Reel Justice

Our short film program weaves through issues and narratives to present a cinematic collage you won’t find at the Cineplex.

Presented with support from ACTRA Maritimes and the NSTU

Full Festival details available at www.mayworkshalifax.ca

Program:

Total run time: 90 mins

	Apaja’simk – The Return ⎮ Trevor Gould (2018) 11 mins   Glooscap’s messenger Marten is sent back to the land of the People to find them, learn about them, and to tell Glooscap if he is needed again. This Mi’kmaq language short film was produced through AFCOOP’s Language of Nova Scotia program.
	The Gottingen Stigma ⎮ Ross Andersen & Silas Brown (2018) 10 minsThis short documentary examines the story of how the change of a street name divided the Halifax North End community.
	Alive Day ⎮ Paul Vienneau (2016) 3 minsOn the occasion of the 25th anniversary of an injury that took his leg, first-time filmmaker and accessibility advocate Paul Vienneau reflects on how his injury changed his life and engages in a simple act of kindness to find ward off depression and isolation.
	Boat Harbour & the Mill ⎮ Mark Lang (2018) 6 minsAustralian songwriter & visual artist Mark Lang highlights the pollution resulting from the pulp mill at Boat Harbour as a case of environmental racism affecting the nearby Pictou Landing First Nation.
	We Regret to Inform You… ⎮ Eva Colmers & Heidi Janz (2015) 11 minsIn a check-box society that functions by dividing us into neatly-defined categories, where does someone with a strong mind and a weak body fit in? Dr. Heidi Janz – award-winning playwright, accomplished academic, and self-described ‘crip’ – has a curious problem. Despite her obvious physical limitations she is denied financial assistance from government programmes because of her “productive” mind. Following Heidi through her everyday life, with all its unique responsibilities, opportunities, and challenges, We Regret to Inform You… offers an unsentimental, and unapologetic, look at what it means to be both “disabled” and “productive”.
	Missing Women ⎮ Anna Quon (2016) 5 minsAnna Quon, a mobility-impaired, mixed-race Mad woman living in Dartmouth lifts her poem of the same name through a short animated film highlighting the missing and disappeared voices of women.
	Me Too: From Hashtags to Healing ⎮ Avalon Sexual Assault Centre (2018) 6 minsAvalon’s team of expert sexual assault trauma therapists explain the work of healing behind the hashtag.
	Grace ⎮ Taylor Olson (2018) 9 minsA young mother with weekend custody struggles with the ambiguity of her child’s safety. Her fear of harm to her daughter, lack of power, clarity and surety plague their weekend together.
	Duck Duck Goose ⎮ Shelley Thompson (2018) 7 minsWhen hiding for your life becomes a frightening game, an elementary school teacher and children cope with the fear and guilt created by lockdown. (Winner – Best Short – Atlantic Film Festival FIN – 2018)
	L’acteur – Jana Doiron (2018) 6 minsAn actor loses grip with his own identity as he succumbs to an existential crisis in this francophone short produced through AFCOOP’s Languages of Nova Scotia program.
	Thug ⎮ Daniel Boos (2017) – 15 minsDesperate to land a role, an aspiring actor takes extreme measures, risking a close relationship and inciting dramatic repercussions. Thug is a realist fiction film developed by Daniel Boos in collaboration with Simon Mutuyimana, Emmanuel John, and Joshua Schlaganweit. The film portrays the cast’s real life struggle to participate in the film industry stereotypes that affect their experience off screen. (Winner – Best Short – Atlantic Film Festival FIN – 2017)