1-7 May 2022
The Vic Theatre
•
8-31 May 2022
Online
Rolling back to the cinema for our 10th annual showcase of short films and filmmakers from around the Pacific Ocean!
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Join us in the cinema or watch online
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CINE⚡️SPARK Top 5 Pitch Event
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Odeon Alley outdoor mini-cinema
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Dozens of filmmakers representing regions around the Pacific Ocean
TRAILER
TICKETS
MULTI-PASS
$50
Earlybird Price
$40
Provides FULL ACCESS to all festival content:
• Opening Reception, May 1
• Cinema screenings at The Vic Theatre, May 1-7
• CINE⚡️SPARK Live Pitch Event and Screening, May 6
• Closing Awards, May 7
• Online screening programs, May 8-31
CINEMA TICKETS
$10
Admission to ONE (1) in-person screening at The Vic Theatre between May 1-7.
*PLUS* Admission to the Opening Reception on May 1 and Closing Awards on May 7.
Choose your screening from the ticket list on Eventbrite.
Please note this ticket does NOT give access to any online programs.
ONLINE TICKETS
$10
Access to ONE (1) online screening available on-demand at shortcircuitfilmfestival.com between May 8-31.
Choose your online screening from the ticket list on Eventbrite.
Please note this ticket does NOT give access to any cinema screenings or in-person events.
ONLINE PASS
$30
Access to ALL online screening programs available on-demand at shortcircuitfilmfestival.com between May 8-31.
Choose ONLINE PASS from the ticket list on Eventbrite.
Please note this pass does NOT give access to any cinema screenings or in-person events.
CINEVIC MEMBERS
contact us at:
[email protected]
for your 50% DISCOUNT promo code
or click here to activate your renew your membership
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
CineVic acknowledges and respects the long and ongoing history of the Lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking people, now known as the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, as well as the W̱SÁNEĆ First Nations, on whose traditional and unceded territory we carry out our activities.
SHORT FILM PROGRAMS
Kick off the festival with animations, anthropomorphized cats, and empowering dance.
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Sunday 1 May 2022
7:00 pm
▶️
Sunday 8 May 2022
This program is rated PG
Taiwan • 6 mins • Ho-Yueh Chen
On the train, the memories came into my mind. Mother built a beautiful water world for me in my childhood. As I grew up, I found that her mermaid body began to change...
Vancouver • 6 mins • Alayna Y
A young woman falls in love with a waitress in a greasy-yet-nostalgic Hong Kong-style cafe, but a language gap divides the two - or is there something more?
Taiwan • 5 mins • Wen-Ching Chen
Got a phone call from the teacher, my son fights with his classmates in school. While I arrived at the classroom, it occurred to me that the scene looks so similar for me.
Machine
Vancouver • 4 mins • Meeshelle Neal
An experimental dance short film about how relationships can begin to feel like they are restraining us, instead of allowing us to be free, when the motions of love become mechanical.
Meeshelle ‘Meesh’ Neal is a writer, director and author, with a background in producing and acting. She is known to tackle difficult subjects with a surreal edge while remaining grounded in the nuanced complexity of human emotion. Recently, she directed two feature-length movies and is in development on another set to go to camera later this year.
Creature of Habit
Vancouver Island • 4 mins • Jeremy Nogue
A woman avoids the inevitable of a messy house until her cat forces her hand, leading her to enlightenment.
Originally from the Okanagan Valley, Jeremy Nogue's love for filmmaking began with a home video camera. Creature Of Habit is his debut short, but only the beginning of his exploration in storytelling through film.
Ersatz Cats
Vancouver Island • 3 mins • Suzanne Moreau
Ersatz cats play while the master's away - 'til they’re caught in the act! People playing cats playing people playing cats. Think "Victor, Victoria" fluidity - but cats. This quirky comedy, shot in one take on a Super 8 camera, is a cross between a cat video and the musical "Cats!"
Suzanne Moreau has herded humans and wrangled cats in indie films since taking CineVic’s Incubators Program in 2019. Always game for something new, Ersatz Cats is the experimental result of her first attempt operating a vintage camera in CineVic's One Take Super 8 Event during quarantine 2021 - pure escapist fun!
Nanakorobi (Seven Falls)
Washington • 7 mins • Glenna Burmer, Gaby Breiter
A young girl has the courage and determination to overcome any obstacle in order to save an orphaned friend during a snowstorm. The music was composed by Glenna Burmer and animated by Gaby Breiter and Deep Sky studios in sumi-e style, as a tribute to Glenna’s mother Nobu Kamimura, who was a sumi-e artist.
Glenna Burmer is a Japanese-American composer who produces concerts and dance programs that feature original music, choreography and videos. As president of Burmer Music, she has produced seven contemporary classical or jazz music CDs compilations, three concerts at Benaroya Hall in Seattle This is her first animated film.
Under the Medal
Taiwan • 6 mins • Ying-Ying Liu
The chest medals represent not only the prestigious and righteous decorations but also the heavy guilt. A veteran chased the stealing medals and started recalling the life with getting these medals. It reveals the ambiguous righteous under the medals.
Ying-Ying Liu graduated from digital media department in National Yunlin University of Science and Technology. Her hobbies are illustration and screenplay. Since Taiwan's situation has become more and more dangerous and threatened by war, this animation emphasizes the effect of post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD.
Splish Splash
Indonesia • 9 mins • Andra Fembriarto
*Geo-blocked in online program for Canadian viewers only*
Two bickering siblings unite to fight pirates who want to steal their precious Sun Pearl necklace that’s needed for their family ritual.
Andra Fembriarto is a director, videographer and writer based in Jakarta, Indonesia. Best known for his acclaimed short films The Raining Tree and the travel web series Jalan-Jalan Men, Andra’s passion is to celebrate Indonesian cultural heritage through moving pictures for a global audience.
Ariss
Taiwan • 5 mins • Wei-Jing Chen
When I was little, my parents told me that the Earth was a beautiful place. There is clear sky, green land, human beings, and many different creatures. Human can live so long until they fall asleep one day. Could the consciousness be uploaded and make us eternal?
Wei-Jing Chen is a recent graduate of the Department of Design at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. She believes the most interesting part of making animation is the dynamic adjustment and rhythm - whether it is the movement of characters or items, camera movement or post-editing.
Crush On
Taiwan • 5 mins • Shu-Yu Chu
A deserted street in the city. A stalled train crashes into an abandoned apartment. The moment I saw you was just like a train rushing into my brain.
Shu-Yu Chu recently studied in National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, and plans to continue studying aboard or work in an international visual effects company.
An eclectic selection of short docs from near and far.
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Monday 2 May 2022
7:00 pm
▶️
Sunday 8 May 2022
This program is rated PG
Australia • 14 mins • Bryn Chainey
Bryn Chainey is a British-Australian filmmaker whose work blends fantasy and reality to explore identity, lore, and our relationships with nature. His short films are watchable at brynchainey.com and have previously screened at Oscar-qualifying festivals including the Berlinale, Palm Springs Shortfest, Warsaw IFF, and Edinburgh IFF.
Yukon • 9 mins • Lily Gontard
Lily Gontard is a filmmaker whose work focuses on telling stories from northwestern Canada. Lily is a settler grateful to be living in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, the traditional territories of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and Ta’an Kwäch’än Council.
Hawai'i • 6 mins • Jade Onaka, Joel Serin-Christ
Jade Onaka is a high school junior in Kona, Hawai‘i interested in photography, cinematography, journalism, politics, and Hawaiian culture.
Joel Serin-Christ is the Director of Digital Production for One Day Studio at Teach for America where he produces video stories and digital experiences that inform and inspire audiences to imagine an equitable future. He studied professional writing for multimedia at the University of California, Santa Barbara and received his MS in Education from the University of Pennsylvania.
Vancouver • 6 mins • Sina Moazzenizadeh
Sina Moazzenizadeh is an emerging Iranian Canadian writer, director and student member of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers. He grew up in Tehran but moved to Vancouver and currently attends film school at Capilano University.
Vancouver • 15 mins • Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto, Kent Donguines
Washington • 7 mins • Simantini Chakraborty
Simantini Chakraborty is a documentary filmmaker telling stories about people, places, issues and events that truly matter -- utilizing dramatic visual imagery, technology and sound design. Simantini has a unique background in filmmaking, photography, technology and world travel, which motivates her to explore universal aspects of human condition through film.
What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger.
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Tuesday 3 May 2022
7:00 pm
▶️
Sunday 8 May 2022
This program is rated PG
California • 20 mins • Ye'ela Rosenfeld
Vancouver Island • 18 mins • Stephanie Rossel
Stephanie Rossel is passionate about telling heart centred stories that evoke emotional familiarity. Her short film credits include; Between Floors, Missing You and Baby Steps. As a Filmmaker & Script Supervisor she has worked with award winning Directors and Producers -- her credits include Juno, 50/50, When We Rise and Tully.
California • 17 mins • Erica Eng
Erica Eng is a fifth-generation Chinese American director based in Los Angeles. Her latest film "Americanized" took home 12 wins including Palm Springs ShortFest (Young Cineastes Award), Bentonville Film Festival (Best Short Film), and the Oscar-qualifying award at Cinequest (Best Dramatic Short). Inspired by her Oakland roots, Erica creates work that reflects the diverse community where she grew up.
Singapore • 18 mins • Sabrina Poon
Charis, a single working mother, is suddenly brought into turmoil when she discovers that her domestic helper, Maria, is pregnant. The situation is further complicated when Maria reveals that she was raped, leaving both of them in a moral dilemma -- as reporting to the police could risk deportation.
These bonds were formed in the big bang, and are unbreakable.
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Wednesday 4 May 2022
7:00 pm
Please note the online version of this program will be geo-blocked for access by Canadian viewers only.
Available for streaming
▶️
Sunday 8 May 2022
Hosted on the VUCAVU platform
This program is rated PG
Aotearoa / New Zealand • 14 mins • Kath Akuhata-Brown
Vancouver • 14 mins • Jay Kamal
An award-winning director and cinematographer, Jay holds a BFA in Film Production from UBC and a BA in Film Studies from the University of Alberta. Fluent in Arabic, English, French, and Japanese, Jay strives to make multicultural films and to use his extensive travel experiences to tell stories that would otherwise remain untold.
Vancouver • 13 mins • Louisa Phung
Based out of Vancouver BC, Louisa Phung is a writer and an award winning director. She carries a Bachelor of Performing Arts Degree and a Diploma in Theatre from Capilano University. Hope and Grace is the first project under Louisa's new production company, Clever Bird Entertainment, followed by her award-winning 1 minute horror short Day Break. She is currently developing a stage play Embers of the Past.
Vancouver • 13 mins • Harley Maranan
Arthur Rodger 'Harley' Maranan is an award-winning writer, director, and composer from Manila, Philippines. He moved to Vancouver in 2018 and uses storytelling to define — and redefine — the roles of Asians in the modern world, through his unique Filipino blend of humour and drama.
New Zealand • 15 mins• Dwayne Cameron
The fear of being alone.
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Thursday 5 May 2022
7:00 pm
▶️
Sunday 8 May 2022
This program is rated 14A
California • 17 mins • Chelsea Spirito
Chelsea Spirito is a native Angeleno, Second City Conservatory graduate (take that, Yale Drama!) and first-time director with her short A Tight Ten. When not writing, acting or making funny voices, Chelsea is a volunteer with Planned Parenthood and the American Cinematheque.
Vancouver Island • 13 mins • Joyce Kline
Joyce Kline is a Leo award winning short film production designer with a passion for storytelling. Formally trained as a visual artist, she's a “wide achiever” who’s enjoyed an eclectic career as an artist, writer, playwright, dancer, theatre designer, storyboard artist—and now, filmmaker.
Singapore • 7 mins • Dominic Graham
Digital marketer by day, and writer and filmmaker by night (and weekend), Dominic Graham feels lucky to have friends and family willing to help him make passion projects such as Fumes on a shoestring budget.
Vancouver • 9 mins • Tanya Jade
Vancouver • 2 mins • Tammy Tsang
Tammy Tsang is an emerging writer and filmmaker born and raised in Vancouver. When not working on passion projects, she works as an assistant director in the film industry. Recently part of the PSP’s Scripted Series Lab 2022 cohort, Tammy aspires to show what stories Canadians can offer.
New Zealand • 15 mins • Aidan Otene Dickens
Aidan Otene Dickens Aidan Dickens is a Wellington-based film director of Maori and pakeha descent. He has numerous short films and music videos to his credit which have featured in film festivals internationally. He completed an MA in Screen Production at Auckland University in 2017 and works as a film tutor at Yoobee Colleges. His script for The Old Man Next Door was a finalist in the 2018 Fresh Shorts funding round through the New Zealand Film Commission.
Aotearoa / New Zealand • 6 mins • Kath Akuhata-Brown
Local documentaries about the changing face of our world, and those helping to protect it.
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Saturday 7 May 2022
5:00 pm
▶️
Sunday 8 May 2022
This program is rated G
Vancouver Island • 6 mins • Kelly Conlin
Kelly Conlin is a Canadian filmmaker who is passionate about bringing untold stories to life through her work as a cinematographer, director, editor and colourist. Her films have screened internationally at over forty film festivals and garnered multiple nominations and awards, including: Best Documentary, Best Short and Best Experimental Film.
Mike Morash started making impact driven films when studying Political Science at the University of Victoria. After finishing his degree, he founded One Island Media, a production company focused on supporting research institutions, non-profit organizations, and indigenous communities. New-Chah-Nulth: Reclaiming Tradition is part of his recent exploration into longer form content.
ƛaʔuukʷiatḥ (Tla-o-qui-aht): Dugout Canoe
Vancouver Island • 10 minutes • Steven Davies
After working as a clearcut logger in what is now known as the Clayoquot Sound, master carver and land defender Joe Martin reconciles his past by revitalizing the ancestral knowledge and artistic practice of the traditional Tla-o-qui-aht dugout canoe.
Steven Thomas Davies is a Coast Salish (Snuneymuxw/European-Canadian) filmmaker who was born and raised in the traditional territories of the Lekwungen speaking Peoples (now known as the Songhees and Esquimalt), W̱SÁNEĆ, and the Salish Sea. He makes films and media art that centre spiritual, cultural, and political themes, to reconnect with Indigenous histories and epistemologies to educate himself and share with others.
Water Logged
Vancouver • 11 minutes • Daniel J Pierce
The City of Grand Forks, BC has been inundated by monstrous spring floods three times since 2017. Local resident Jennifer Houghton recounts her harrowing experience with the floods. And a retired logger and forest ecologist connect the dots between clear-cut logging in watersheds, disrupted hydrology, and increased flooding.
Dan Pierce is a filmmaker, podcaster and storyteller. His documentaries have appeared on CBC Documentary Channel, Knowledge Network, and at film festivals around the world. For the past year, he’s been writing, producing and hosting a CBC podcast series called Pressure Cooker.
It's Time to Listen
Quadra Island • 7 minutes • Louisa Gilbert
Scientists capitalize on a rare summer without cruise ship traffic to hear how whales respond to a quieter underwater world.Louisa Gilbert has been part of creative teams producing global science and natural history documentaries for 10 years; her name is found in the credits for landmark series for BBC, National Geographic, PBS, Discovery Channel and Netflix. In 2019 Louisa founded Wild Bus Films; an adventurous, new breed of production company embedded in British Columbia’s wilderness, bringing science and nature stories to curious minds everywhere.
Before the Beauty is Gone
Vancouver Island • 14 minutes • Mackai Sharp
An unfortunate reality: our fish are disappearing. Not our Salmon or our Halibut, but those will soon follow. Forage fish, a key segment of the marine food chain, is vanishing off the coast of British Columbia.Mackai Sharp is a Maōri-Canadian filmmaker & photographer. Raised on Vancouver island, Mackai started making films when he was 8 years old. Since graduating from high school last year, his films have been awarded across North America, Europe & Asia. Adjacent to filmmaking Mackai is a published photographer working in both creative and documentary photography.
Our favourite themed program returns to close out the festival with a trip into the surreal plane.
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Saturday 7 May 2022
7:00 pm
▶️
Sunday 8 May 2022
This program is rated PG
Lytton • 11 minutes • Martin Glegg
Martin Glegg is a Scottish-Canadian Writer and Director who draws from his education in both film production and human ecology. His curiosity in the natural world and the human condition combines a love for capturing social realism alongside imaginative tales of adventure.
Vancouver Island • 10 minutes • Connor Gaston
Connor Gaston is a Victoria based filmmaker whose films have screened at top festivals around the world and have earned numerous accolades, including five Leo Awards, and the BC Emerging Filmmaker Award at Vancouver International Film Festival. His first feature film, The Devout, premiered at Busan International Film Festival in 2015.
Vancouver Island • 15 minutes • Tabatha Golat
Tabatha Golat is a Vancouver Island-based director, producer, and writer. She has made two award-winning short films, as well as music and corporate videos. Her passion for storytelling came at a young age after attending a filmmaking program at Galiano Film and Television School. She loves making people laugh, and comedy is her forte. In 2016 Tabatha was awarded a grant from Telus Storyhive to create the short film The United Guys Network. Her current project ‘Imitates Life’ was made possible through a ShawTV & CineCentral grant and was filmed on the Saanich Peninsula on Vancouver Island.
Aotearoa / New Zealand • 11 minutes • Nicholas Riini
Nicholas Riini has worked in the New Zealand film industry for 20 years, mostly in technical departments and currently as a Gaffer. His credits include music videos and feature films from Power Rangers to The New Legend of Monkey, Born to Dance, and Ghost in the Shell. He has written and directed two short films, OUR SECRET in 2007 and KORO” in 2018, which screened at ImagiNATIVE film festival in Toronto.
Vancouver • 3 mins • Briana Rayner
Briana Rayner is a writer, director, performer and classic typewriter enthusiast. She directed live comedy and improvised theatre in her former role as Co-Artistic Director at Instant Theatre; Old Fox is her first foray into directing filmed drama. In her spare time, she likes to bake and watch shark attack videos.
Aotearoa / New Zealand • 13 minutes • Tony Olsen
This online-only screening program is included with all MULTI-PASS, Cinema Ticket, and Online Ticket sales.
Please note this is a compilation featuring selections from our other programs -- it is only available online and will be geo-blocked for access by Canadian viewers only.
Available for streaming
▶️
Sunday 8 May 2022
Hosted on the VUCAVU platform
This program is rated PG
Splish Splash
Indonesia • 9 mins • Andra Fembriarto
Two bickering siblings unite to fight pirates who want to steal their precious Sun Pearl necklace that’s needed for their family ritual.
Andra Fembriarto is a director, videographer and writer based in Jakarta, Indonesia. Best known for his acclaimed short films The Raining Tree and the travel web series Jalan-Jalan Men, Andra’s passion is to celebrate Indonesian cultural heritage through moving pictures for a global audience.
Yukon • 9 mins • Lily Gontard
Lily Gontard is a filmmaker whose work focuses on telling stories from northwestern Canada. Lily is a settler grateful to be living in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, the traditional territories of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and Ta’an Kwäch’än Council.
Vancouver • 15 mins • Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto, Kent Donguines
Washington • 7 mins • Simantini Chakraborty
Simantini Chakraborty is a documentary filmmaker telling stories about people, places, issues and events that truly matter -- utilizing dramatic visual imagery, technology and sound design. Simantini has a unique background in filmmaking, photography, technology and world travel, which motivates her to explore universal aspects of human condition through film.
ODEON ALLEY
AKA Millie's Lane
Lək̓ʷəŋən Territory
764 Yates Street
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
We're reactivating Odeon Alley for the 10th annual Short Circuit!
From May 9th to 31st, all 50 films will be running 24/7 in the @ministryofcasualliving window gallery, a few doors down from CineVic HQ in Victoria, BC, Canada.
Check it out along with our neighbours @theuniontattoo @stiritupvictoria @fanfavourites @cenotevictoria @thebrickyardonyates @fol.epi @downtownvictoriabc @cityofvictoria
#yyj #yyjarts #yyjfilm #localfilm #internationalfilm #windowgallery
Sponsored by:
Every year CINE⚡SPARK awards a package of cash, equipment, and production services to an outstanding short screenplay by a filmmaker from the Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands region.
The best pitch walks away with more than $17,500 worth of resources to create their short film courtesy of CineVic, William F White International, and Modo. They'll have a year to complete the project and then see it premiere at next year’s Short Circuit!
This year's Top 5 screenwriters will pitch their short film projects on stage in front of a live audience. Our esteemed jury will pick a winner, to be announced the following night at our closing awards.
🍿
Friday 6 May 2022
CINE⚡️SPARK Live Pitch Event @ 7:00 pm
Film screening to follow
Announcing the 2022 CINE⚡️SPARK Top 5:
BEGLOVED
The story of Frankie, a young woman struggling to cope after her boyfriend has developed a severe aversion to her right hand.
Writer: Anna Pollard
Anna is a recent graduate of UVic’s Creative Writing program, and a passionate screenwriter particularly interested in exploring intersections between romance and horror. An Ontarian living on the island since 2016, she worked most recently as a producer and assistant director for the UVic-produced short film, Year of the Tortoise.
ENID
Enid, a psychic, channels a family’s dead relative and discovers him to be her annoying ex-boyfriend.
Writer: Kamilla Reid
After writing and directing live theatre, Kamilla extended her storytelling into film where her short won a local Comedy Arts award. She has since become a Nicholl Fellowship screenwriting finalist and enjoys her many other filmmaking incarnations as locations manager, casting director and production coordinator right here in beautiful Victoria BC.
THE BOTTOM LINE
A body part insurance salesman recounts three stories from his life on the road, weighing the price you pay preparing for the worst.
Writer: Michael Makaroff
Michael is a writer/director based out of Victoria BC. His projects range from music videos and commercials to narratives and documentaries. Having honed his writing through U of T's screenwriting program, Michael will be creating his fourth short following the festival success of his previous, Clay Pots.
THE GIRL IN THE FOREST
Clara, who has grown isolated in the forest, befriends city girl Hayoon, whose differences are rather attractive to the monotone girl in the forest.
Writer: Hoo Youn Kwon
Taking Inspiration from meaningful life events and human potential for depth, Hoo Youn finds storytelling through film the best way to captivate and deliver relevant stories. He was born in South America to Korean parents, which allowed him to grow culturally diverse and develop a particular perspective on society.
SPARK BIRD
Jane, struggling to cope with the loss of her partner, is encouraged by her compassionate friend Avery, and finds solace thanks to an inspiring hummingbird.
Writer: Ella Privet
Ella has a Masters Degree in Documentary Filmmaking from the University of Aix-Marseille in France. In 2013, she directed the short documentary Air-Bel, and in 2021, she co-directed with Clotilde Bertet the short film Princess Sofia shot in Tanzania. She has been living on Vancouver Island with her partner for 4 years.
Please welcome our host for the evening:
J. McLaughlin [emcee + performance artist + musician] has been entertaining, enthralling & occasionally terrorizing burlesque, drag, stand-up, theatrical & music audiences for over 20 years. She lives with her mother in Victoria, BC.
Join us for a night of pitches followed by a retrospective screening of films created from our CINE⚡️SPARK program, including two world premieres!
🍿
Friday 6 May 2022
CINE⚡️SPARK Live Pitch Event @ 7:00 pm
Film screening to follow
▶️
Sunday 8 May 2022
This program is rated PG
Going Home
2022 • 10 mins • Director: Trent Peek • Writer: Sarah Nicole Faucher
* WORLD PREMIERE *
Sarah Nicole Faucher is a watercolourist, IATSE 168 Permittee, local theatre and film costumer, poet, short science fiction writer, award-winning screenwriter and award-winning short filmmaker. As a disability activist, she also wrote a letter supporting the development of the WIFTV Emerging TV Producer Program. She was the winner of the 2021 CINE⚡️SPARK pitch competition for her script Going Home.
Her Name is Destiny
2018 • 15 mins • Director/Writer: Alex Miller
Alex Miller was born and raised in Edmonton but spent his seminal years on Vancouver island where he would begin his career in film. From humble begginings of comedic skits with his friends to a half a dozen shorts under his belt and a career as a camera assistant, Alex continues to pursue his passion for film every day of his life.
Norman
2019 • 14 mins • Director: Graham McDonald • Writer: Lisah Smith
Norman, an elderly curmudgeon, must learn to open his heart, and stop killing the squirrels, or all will be lost with his already estranged daughter.
2021 • 16 mins • Director: Deanna Milligan • Writer: Claire Robertson
2022 • 16 mins • Director: James Weicker • Writer: Ann Marie Hak
* WORLD PREMIERE *
Raised in the Wet’suwet’en Territory (Houston BC) by a Czechoslovakian father and a Filipina mother, Ann Marie Hak explores her ethnicity and what it means to be a first-generation Canadian through her writing. She was the winner of the 2020 CINE⚡️SPARK pitch competition for her script Wishing Fall, and is working towards a marketing degree so she can build a business in creating lifestyle stories through photography and videography.
Meet our distinguished judging panel for this year's CINE⚡️SPARK Live Pitch Event!
Letay Williams is a screenwriter from Kingston, Jamaica who shot her first short film ENCOUNTER on a cellphone, and won third place in a mobile filmmaking competition. Her next project WHEN A MAN LOVES & LIES was an official selection in the GATFFEST Film Festival in 2019. That same year, she pitched and won funding for her film TRAYTOWN at the Jamaica Feature Film Lab’s Pitch Competition, and came away Audience Choice award winner at the Creators of Colour – Big Pitch at TIFF. With a BA in Literatures in English and Film from the University of the West Indies (UWI), she is currently an MFA in Screenwriting candidate at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada, and is one of eight writers selected for the 2022 BIPOC TV & Film Episodic Writers’ Lab.
Daniel J. Pierce is a filmmaker, podcaster and storyteller. His documentaries have appeared on CBC Documentary Channel, Knowledge Network, and at film festivals around the world. For the past year, he’s been writing, producing and hosting a CBC podcast series called Pressure Cooker.
Meeshelle ‘Meesh’ Neal is a writer, director and author, with a background in producing and acting. She is known to tackle difficult subjects with a surreal edge while remaining grounded in the nuanced complexity of human emotion. Recently, she directed two feature-length movies and is in development on many projects including a TV series based on her YA trilogy.
A big thanks to our jury who combed through all the screenplay submissions in our first round of blind judging to select this year's Top 5.
Sarah Nicole Faucher is a watercolourist, IATSE 168 Permittee, local theatre and film costumer, poet, short science fiction writer, award-winning screenwriter and award-winning short filmmaker. As a disability activist, she also wrote a letter supporting the development of the WIFTV Emerging TV Producer Program. She was the winner of the 2021 CINE⚡️SPARK pitch competition for her script Going Home.
Steve Sxwithul’txw is from the Penelakut Tribe located just off Vancouver Island, Canada. He was raised in the Cowichan Valley by his mother along with five siblings. He has had a career of various backgrounds -- he went back to school in early 2003 to work as a journalist but found after a couple of years he wanted to tell stories of his own people. Steve's short films Leave it on the Water and Finding The Balance have screened at Short Circuit Pacific Rim Film Festival and around the world. He directed & produced his own series called Tribal Police Files which is now on its third season on APTN, and he is also the lead for the development of the Indigenous Walk of Fame which will honour excellence in the genres of TV, Film, Arts, Music and Sports and will be located in the City of Victoria.
LET'S PARTY
Shake off the Zoom fatigue and join us for some social networking out in the wild to open and close the festival.
Any Cinema Ticket, Multi-Pass, or Filmmaker Badge will get you into these two gatherings:
After the opening night screening of the festival at The Vic Theatre, head down the street toward Victoria's inner harbour to 10 Acres Commons for some food and refreshments on us. Even if your ticket is for later in the week, swing on by!
Any Cinema Ticket, Multi-Pass, or Filmmaker Badge will get you in the door.
10 Acres Commons
620 Humboldt Street
🥂 🍻
Sunday 1 May 2022
9:00pm
(following the "Brought to Life" screening)
Wrap up the 10th annual Short Circuit Film Festival with our awards presentation and announcement of this year's CINE⚡️SPARK winner, then wind down with local entertainment Psychedelic Soul!
Any Cinema Ticket, Multi-Pass, or Filmmaker Badge will get you in the door.
Victoria Event Centre
1415 Broad Street
🏆
Saturday 7 May 2022
9:00pm
(following the "Magic Realism" screening)
Host: Darlene Tait
Sponsored by:
AWARDS
Congratulations to this year's award winners, announced at our closing party on Saturday May 7th:
CINE⚡️SPARK
The Girl in the Forest by Hoo Youn Kwon
Outstanding International Film
Americanized
Outstanding BC Film
*$2,500 in-kind equipment rental from William F White*
Hope and Grace
Outstanding Documentary Film
ƛaʔuukʷiatḥ (Tla-o-qui-aht) Dugout Canoe
Outstanding Animated Film
Nanakarobi (Seven Falls)
Outstanding Direction
Jay Kamal (Baba)
Outstanding Cinematography
Baba
Outstanding Art Direction
Crush On
Outstanding Screenplay
Hope and Grace
Outstanding Sound
The Old Man Next Door
Outstanding Music
Americanized
Outstanding Editing
The Old Man Next Door
Outstanding Performance
Kingston Gomes (Baba)
Audience Choice
*to be calculated after the festival closes on May 31*
🤩
Short Circuit and CINESPARK Sponsors: