Latest posts from National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI)

Kate Green’s Melting Stars wins best short at Missoula’s International Wildlife Film Fest

Posted: 24 Apr 2017 01:57 PM PDT

Congratulations to Kate Green (NSI Totally Television, NSI Lifestyle & Reality Series Producer) whose film Melting Stars won best short at the International Wildlife Film Festival in Missoula, Montana.

Melting Stars unravels the mystery behind one of the largest, most catastrophic species die offs in recorded history. In the film, biologists scramble to save dying starfish only to learn that a virus was wiping them out.

The International Wildlife Film Festival’s vision is an engaged community that finds itself through cinema and helps the planet to heal.

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Mike Fly’s short Come To Bed included in CBC’s Short Film Face Off

Posted: 24 Apr 2017 01:31 PM PDT

Congratulations to Mike Fly (NSI Drama Prize) whose short film Come To Bed is a contender for the 2017 CBC Short Film Face Off.

In Short Film Face Off, films are screened and a panel of industry professionals provide commentary as well as discuss the creative and technical aspects of the films with the filmmakers.

The studio panel will choose three finalists and the television viewing audience will ultimately vote for the top film. The CBC and sponsors will be offering a cash prize to be used by the winning filmmaker towards his or her next short film. That film will be licensed for broadcast by the CBC.

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NSI grads up for Screen Nova Scotia awards

Posted: 24 Apr 2017 11:45 AM PDT

Congratulations to the NSI grads with films nominated for Screen Nova Scotia awards:

Weirdos from producer Marc Almon (NSI Drama Prize) and Werewolf from director/producer Ashley McKenzie and producer Nelson MacDonald (both NSI Drama Prize) are nominees for best feature film.

NSI nominated Werewolf (formerly Train Whistle Does Not Blow) for the Telefilm Canada Micro-Budget Production Program in 2015.

The winners will be announced during the third annual Screen Nova Scotia Awards Gala, taking place on May 4 at 8 p.m. at Casino Nova Scotia.

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Roxann Whitebean named finalist for 2017 Lindalee Tracey award

Posted: 24 Apr 2017 10:31 AM PDT

Congratulations to Roxann Whitebean (NSI IndigiDocs) on being named a finalist for the 2017 Lindalee Tracey Award.

The winner will be announced on May 5 in Toronto during the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.

The award celebrates emerging Canadian filmmakers and was created in 2007 to honour the legacy of filmmaker Lindalee Tracey.

Winners receive $5,000 in cash from the Lindalee Tracey Fund, $5,000 in post-production services from Technicolor and a beautiful hand-blown glass sculpture by Andrew Kuntz.

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Tasha Hubbard featured in Globe and Mail story on Indigenous documentary filmmakers

Posted: 24 Apr 2017 10:15 AM PDT

In a recent Globe and Mail feature a few of Canada’s Indigenous documentary filmmakers get the spotlight ahead of the 2017 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival which starts in Toronto this week.

The piece includes Birth of a Family by Tasha Hubbard (NSI IndigiDocs) which tells the story of four adult siblings who meet for the first time following their separation as children and adoption by white families.

Birth of a Family screens at Hot Docs on May 2, 3 and 6. Read about NSI grads with films at the festival which runs from April 27 to May 7.

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Bound

Posted: 21 Apr 2017 12:56 PM PDT

When a group of foreign workers appear at his brother’s sawmill, a struggling shopkeeper must face a troubling decision.

Set in rural Nova Scotia, Bound is a story of empathy, brotherhood and the bonds that compel and constrain us to act on our conscience.

Creative team

Writer/director: Daniel Boos
Producer: Lynn Matheson

Filmmaker’s statement

The inspiration for Bound first came about after I read of an incident in Elmvale, Ontario involving a group of Filipino men who were brought to Canada under false pretenses and forced into labour on a remote farm.

The story shocked and intrigued me and led me in my research to discover similar incidents happening across North America and the UK. I soon learned that modern slavery is a pervasive issue that takes on a variety of different forms and degrees in countries all over the world.

Bound’s protagonist is a witness and I chose to write from this perspective as a way to explore the complex social and socioeconomic forces that pressure individuals into silence and complicity.

The project evolved into a character study of an anti-hero grappling with his moral impulses. The result is a disquieting story of human dignity, shame and survival.

About Daniel Boos

After receiving his BA in contemporary studies at the University of King’s College, Daniel Boos worked in the film industry in London, England where he fulfilled an artist residency at the no.w.here film collective.

His first short, Palimpsest, screened in competition at the 50th Chicago International Film Festival.

Bound is his directorial debut.

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Adrift

Posted: 21 Apr 2017 12:51 PM PDT

After quitting his job during an economic downturn, a young man gains a new perspective on life.

Creative team

Writer/director/producer: Adolfo Ruiz

Filmmaker’s statement

The idea for Adrift emerged during the 2008 financial crisis. As a creative practitioner, I was cautious during that year – I worked full-time at an advertising agency while making independent films in my spare time.

On a personal level I experienced tension between the need for job stability and the desire for creative freedom. This tension is embodied in the employer-employee dialogue at the beginning of the film.

In developing the initial draft of this story, I wanted to build a dialogue between a cautious employer and a young worker with elusive, ill-defined future plans. Through their brief verbal exchange, there is a clash of opposing world views. Once that verbal exchange has taken place, Adrift is ultimately about the ‘moment after’ a major decision has been made – the confusion and sense of uncertainty that remains after burning a bridge.

The animated style of the film allows for multiple layers of visual material to overlap, interact and evoke a range of ideas that reinforce the theme of instability.

I began making Adrift in 2009. With no budget, no animation team and many life changes along the way, it took over six years to make.

About Adolfo Ruiz

Adolfo Ruiz is a visual communication designer and independent filmmaker based in Edmonton. He studied art and design in Spain, England and Canada.

He is currently part of an ongoing creative collaboration involving the translation of oral history into animation with members of the Tlicho community of Behchoko, Northwest Territories. The results of this collaboration have been recently screened by the Franco-German TV network, Arte.

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