Catch a wave of rising talent! Now in its 11th year, CineSiege, the annual juried showcase of York University’s Department of Film, presents a collection of shorts – riveting fiction, cutting-edge alternative works and provocative documentaries – selected by leading lights of the Canadian film and media scene. View an image gallery of stills from the nominated films on the YorkUFineArts Flickr page.
A Family Affair: Paul has been the victim of overly controlling women for the better part of his life – first his mother, now his wife.
Screening one night only, Oct. 22, at The Royal, CineSiege features the best productions of 2012-2013 by York University’s talented undergraduate filmmakers, chosen from a shortlist of 25 nominees, culled from a pool of 130 upper-year productions.
Buy.Sell.Trade: In a world of computers, iPhones, and mp3s, why vinyl records?
The jurors for this year’s program are broadcast journalist Garvia Bailey, host/producer with CBC Radio 2 and cbcmusic.ca; filmmaker Anita Doron (The Lesser Blessed, Late Fragment, The End of Silence); experimental filmmaker, film programmer and writer Chris Kennedy, executive director of the Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT); NFB producer Anita Lee (Stories We Tell, Home Again); and film writer Ezra Winton, co-founder and programming director of Cinema Politica.
The Good News: The song of life has two paths: one of tradition, one of love.
Jurors will be on hand at the screening to introduce the CineSiege picks and explain why they were chosen.
In addition to genre winners, recognition is also given to exceptional achievement in specific creative and technical crafts of filmmaking: screenwriting, cinematography, sound and editing.
Also in the nominee lineup this year are eight works by first- and second-year students. Faculty members in the Department of Film will choose an award-winner from each year.
Leave Them Unbroken: An experimental documentary examining the collective past of a family, and why they stay together despite error and pain.
“This year, as every year, the productions competing for CineSiege honours are truly outstanding,” said Professor John McCullough, chair of the Department of Film. “They embody the unbounded creativity and outstanding professionalism that our students bring to their work. Big congratulations to all the nominees!”
“We extend sincere thanks to our jurors for giving so generously of their time and expertise to support the work of the next generation of filmmakers,” said McCullough. “And we’re enormously grateful to our founding sponsor, Cinespace Film Studios, for their ongoing support and for making this event possible.”
Drinking Games: An insecure bro navigates the social battleground of a house party while trying to subvert his “friends” hookup plans in this subtle examination of guy behaviour.
CineSiege finalists and prizewinners regularly go on to screenings and awards at home and abroad. Recent success stories include Mark Pariselli’s After (2009) which was shortlisted for the prestigious Iris Prize and has screened at more than 40 other festivals worldwide including Paris, Athens, Seattle, Chicago and San Francisco. Gerald Patrick Fantone’s Play.Stop.Rewind. (2010) was an official selection of the Montreal World Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival and Beijing International Student Film & Video Festival. Nikolas Tsonis’ Children of the Sun (2011) showed at Toronto’s Images Festival and took top prize in the experimental category at the Savannah International Animation Festival in 2012. Emily Pickering’s What a Young Girl Should not Know (2011) made waves at the 2012 Worldwide Short Film Festival, and Janice Lee’s Faraway (2011) was presented at the Reel Asian filmfest and won a Toronto Film Critics Award in 2012. Jeff Garneau’s Erasermen (2012) screened at the TIFF Student Showcase and Edmonton International Film Fest.
Fifty Bucks: A day in the life of a young couple struggling to make ends meet and love one another.
CineSiege is made possible through the generous support of Cinespace Film Studios. The event runs one night only, Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 7pm at The Royal, at 608 College Street in Toronto. Admission is free.
For more information, visit the CineSiege 2013 website.