Looking forward to watching the short film, BLACK BODIES. From Toronto to #Sundance2021, this film from @directedbykells and her beautiful Black Women team of collaborators should make Canada proud. Congratulations, sis. đź–¤ https://t.co/KSEC51rYbZ
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) February 3, 2021
Kelly Fyffe-Marshall did something Canadian filmmakers rarely do: call attention to the lack of coverage for her Canadian film. Black Bodies premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, one of 6 Canadian films in the festival.
The film is inspired by a real-life incident when Fyffe-Marshall, Komi Olaf and Donisha Prendergast were in California. A neighbourhood woman called the police because she thought the women were burglarizing their Airbnb rental.
Tom Power interview with Kelly Fyffe-Marshall on CBC Radio's Q
Despite the relevance and importance of the story, there is a reason why the film likely didn't get too much publicity. The film is 5 minutes long.
Short films don't get as much love as full-length films. We are as innocent or guilty of that as anyone.
Short films are harder to find and watch. Short films should be celebrated, perhaps inspiring a longer version of that film down the road. Short films are a sampling at a grocery store. They aren't full-length films.
Fyffe-Marshall also has Haven, Marathon, and Black White Blue as other short film releases. The next step is feature films: When Morning Comes and Summer of the Gun. The former is an immigration story and the latter deals with the 2005 summer in Toronto.
Black Bodies premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, where Fyffe-Marshall won the inaugural Changemaker Award. TIFF put the film on its Canada's Top Ten list for short films. Fyffe-Marshall also won the Jay Scott Prize by the Toronto Film Critics Association.
Top 10 Canadian films I still want to see
Bird (2017) is a 12-minute short film about the impact on a woman of the disappearance of her mother's pet bird. My interest in the Canadian short film is mostly because Molly Parker wrote and directed the short film.
For over 3 years, your humble narrator has tried to find a way to see the film but has been unable to find a solution.
Blue (1992), a short film from Don McKellar, is also on that list. Wavelength (1967) is longer than most short films at 45 minutes. The film is revered by Canadian film critics as a classic but that might be in the eye of the beholder. Did find a way to see Wavelength.
Even with the notice that Black Bodies is receiving, finding a way to see this film will also be difficult. That is the nature of short films.
Fyffe-Marshall is definitely correct in that Canada loses "so many of our artists to the US." Ignoring a 5-minute film is not one of those reasons.
Canadian film case study: Paper Year/Jean of the Joneses
We love the idea of a Canadian filmmaker standing up to protest the lack of attention to Canadian film. We also recognise that being aware of Canadian stories from people of colour adds to the landscape that is Canadian film.
“We’re very heavily dependent on grants here, so all of our filmmaking goes through gatekeepers,” Fyffe-Marshall said. “The infrastructure of Canadian film means that we’ve gradually become this service machine for American film production. There’s no support here for Canadian creatives to flourish and to build their career here.”
When Fyffe-Marshall was talking about opportunities, we did reflect on the path of Stella Maghie. Maghie debuted with Jean of the Joneses, a Canada-U.S. co-production. Since then, Maghie has made "American films" in the United States.
Until we have better access to short films, full-length films will get more attention than short films, regardless of other factors involved.
2021 Oscars through the lens of Canada
2021 Oscar nominations through the lens of Canada
"Frances McDormand, you've just won the Oscar for Best Actress for Nomadland. What are you going to do now?"
Fortunately for Sarah Polley, McDormand is starring in her latest film Women Talking, based on the Miriam Toews bestselling novel.
Women Talking tells the stories of women in an isolated religious colony as they confront the ugly reality of sexual assaults committed by the men in their colony.
While Polley did write Alias Grace, the last full-length film she wrote and directed was Stories We Tell (2012).
Here are a bunch of Canadian films that pass the Bechdel test
Canadian film review: My American Cousin/American Boyfriends
My path down the TIFF Top 10 Canadian films of all time
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) ran a series last fall entitled Women Make Film. The series spotlighted films from female directors over the years. While there has been few female directors of high-budget Hollywood films, women do get to direct smaller budget, more independent type films.
We love to watch strong films from the creative minds of women, presenting perspectives on stories otherwise not told.
The series featured 3 Canadian films:
- My American Cousin (1985) Sandy Wilson
- Angry Inuk (2016) Alethea Arnaquq-Baril
- Stories We Tell (2012) Sarah Polley
These are 3 very fine choices, a small sample of great Canadian films from female writers and directors. If you are looking for non-Canadian examples, Agnes Varda (France) and Nicole Holofcener (United States) are great filmmakers, regardless of gender.
Anne at 13,000 Ft. wins 2020 Rogers Best Canadian Film Award
Canadian film review: Anne at 13,000 Ft.
Canadian film review: Disappearance at Clifton Hill
CanadianCrossing.com film coverage
I Used to Be Darker is not a Canadian film but has a strong Canadian connection. As we have noted, Canadian actors do not determine the country origin of a film. American filmmaker Matthew Porterfield directed and co-wrote this film. Porterfield cast Canadian actors Deragh Campbell and Hannah Gross as the leads in the film.
Campbell, who made her feature film debut in this film, plays a Northern Ireland character. Gross plays her cousin from Baltimore.
There is likely a joke somewhere that all Canadians know each other, even if they don't. Porterfield noted in an interview that Campbell and Gross have known each other all their lives. "Their parents are best friends and Canadian acting royalty."
Campbell comes from multiple generations of actors. Gross is the daughter of actors Martha Burns and Paul Gross.
Campbell starred in Anne at 13,000 Ft. while you would recognise Gross from Disappearance at Clifton Hill.
The film would best be described as a solid, sleepy, independent film. I Used to Be Darker is available in the United States on Amazon Prime Video.
Twitter capture: @ava
photo credit: Black Bodies film
Amazing Article, Thanks for posting.
Posted by: G Decor | April 29, 2021 at 07:56 AM