Primary Colours‍‍‍

Primary Colours is a cine-poem by Sudanese-Canadian artist Roua Aljied, aka Philosi-fire, about the realities of domestic violence and how each step a woman takes is a new colour to paint on the canvass of her life. Created in partnership with Women in International Security Canada and the 16 Days of Activism Campaign in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and performed live for the 2016 International Women's Day ceremonies in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

An Utterance‍‍‍ Dampened‍‍‍ (3 minutes 4 seconds)

In a world of perfect order, two women try and make a real connection.

FILMMAKER

Julie Zhu (Director/Writer/Producer) has been hard at work making films for a little over a year. Her film, AnUtterance Dampened, won Best Female Filmmaker and Best Emerging Actor at Ottawa's Digi60 2017 Filmmakers' Festival. She has never been more smitten by the craft and hopes this love never waivers.

Premiere Lancé‍‍‍ ‍‍‍(3 minutes)

A young boy in a new city finds his new best friend in a way he would of never expected.

FILMMAKER

Jean-Francois Dufault (Director/Writer/Producer) has been in the film and television industry for more than 22 years participating in many projects in the local Ottawa Film community. He’s acted in, directed and co-produced several short films. Jean-François is also volunteer coordinator at tv ROGERS. In fall of 2015, he incorporated DIGI60 in his students curriculum where the students had to write, direct and produce a short film for the festival. Recently, his short Premier lancé (First Pitch) in partnership with his students at tv Rogers won for Best Directing, Best Cast Ensemble, Best Cinematography and Best Film in the Spring edition of Digi60. Jean-François is currently working on producing his first full length film slated to start production in 2018.

‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍© 2016 Vixens Victorious

The Buckley Brothers (15 minutes)

Sam and Seb Buckley live with their parents on a small farm. Everyone in town knows them as the Buckley brothers. Despite the fact that one is black and the other is white, the boys have always insisted that they are identical twins. When they were young their mother felt there was no harm in just letting it go; but now that they’re grown men, she’s not so sure.

FILMMAKERS

Rachelle Casseus (Director/Writer/Produ‍‍‍cer) is an accomplished actress, writer and director. She performed for two seasons with Canada's National Arts Centre English Theatre Company, has a long list of television and film credits and is currently a series lead in TVO’s medical drama “Hard Rock Medical.” Rachelle’s Caribbean-Canadian heritage strongly influences her writing, which often explores themes of racial identity and belonging.

Charlie Ebbs (Writer/Producer) is an actor, writer and producer. Along with numerous theatre and film credits he has made guest appearances in Canadian TV dramas including Bravo's dramatic series “19-2” and TVOs “Hard Rock Medical.” Long-time collaborators, Charlie and Rachelle have written various projects together including the web series “Locker Lives” and the sketch comedy show. His latest co-writing effort with director Martin Forcier is the feature film Each His Own Devil is currently in production.

Atla‍‍‍s World‍‍‍ (7 minutes 10 seconds)

A malignant spirit forces a girl into a perilous
journey through a watery underworld.

FILMMAKER

Morgana McKenzie is an award-winning director and cinematographer. Her short films have screened at over 100 festivals and won over 35 awards. Her music video “Atlas World” has won six awards including Best Director and the Canada 150 Award for Best Film from the young filmmaker division of TIFF, and her short film “Ellie” won Best Fiction Film from TIFF in 2016. In 2014 Morgana was awarded the Best Emerging Female Filmmaker award by NFFTY, one of the world’s largest festivals for emerging filmmakers.

FILMMAKERS

Some of ‍‍‍the films being presented! More information coming very soon!

Antithesis‍‍‍ ‍‍‍

Antithesis is a visual exploration of a woman’s experience of memory associated with the house she walks through. It is a visual representation of how we perceive and interact with space, and how we can strongly attach memories to places and objects.

FILMMAKER

Megan Toompuu is a filmmaker based in Ottawa. She completed a BFA from Melhoppenheim School of Cinema at Concordia University in spring of 2015 with a Major in Film Production and a Minor in Film Animation. Megan has a strong interest in the art of visual storytelling be it through a camera or through a paintbrush. Her focus at Concordia was cinematography, and she has worked in the camera department on several projects. Megan’s unique combination of film production and animation knowledge gives her a wide range of storytelling tools and a diverse knowledge of the world of filmmaking.

Death Isn’t The Same Anymore‍‍‍ ‍‍‍

“Death Isn’t The Same Anymore” is a layered, experimental, visual and auditory cinepoem, which explores the intimate relationship humans have with their beds, and the cyclical nature of life between birth and death.

FILMMAKER

Jennifer Mulligan is a screenwriter, emerging director, and creative producer from Gatineau, Quebec. She completed her first short film “death isn’t the same anymore” in 2017, as a recipient of the SAW Video Jumpstart Grant. Recently, Jennifer has been hired by several Ottawa producers to write or polish feature film scripts. Jennifer’s script Minerva’s War was a finalist in the Lady Filmmakers Festival in 2014. It was optioned for production by the festival as part of their Script-to-Screen Initiative.

Be‍‍‍fore Me‍‍‍
(17 minutes)

Eight-year-old Mathis continues to be influenced by his father's xenophobic worldview after his recently divorced mother grows closer to her Muslim neighbour.

FILMMAKER:
Karim Ayari

WEBSITE:
www.splitklips.com

FILMMAKERS

Derek Price (Director) is an award winning director and producer from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. A late bloomer to the business of film, Derek made the change from a career in business in 2011. He was awarded the Best Director award at the Digi60 Filmmakers' Festival for his short film All That Remains and has worked on several award winning and internationally screen video projects and films. He is the director and cinematographer of more than 30 short films, several of which have been shown around the world, and is also director of photography on several independent features and is a senior video editor for Gusto Worldwide Media. Primary Colours is his second collaboration with poet Roua Aljied.

Roua Aljied (Writer/Performer) is a biomedical engineering student and spoken word poet who is passionate about writing, social justice, and people. Born in Sudan and raised in London, Ontario she is currently living in Ottawa, Ontario. Her poetry focuses on issues such as anti-blackness, human rights abuses, gender-based violence, and Islamophobia. In 2014 she was crowned the Ottawa youth slam champion as well as the women’s Versefest slam champion. She has coordinated with Women in International Security Canada and the 16 Days of Activism Campaign as well as performed for the 2016 International Women’s Day ceremony in Ottawa to speak about issues of domestic abuse. Her work has been taught in classrooms, featured on CBC, A+Plus, as well as screened across Canada, the US, and the world in over 25 film festivals. As a Black, Arabized, Muslim, immigrant woman she never runs out of words to write, but when she’s not performing, coding, or where she’s supposed to be, Roua can almost always be found in a coffee shop. Through storytelling, she hopes to connect with people in order to collectively cope and heal.

Emily Ramsay (Producer)‍‍‍ ‍‍‍is based in Ottawa, Ontario and is a recipient of the 2016 CMPA Ontario Production Mentorship as well as the City of Ottawa 2016 Youth in Culture Pilot Program grant. She studied screenwriting at Algonquin College, but also holds degrees from Concordia University in Canadian History and Library Studies. After five years in the federal government, she left the public service to fulfill her dreams in the film industry. Creating over 30 short films and having worked on a dozen feature films, television shows and documentaries, she has worked with women’s and feminist groups in Ottawa to create videos, documentaries and promos on intersectional topics concerning women and activist organizations in the area.

Brenda's New Home

A film about a young women with special needs - Brenda- moving into a new home with roommates and participating in the community as an adult.

Brenda has always lived with her loving family, and her parents have tried various living arrangements to support her independence. As they are aging, they want to see Brenda transition into a safe and supportive environment where she can continue to live a happy life. In February 2016, Brenda moved in a new home with two roommates and the transition has been remarkable. (please edit as you see it fit).

FILMMAKER

Shpresa Loshaj has a passion for story telling through various mediums, in particular film, as a way to motivate change. She was born in Kosovo and came to Canada as refugee in 1999. She credits her experiences in Kosovo for her inspiration to bring to life stories that are hard to relate to and developing an appreciation for seeing life through various lenses.

Fleeting

Fleeting is an experimental narrative love story that explores some of the universal experiences and emotions that humans go through in the course of a relationship. Not all relationships are the same nor are they perfect. With that in mind, the film is told through both male and female perspectives while intertwining many experiences to help tell one unique love story.

FILMMAKE‍‍‍R‍‍‍

Jeff Parenteau is a Canadian independent filmmaker. His films have been screened domestically and internationally. To date, most of his films have explored human consciousness through the lens of cinematic techniques and storytelling.

Project Cold Days

Demons is a short "Showcase Trailer" of what people can expect for the feature film release of Project Cold Days on December 15th. It focuses on mental health and addiction issues of the homeless population in Ottawa during the winter months.

FILMMAKER

Stephen R. Coleman is an up-and-coming local Ottawa film maker who focuses on exploring the core human condition through beautiful cinematic arts and heart warming stories of the individuals he interviews.

Music Videos Featured
(Running From Your Love, Partner, Domino)‍‍‍

Lesley Marshall is an intermedia artist currently working as a producer and consultant for independent audio visual projects and promotional media through her company MAVNetwork in Ottawa. An award-winning filmmaker, music videos made by Lesley have been featured on Vice, Exclaim!, Brooklyn Vegan, Aux, Rookie Mag, Stereogum, and UPROXX etc. In 2016, Lesley completed a residency at Artscape to complete her first Windows Collective Commission “Getting Ready Montage 1: ALWAYS LAYLA” and in 2017 Lesley was awarded a mentorship grant with the City of Ottawa to study large format intermedia work in Montreal.

Lesley Marshall is an intermedia artist currently working as a producer and consultant for independent audio visual projects and promotional media through her company MAVNetwork in Ottawa. An award-winning filmmaker, music videos made by Lesley have been featured on Vice, Exclaim!, Brooklyn Vegan, Aux, Rookie Mag, Stereogum, and UPROXX etc. In 2016, Lesley completed a residency at Artscape to complete her first Windows Collective Commission “Ge‍‍‍t‍‍‍ting Ready Montage 1: ALWAYS LAYLA” and in 2017 Lesley was awarded a mentorship grant with the City of Ottawa to study large format intermedia work in Montreal.