe making weird documentaries. Their primary focus is on professional wrestling, disability and kittens.

Their claim to fame is KittenTV, a web series about rescue kittens. It’s one of the most popular VOD items on TELUS TV. They have also produced content for CBC, NFB, Bravo and TELUS.

They’re currently working with the NFB on a documentary about being a bike messenger when it’s 40 below.

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