A Poet
$11.50
Through paper cut outs, time lapse, scratch animation, hand and eco-processing, this collection of films acts as a diaristic travelogue, exploring mediations on place, colonial structures, and the natural world breaking through the cracks.
Curated by Olivia Norquay. This program is rated 18A.
Content warning: This program contains flashing images.
a beaten path, Dir. Toby Gillies and Natalie Baird, 2025, Canada, 3 min
a beaten path is a study of urban prairie plant-life living between the cracks – thistles, burdock, plantain, etc – that spent the summer flourishing in surface parking lots and burned out demolition sites. A looping and constant push forward creates interconnecting cycles of growth and death of these creatures and spaces.
Sous le soleil exactement, Dir. Noa Blanche Beschorner, 2024, Canada, 15 min
Taking the form of language exercises, Sous le soleil exactement is a tribute to the city symphonies of Berlin – a city whose inhabitants, streets and movements inspire the traveler’s observations. Noa Blanche Beschorner returns to her native Germany and, through editing, creates a dialogue between spaces – sometimes populated, then deserted. A meditative film, where time and space set the tone.
La Colle Falls, Dir. Mike Rollo, 2025, Canada, 11 min
At the beginning of the 20th century, a hydroelectric dam was partially built and later abandoned on the North Saskatchewan River near the city of Prince Albert. A century has passed and the concrete structures from this industrial folly continue to frame the surrounding river and forest. Through visual and sonic layerings of water, reflective surfaces, and transparency, this film mediates the consequences of colonial activity over time in a specific, ancient place.
My Canada Train Journey, Dir. Sandy McLennan, 2025, Canada, 19 min
50-plus years after a memorable overnight Canadian train ride, Sandy McLennan boards regional and remote lines, with main line and public transit between them. This time shooting Double 8mm film, the same format he fell in love with while screening family home movies just for himself. What was he thinking?
Wînipêk, Dir. James Dixon, 2024, Canada, 10 min
Wînipêk explores Indigeneity within prairie settings while emphasizing feelings of disconnection and desire for kinship with the Land. The film contrasts experiences and landscapes that highlight the cultural dispossession of Treaty territories. It questions coexistence and contemplates the journey of finding our way back home and the enduring connection of where we come from.
(for once I dreamed of you), Dir. Kate Solar, 2025, Canada, 6 min
As night falls over the fields, a woman looks into unknown areas: the space after a poem, the distance between map and territory, the darkness between film frames. A pastoral nocturne turns inside out.
This 16mm work was shot at Film Farm in Mt. Forest, Ontario, then re-photographed with flashlight contact-printing. Intuitive processes consider the image and soundtrack as a living thing that breathes and decays.
