Latest posts from National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI)

Amanda Strong and Bracken Hanuse Corlett (both NSI IndigiDocs) are the filmmakers behind one of five films addressing decolonization in a provocative new CBC series.

Their film Flood (pictured) will be included in the series, entitled Keep Calm and Decolonize.

Singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie coined the phrase in early 2017 at the outset of the Canada 150 hoopla that offended many Indigenous people. Jesse Wente produced the series.

Flood is an animation showing a young woman in a canoe paddling into a stream of paper flowing from the desk of a cramped figure in a judge’s wig. It’s a classroom daydream rendered in mysterious, reverential stop-motion tableaux.

Keep Calm and Decolonize is available at cbc.ca/watch on November 27 and airs on CBC TV on December 3 at 3 p.m. (3:30 p.m. NT).

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A dark comedy exploring a day in the life of an abused woman who has a break with reality.

Creative team

Writers: Maria Sant’Angelo, Gerry Pearson
Director: Maria Sant’Angelo
Producers: Maria Sant’Angelo, Peter Loung

Filmmaker’s statement

When I first read Gerry Pearson’s script, I knew right away I wanted to direct it. I began inviting him over for martinis and he gladly accepted while we chatted about the project. All the while I thought he only wanted me to produce it and he would direct.

I kept romancing him with martinis and various Italian dishes trying to persuade him to let me direct his screenplay. Never coming out and actually saying “I want to direct your film.” I just waited patiently for him to see the light and realize I would be the best person for the job. I even had it cast for him in my head by the second round of martinis!

Finally, years later, over another martini … Gerry yelled out “Well of course you were always the one I thought would direct it!” We both laughed at how long it took us to get there. Once I got the green light, I used my sales skills to bring other talented people on board so the project would become a reality.

Originally, Gerry said he only wrote it as a fun thing to do with his peers who lived at the Performing Arts Lodge. He never thought it would be shot professionally with a real camera. We exceeded all of Gerry’s expectations and I’m happy to say he’s thrilled with the final cut.

He said to me, “I knew it needed a woman’s touch.” Originally I felt this piece was more than a “bit of fun” and there was a message to share with the world. Thought provoking? Hopefully … and that’s for the audience to decide.

At the end of the day, I still chat with my co-producer Peter Loung and ask him what he thinks the genre of this film really is. Is it a dark comedy, a drama or perhaps horror? Well, it’s definitely a quirky little film with laughs that surround a serious issue.

This is a story about a woman (played brilliantly by the talented Marye Barton), who has endured abuse from her spouse and suffered in silence for many years. My hope is that any woman who is a victim of mental and/or physical abuse, who sees this film, might get some help or that anyone who knows an abused woman would also reach out and try to help.

About Maria Sant’Angelo

Maria Sant’Angelo has been a professional in the entertainment industry since 1986. Her career began as an actor/singer and worked as a casting assistant for many years for the late, great Karen Hazzard, CDC.

Maria has worked on virtually every side of the entertainment industry – as an actor, casting director, talent agent/manager, producer, writer, director, session director, acting coach and more.

Mrs. Krantz Bakes Great Cookies is her directorial debut and a labour of love.

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A couple spend the day together and end it watching the clouds.

Creative team

Writer/director: Israel Ekanem
Producers: Israel Ekanem, Monica Bell-Ekanem

Filmmaker’s statement

Losing a loved one is difficult. It can be even more heartwrenching when they die by suicide. More than 90% of people who commit suicide have a mental or addictive disorder.

There is a stigma that comes with having a mental illness so, rather than talk about it, some people prefer to keep the illness to themselves. It’s only when something drastic (like dying by suicide) happens that some people take note.

Just because a person has a ‘nice’ life doesn’t mean they don’t have challenges. We should make it easy for people that need help to get it and if you know of someone with any mental illness or suicidal thoughts, please reach out to them.

The process of making We Watched the Clouds Form Shapes was a catharsis and helped in dealing with the loss of a friend who died by suicide.

We should learn to talk and not only on January 25 [Bell Let’s Talk Day 2018].

About Israel Ekanem

Israel Ekanem was introduced to the art of storytelling by his grandmother, Lydia. He fell in love with storytelling and it’s been his passion for years. The stories he initially shared would be spoken or written but he always felt the camera would give the stories more life.

He got a camcorder as a birthday gift and has been shooting and sharing stories ever since. He believes that a story, properly told, can change the world one person at a time.

He hopes to keep telling stories as long as he lives.

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Ten-year-old Farzin and his little sister Gita try to make sense of their mother’s passing and their new home in Canada shortly after the Iranian Revolution in the early 1980s.

Upon discovering their first snowfall, they uncover the harsh reality between truth and imagination.

Creative team

Writer/director: Lina Roessler
Producers: Lina Roessler, Aaron Kopff, Agnieszka Gutkowska

Filmmaker’s statement

Winter is the second short in a series titled Little Whispers which explores how children use imagination to solve their problems.

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 and 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, has 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.

Lina was a member of the competitive TIFF Talent Lab 2017.

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