Asian Film Database
Raga Malkauns (2004) |
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| 7min. Cinematic Poem, Black and White | |
| Language(s): | Sound |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Shanin Parhami (Iran) |
| Production Company: | |
| Trailer/Excerpt/Film: | Trailer |
| Awards: | |
| Setting: | Canada |
| Summary: | A short cinematic poem written in a combination of image, sound, text, rhythm and texture. A soothing sculpted landscape invoking spirits to speak of longing, desire and memory. (shahinparhami.info) |
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Rage of Silence (2005) |
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| 5min. Uncategorized | |
| Language(s): | |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Justin Lovell (Canada) |
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| Summary: | Forget killing Bill – this sword-wielding assassin is ready to deliver swift retribution to those who dare to pursue her. Set in a wintry forest blanketed in snow, this black & white film is brilliantly action-packed and exquisitely choreographed. Hard to believe, but director Justin Lovell shot this 8mm film all in-camera, in sequences and with no editing. |
| Source: | Reel Asian |
Ramen Party! (2013) |
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| 2min. Uncategorized | |
| Language(s): | |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Lillian Chan (Canada) |
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| Summary: | Get ready for a party! Ingredients for a ramen feast come alive in this animated short. Ramen Party! is part of a larger interactive project to get children excited about food. |
| Source: | Reel Asian |
Random Check (2005) |
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| Drama | |
| Language(s): | |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Zarqa Nawaz (England) |
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| Summary: | Arrested at the airport as the result of racial profiling and late for his wedding, a desperate young man uses the power of the media to set him free, only to become the subject of another "random check" en route to his honeymoon. (www.zarqanawaz.com) |
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Rattan (2012) |
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| 13min. Horror, Comedy, Colour | |
| Language(s): | English |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Samuel Kiehon Lee (Canada) |
| Production Company: | Canadian Film Centre |
| Trailer/Excerpt/Film: | Film |
| Awards: | |
| Setting: | Canada |
| Summary: | A wicker rattan bicycle basket is possessed by the spirit of a murderous pimp looking to get revenge on the hooker who killed him. During its journey, the basket attempts to kill those who get in its way including a bike thief, an office worker, and a baby! This film is a Canadian Film Centre thesis project for their Short Dramatic Film programme. (Canadian Film Centre) |
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Ravine (2010) |
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| 8min. Uncategorized, Colour | |
| Language(s): | English |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Paul Wong (Canada) |
| Production Company: | Paul Wong Projects |
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| Setting: | United States |
| Summary: | With a handheld camera, the filmmaker walks through a ravine until it reaches the shores of Salton Sea. Recorded in the Mojave Desert, this film is part of Wong's Scorched series. The video was presented as part of '5', a series of site-specific events and installations commissioned by the City of Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Public Art Programs. (www.5.paulwongprojects.com) |
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The Real Inglorious Bastards (2012) |
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| 52min. Documentary, Colour | |
| Language(s): | English |
| Director/Filmmaker: | min Sook Lee (South Korea) |
| Production Company: | Storyline Entertainment Inc. |
| Trailer/Excerpt/Film: | Trailer |
| Awards: | Best Short Documentary, GI Film Festival (2013); Best History Documentary, Yorkton Film Festival (2013); Best Cinematography in Docudrama - Canadian Society of Cinematographers (2014); Winner, Canadian Screen Award best history program (2014) |
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| Summary: | During the Second World War, the U.S. government's newly formed Office of Strategic Services trained thousands of men and launched hundreds of undercover missions. The Real Inglorious Bastards recounts the thrilling story of one of the most successful of these missions—Operation Greenup, comprised of two young Jewish refugees and one Wehrmacht officer. Three unlikely brothers-in-arms parachute one perilous winter night into the Austrian Alps, risking their lives to strike back at Nazi Germany. (http://www.realinglorious.com/) |
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The Real MASH (2012) |
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| 60min. Documentary, Colour | |
| Language(s): | English |
| Director/Filmmaker: | min Sook Lee (South Korea) |
| Production Company: | |
| Trailer/Excerpt/Film: | Film |
| Awards: | Honourable Mention, Columbus International Film & Video Awards |
| Setting: | |
| Summary: | The Real MASH traces the original stories and people that inspired the fictional feature film and TV series about Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals in the Korean War. (min Sook Lee) |
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Reality Illusion (1979) |
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| Uncategorized | |
| Language(s): | English |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Midi Onodera (Canada) |
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| Summary: | A study in teenage suicide. |
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The Red Ribbon (2004) |
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| 5min. Uncategorized, Colour | |
| Language(s): | |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Taien Ng-Chan (Canada) |
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| Summary: | According to an old Chinese fairytale, the god of love and marriage unites lovers by tying their feet together with a red ribbon. This is the story of a young woman who wakes up one day to find a red ribbon tied to her foot and decides to see what she'll find at the end. |
| Source: | Reel Asian |
Red Tulips (2012) |
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| 14min. Fiction, Colour | |
| Language(s): | English |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Shanti Thakur (Canada) |
| Production Company: | |
| Trailer/Excerpt/Film: | Trailer |
| Awards: | CINE Golden Eagle Award, Independent Division, Fiction Short, Washington, DC, 2013; Grand Remi Award (Best of the Festival), Experimental Film, Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival, 2013; Best Narrative Film, Columbus International Film Festival, 2012 |
| Setting: | United States |
| Summary: | In a magical world where memory lasts only a few hours, James learns how to recognize the only thing he really needs to know. (IMDb) |
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Refrigerator (1999) |
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| 16min. Short, Colour | |
| Language(s): | |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Ahn Young-seok (Korea) |
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| Summary: | Strife and simple pleasures abound when a working class family inherits an unwanted refrigerator. Set in the 1970's when electrical appliances were considered a "luxury", the film's neo realist portrayal is at once nostalgic and life affirming. (Reel Asian) |
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Reincarnation (2004) |
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| 6min. Uncategorized, Colour | |
| Language(s): | |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Gyeong-Tae Roh (Canada) |
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| Summary: | In East Asian Buddhism, when people burn a dead body, they pray for the soul to be reborn into a better world in a better form. Keeping this in mind, the filmmake "burns" trees, bugs, and birds against their wildlife backdrop, while praying for eachliving element to be reborn in a better shape in a better time. |
| Source: | Reel Asian |
Remembrance of Things Present (2007) |
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| 81min. Documentary, Colour | |
| Language(s): | English, Kannada |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Chandra Siddan Gargi (India) |
| Production Company: | |
| Trailer/Excerpt/Film: | Film |
| Awards: | Film South Asia Award for second best film |
| Setting: | Canada, India |
| Summary: | How is a teenager supposed to deal with an arranged marriage? How does one resolve the conflict of a displaced life after years of nomadic existence abroad? In Remembrance of Things Present, the filmmaker, now living in Canada, returns to Bangalore to confront her parents with the former question, while she herself tries to resolve the latter. Long divorced and newly remarried, she records some profoundly touching conversations with her parents – while also finding her past being repeated in the life of her parents' household help. (Chandra Siddan) |
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Reminiscent (2005) |
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| 8min. Uncategorized | |
| Language(s): | |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Heesoo Kim (Canada) |
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| Summary: | Through experimental hand processing and layered images, Reminiscent meditates on recurring thoughts and memories. Cycling through emotions, Heesoo Kim uses raw methods and crude material to provoke feelings of calmness, frustration and passion. |
| Source: | Reel Asian |
Remotely in Touch (1998) |
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| 15min. Video Art, Colour | |
| Language(s): | English |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Laian (Zimbabwe) |
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| Summary: | Poetic and surreal, Remotely In Touch explores what we perceive as an image; what is 'real'; what is constructed or science fiction; and what are our new codes of signification created by systems of information. The film uses images created by remote digital signals - sent via satellite or robotic camera - and juxtaposes these with analog video images encapsulating a 'visceral moment' or an 'embodied movement'. (Vtape) |
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The Republic of Love (2003) |
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| 96min. Fiction | |
| Language(s): | English |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Deepa Mehta (India) |
| Production Company: | Triptych Media, the Works, Film Consortium, Dan Films |
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| Summary: | The Republic of Love is a warm-hearted love story set in a cold city, a paradox that explores all the issues, dilemmas and barriers facing the lucky and unlucky in love in the 21st century. Fay and Tom live in the same apartment block. They live parallel lives but they have never met, a symptom of life in the modern age. Mutual acquaintances connect them, and one day they meet. This is it -- he/she is 'the one.' But suddenly, Fay is dealt a devastating blow at the hands of her family, which throws doubt into her mind and causes her to call the whole thing off. Tom is devastated; Fay is miserable at her decision but steadfast. Can they ever reconnect? (Telefilm Canada) |
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Rescue in Chinatown (1998) |
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| 5min. Short, Black & White | |
| Language(s): | |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Keiichi Kondoh (USA) |
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| Summary: | An experimental chop sockey, kung fu flick that explores Asian stereotypes and cinematic notions of the "hero". (Reel Asian) |
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Return to Grace (1997) |
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| 12min. Uncategorized, Black & White | |
| Language(s): | English |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Lucy Kwak (USA) |
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| Summary: | A son returns home to learn the different shades of denial and acceptance when coping with a schizophrenic family member. (IMDB) |
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Reverent Allegiance (2007) |
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| 83min. Uncategorized | |
| Language(s): | English |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Sharlene Bamboat (Pakistan) |
| Production Company: | |
| Trailer/Excerpt/Film: | Film |
| Awards: | |
| Setting: | Canada |
| Summary: | Reverent Allegiance expresses the artist's diasporic position, caught between two cultures, Pakistani and Canadian. Within this short vide,o she questions nationalism of the diasporic body. (vimeo.com) |
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The Revisited Journey (2004) |
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| 9min. Uncategorized, Colour | |
| Language(s): | |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Peter Chanthanakone (Canada) |
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| Setting: | |
| Summary: | Since 1975, many Laotians have died while fleeing to Thailand through the Mekong River. Through the use of text and the voices of his parents, Peter Chanthanakone shares the powerful story of the couple's own escape and the dangers they faced. |
| Source: | Reel Asian |
Rex vs. Singh (2008) |
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| 30min. Documentary (part), Colour | |
| Language(s): | English |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Ali Kazimi, John Greyson and Richard Fung (India) |
| Production Company: | Queer History Project, Out on Screen, Vancouver Queer Film Festival |
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| Awards: | |
| Setting: | Canada |
| Summary: | In 1915, two Sikh mill-workers, Dalip Singh and Naina Singh, were entrapped by undercover police in Vancouver and accused of sodomy. This experimental video stages scenes from their trial, told four times: first as a period drama, second as a documentary investigation of the case, third as a musical agit-prop, and fourth, as a deconstruction of the actual court transcript. (Richard Fung) |
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The Ride Home (2000) |
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| 9min. Short, Colour | |
| Language(s): | |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Grace Lee (USA) |
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| Summary: | A young woman tries to help her father overcome a family tragedy that has forever changed the course of their lives. |
| Source: | Reel Asian |
Ride Me (1994) |
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| 80min. Drama, Colour | |
| Language(s): | English |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Bashar Shbib (Syria) |
| Production Company: | Oneira Pictures |
| Trailer/Excerpt/Film: | Trailer |
| Awards: | |
| Setting: | United States |
| Summary: | The film follows the erratic love life of Francesca through the eyes of Randy Lafleur (Frederick Duval) – nicknamed 'Frenchie', a down-and-out private investigator who is struggling to uncover the events leading up to a accidental death… (www.oneira.com) |
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The Road Leading To You (2013) |
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| 8min. Uncategorized | |
| Language(s): | |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Christine Schure (Canada) |
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| Summary: | In this tale of star-crossed lovers, boy meets girl in a fateful moment. |
| Source: | Reel Asian |
Rock Garden: A Love Story (2007) |
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| 11Filmmin. Narrative, Colour | |
| Language(s): | No Dialouge |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Gloria Kim (South Korea) |
| Production Company: | Support from: Bravo!FACT, CBC/WIFT Canadian Reflections Award, the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council and NFB FAP. |
| Trailer/Excerpt/Film: | |
| Awards: | |
| Setting: | Canada |
| Summary: | An allegory about love, loneliness and the healing power of acceptance, Rock Garden: A Love Story is the tale of two neighbours who struggle and toil with everyday existence and how the most unlikely of objects changes them both. (CFMDC) |
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Room 710 (2005) |
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| 8min. Animation, Colour | |
| Language(s): | English |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Ann Marie Fleming (Japan) |
| Production Company: | |
| Trailer/Excerpt/Film: | Film |
| Awards: | |
| Setting: | Canada |
| Summary: | A true story about a woman who is awakened in her hotel room to a couple fighting next door. It all goes very terribly wrong. (Sleepy Dog Films) |
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Roots (2007) |
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| 11min. Uncategorized | |
| Language(s): | |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Alison Reiko Loader (Canada) |
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| Summary: | "I just keep thinking, does my other mom love me?" In a shopping cart full of fruity characters, Roots is a playful skit on the highly sensitive issue of adoption disclosure. Roots was written by Paul Bellini of the legendary comedy troupe Kids in the Hall, and voiced by an all-star comedic cast, including ex-Kids Scott Thompson and Mark McKinney. |
| Source: | Reel Asian |
Rope Tricks (2000) |
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| Uncategorized | |
| Language(s): | English |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Louise Noguchi (Canada) |
| Production Company: | |
| Trailer/Excerpt/Film: | Excerpt |
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| Summary: | The videos depict wild-west acts such as trick roping, bullwhipping, knife throwing and trick-riding. This video is a part of the Language of the Rope series (1998-2005), which stemmed from Noguchi's lessons in trick-roping that she received from a wild-west rodeo performer. (louisenoguchi.com) |
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Round Trip (2010) |
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| 49min. Uncategorized, Colour | |
| Language(s): | English |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Paul Wong (Canada) |
| Production Company: | Paul Wong Projects |
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| Awards: | |
| Setting: | Canada |
| Summary: | Recorded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Round Trip takes you on a car ride that starts on Main Street, goes through the downtown, the west end, Stanley Park, and then retraces its route back to Main Street. Composed as a visual journey, Round Trip makes use of video mixing mimicking the visual qualities of the club-sound experience. (www.5.paulwongprojects.com) |
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Rub & Tug (2002) |
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| 95min. Fiction, Colour | |
| Language(s): | English |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Soo Lyu (South Korea) |
| Production Company: | Willow Pictures |
| Trailer/Excerpt/Film: | Trailer |
| Awards: | |
| Setting: | Canada |
| Summary: | Lawrence, the owner of a 'full body' massage parlour, suspects that the three girls who work for him are secretly performing sex with customers. To catch them in the act, he hires Conrad as the parlour's unlikely manager. Conrad meets the three girls for the first time: Betty, the vivacious veteran of the full body massage game, Cindy, the adorable immigrant who always manages to get into trouble, and Lea, the beautiful but insecure massage girl with a nipple fetish. These street-smart girls welcome the opportunity to manipulate the naive manager. A battle wages as Conrad fights for control of the parlour. (Telefilm Canada) |
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Rumpelzwitter & Bassstilzchen (2001) |
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| 23min. Short | |
| Language(s): | English |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Behzad Sedghi (Iran) |
| Production Company: | |
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| Setting: | Germany |
| Summary: | Inspired by the fairy tale Rumpelstilzchen, this is a surreal story about a bass player who agrees to trade his bass with a magician in exchange for the woman of his dreams but later tries to forego paying the price. (YouTube) |
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Runaway Grooms (2005) |
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| 52min. Documentary, Colour | |
| Language(s): | English |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Ali Kazimi (India) |
| Production Company: | Asli Films |
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| Awards: | |
| Setting: | Canada |
| Summary: | Runaway Grooms is an unprecedented investigation into a disturbing trend that has shattered the lives of at least 10,000 women in India. Namita and Sonia married men who used their permanent residents status and citizenship in Canada to secure large dowries. But soon after the marriage ceremonies in India, their husbands threatened to leave them behind unless more money was forthcoming. The families were unable to meet their demands, and the men returned to Canada, leaving their wives behind. Now Sonia and Namita's families are fighting back... (Telefilm Canada) |
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Running (Heart, Body, mind, Spirit) (2008) |
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| 5min. Animation, Colour | |
| Language(s): | Sound |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Ann Marie Fleming (Japan) |
| Production Company: | Sleepy Dog Films |
| Trailer/Excerpt/Film: | Film |
| Awards: | |
| Setting: | Canada |
| Summary: | Based on the theory that each acupuncture needle has a resonance and each resonance corresponds to an organ and each organ tells a different story, we watch the continuing saga of Stickgirl as she runs through her life. This is a film about resilience and endurance. (Sleepy Dog Films) |
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Running in a Maze (2008) |
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| 3min. Uncategorized, Colour | |
| Language(s): | English |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Paul Wong (Canada) |
| Production Company: | |
| Trailer/Excerpt/Film: | Excerpt |
| Awards: | |
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| Summary: | Running In A Maze features an abstracted video of young women and men playfully chasing one another in a maze created by artist Charles Rea. (Vtape) |
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Running Red Lights (2004) |
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| 6min. Short, Colour | |
| Language(s): | English |
| Director/Filmmaker: | Jason S.W. Lem (Canada) |
| Production Company: | 2004 Queer Youth Digital Video Project at Inside Out; Charles Street Video |
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| Awards: | |
| Setting: | Canada |
| Summary: | The video follows a young and queer Asian rocker who rampages through Toronto's suburbs on his way to a concert and discovers love along the way. It aims to represent the political complexities inherent in queer Asian youth cultures and provides a unique glimpse into one corner of suburban Toronto life. (Vtape) |
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