The sudden death of a former love sparks a conversation between Maddie (Ann-Marie B. Zammit) and her husband Perry (Craig Lauzon) about the type of social media tribute he would make in the event of her death. Written by Ann-Marie B. Zammit Directed by Jason Lupish Starring Craig Lauzon & Ann-Marie B. Zammit

Jason Lupish has written and directed three feature films, numerous shorts, music videos, and commercials. Lupish’s films are distinguished by their humanist and feminist perspectives, often featuring strong female protagonists, gender nonbinary and LGBTQ+ characters, and exploring themes of polyamory and alternative lifestyles.

A short documentary that examines the role St. Catharines played in the making of the 1983 holiday classic “A Christmas Story.”

Kevin McGuiness is a Canadian writer and award-winning filmmaker. His accolades include recognition from the Indie Short Film Competition, The American Motion Picture Society, as well as awards from the Render This Film Festival.

“<3” is a short dance film created and choreographed by Vik Mudge that centres around the themes, ideas, and curiosities of love. Through conversations with creative collaborators, reflective journaling and critical examination of his own relationships, Vik has created a piece that encourages the audience to examine all the forms of love that exist in their lives and ask how they can continue to give love to everyone, everyday.

This work was created thanks to production mentorship by Aeris Korper Contemporary Dance and was funded in part by the City of St. Catharines. <3 was co-directed by Taylor Wallace and features Skye Rogers, Vik Mudge, and Emily Hergott.

For my Digital Foundations class, I made a short film about the feelings of guilt and loneliness I experienced after moving from Hamilton to St. Catharines for university, leaving behind my two childhood best friends. My first year was tough—I struggled with insomnia, depression, and nightmares, which kept me isolated from them for nearly a year. The film uses cannibalistic imagery to represent how these emotions consumed me, inspired by a joking conversation I had with my friends about staying close even after death.

This is my first short film, blending my love for dark cinema and unsettling atmospheres, drawing inspiration from directors like Wes Craven and Rob Zombie. I’m excited to share it, as it reflects a deeply personal experience.

Stella and Giulio are on one of their many dates when a small catalyst creates a huge issue. Shot on 35mm film in Sicily, Italy during the 2023 Terre di Cinema Workshop.

Lorenza De Benedictis (she/her) is a filmmaker based in Vaughan of Italian-Canadian heritage. She has received several awards in the digital communications stream. Her filmography ranges from clear-cut narratives and documentaries to the obscure.

After the death of his partner Jamie, Ethan becomes trapped in the corridors of his grief stricken mind. Ethan’s imagined counterpart, Nate, pushes him to relive the night of her death, forcing him to face the memories he has since suppressed. In a surreal journey that blurs the boundaries between distorted recollections and reality, Ethan’s perceptions of truth are challenged as he remembers his past love. Will he remain trapped in his grief or will he face it and break free?

Ren Kangas is a recent Niagara College film production graduate. This is her first directorial role.

A meditation on the misappropriation of Dancehall music while using Black Feminist Citational praxis. 

why some people be mad at me sometimes is a single channel experimental film that cites the mother of Dancehall Sister Nancy singing her song bam bam in dialogue with Maya Angelou’s performance of the poem The Mask. The video is a meditation on the misappropriation of Blackness within music, and how often Black folks are told to not criticize but to smile and be grateful. All while tracing the filmmakers’ relationship to Dancehall and Afro Caribbean culture through archival footage of themselves as a young person dancing at Folklorama. Folklorama has the intention to be a space for sharing diverse cultures but oftentimes a space of cultural consumption that erases the colonial history of the countries that are on display.

Mahlet Cuff (b.1998) is an AfroCaribbean queer femme born and based in Winnipeg, Manitoba (Treaty 1 Territory). They are a writer, programmer, artist, curator and DJ. Within their filmmaking practice they are interested in the ways that erasure takes place within pop culture, through working within an experimental Black feminist citational praxis. By collaging images and videos to create visual essays, Cuff is looking to the past as a way to re-envision the present and to create new futures.

The Broca’s Area in the brain is involved primarily in speech production. During a traumatic event or when trying to recall a traumatic event, this area shuts down. This makes it harder for a survivor to talk about what’s happened. Our project is an experimental documentary hybrid that offers a platform for survivors to tell their stories both verbally and non-verbally. The film explores the lasting aftereffects of trauma and how it alters the mind-body connection.

Poppi Fella Pellegrino is an Oakville/Toronto-based filmmaker interested in telling personal stories about connection and identity through film. She is a graduate of the Bachelor of Film and Television program at Sheridan College where she focused on directing and sound design. At Sheridan, Poppi directed a short documentary about the positive impacts of greenspace on mental health for her third year thesis project which was an official selection of the Oakville Film Festival. On and off set Poppi is passionate about the importance of creating a kind, positive, and welcoming atmosphere for making art.