But it does feature a giant steaming cock, plus indispensable advice on how to escape a fight with a larger, stronger man: simply eat his necktie. The Trailer Park Boys creator offers one of many valuable lessons to be found in Short Cuts, teaching us that “White boys always keep money in their socks.” Deco Dawson’s gleefully kitschy and perverse portrait of artist Jean Benoit, Keep a Modest Head, is amusing, if less impressive than his best work.
Crackin’ Down Hard (Mike Clattenburg), meanwhile, is fucking hilarious, and probably the best movie shot in Joshua Tree National Park since Twentynine Palms (with which is shares little else in common). A Canadian incest story! Nothing new, but Dupuis’ carefully observed drama of young adults in Val-D’Or features daring performances, while the final two scenes are noteworthy for the potent, inventive use of a lingering camera.Īs for the rest of the programmes, yes, men made (some good) films too, including A Pretty Funny Story (Evan Morgan), which is pretty hilarious in a Lost Highway meetsĪnchorman kind of way. Goyette displays adept visual storytelling in her tale of an emotionally damaged pilot finding solace in the skies, while reflecting on loneliness and a good deal of urban sprawl.įaillir (Struggle) (Sophie Dupuis). Selected for the Cannes Director’s Fortnight, the film is atmospheric, rich with emotion, and made with grace and sensitivity. Juste elicits fine performances in her simple yet resonant story of a Montreal teenager’s hopeful romance with an exciting classmate (hot guy with a motorcycle). Girard’s beautifully textured Ontario winter pastoral offers five minutes of contemplative sound and image, and rewards with a richly sensuous experience.Īvec Jeff à moto (Marie-Ève Juste). Creating a compelling, dramatic universe, Goulet proves herself a talent to watch. Goulet’s understated storytelling, often achieved with unspoken gestures or looks, is beautifully cinematic. Goulet’s deftly paced story of a teenage girl on a Northern Saskatchewan reserve, who dreams of becoming pregnant, is written and directed with aplomb.
Regardless, I’m looking forward to seeing eventual features by these directors, wherever they screen:īarefoot (Danis Goulet). But it strikes me as significant that this year’s best shorts are all directed by women, not only because women remain vastly outnumbered in the directing profession, but also because the program arrives on the heels of the Cannes competition being criticized for its complete dearth of female filmmakers.
(Kazik Radwanski is a notable recent example.) As for the films themselves, unsurprisingly the best (and some of the worst) generally comes from Québec. Short Cuts is forever destined to dwell in the festival’s proverbial shadows, but it serves a very tangible function, not least of which is that selection unlocks potential Telefilm funding for the (mostly) emerging talent it showcases, thus helping to launch the of gifted young Canadian directors. Second, with the sudden announcement that the Worldwide Shorts Film Festival- North America’s largest shorts-specific festival and marketplace-has been put on hiatus by its parent organization, the Canadian Film Centre, Short Cuts now looms larger as a domestic platform. First, with the elimination of Canada First (and before it, Perspectives Canada, the so-called “ghettos” for national cinema), it becomes the festival’s sole Canadian-specific program. This year’s Short Cuts Canada section is cast into new light due to two recent developments.