HD Showcase Toronto 2005
Here's our lineup for this year's show. These films were originated and will be projected in high definition. Our Showcase will be at Atom Egoyan and Hussain Amarshi's Camera Bar. CAMERA is a unique bar, lounge and Screening Gallery located on Queen Street West in Toronto.
Address: 1028 Queen Street West (just west of Ossington)
Toronto ON M6J 1H6
Telephone: 416.530.0011
September 13th through 15th 2005
From 2PM until midnight
For reservations email Susan@HD-Showcase.com
Trailers @ www.HD-Showcase.com
Questions? 310.540.6639 or 310.540.6631
mobile 310.923.3857
Features:
"Novem"
In 1973, nine college students spent an amazing week camping out and recording music at a remote studio location. They each write a composition and collaborate on each other's songs during six days and nights of friendship, music, and fun. By the end of the week, they have produced nine introspective songs that preserve their mood, hopes, and fears for generations. The music they recorded disappears and remains silent for over thirty years until a college student at a garage sale accidentally purchases it. NOVEM's music and story spread quickly over the Internet to college campuses across the country. This Brad Kimmel film documents this student's quest to answer the question that everyone is starting to ask: "What happened to these guys?"
"Katie Bird: Certifiable Crazy Person"
KatieBird Wilkins, a woman with a passion for love, relives the events that lead up to her first killing during her final "session" with Dr. Mark Richardson, her psychologist and lover. What begins as a lover's spat; soon becomes a chilling childhood testimony of the relationships that molded her into a torturous killer. From her earliest childhood lessons to her first heartbreak, KatieBird learns the gruesome reality of truth and love.
"The Rest of Your Life"
A group of twenty-something's in Charlotte, NC struggle to move out of their parents' houses, commit to each other, and do something with their lives.
"Spotless"
A notorious hit man, who is hired to remove bums from the streets of Denver, reforms himself, but falters when he meets a group of seedy, cocaine-addicted gamblers who prove that your past is never truly behind you.
"In Plain Sight"
All bad things must come to an end. Time is short and the money's big for eccentric, campus "hit man" Daulton Monroe. He's losing his old partner, training a new one, and falling in love with a beautiful bartender/lounge singer/journalist. During the biggest fob of his career, the hunter becomes the hunted as someone attempts to manipulate his shadowy operation. When it's all on the line. Everyone's a suspect! No one has a clue! And the only place to hide is In Plain Sight.
"Sonata"
Megan lives within an isolated world meticulously crafted by her domineering mother, famous author Samantha Fergus. Taking great care to keep her daughter safe from outside influence, Samantha seldom allows Megan to leave the confines of their secluded home. As Megan struggles to break free of the world fabricated by her mother, the fairy-tale becomes a prison governed by Samantha's grim imagination. Will Megan gain control of her own destiny or will she succumb to the dark recesses of her mother's twisted tale?
Shorts:
"Filters"
Romance can be difficult. Billy knows this well, but he's not making things easier. In this tale of a lonely man looking for unconditional love, Billy devises a bizarre scheme to filter out women who can't accept him for who he is. But where does repulsion end and love begin?
"Karma Ghost"
A story about Karma and a guy named Pete.
"The Journey"
Sanford, a young, eager being is on a quest to find happiness. He believes happiness will be found upon arriving at the much touted, Island of Destination. In his determination to find the island, he struggles physically, emotionally and spiritually - losing track of his life. However, he has one saving grace, a sometimes daft, sometimes wise bird that shows up at various times in his life to provide guidance. The bird's guidance comes in handy when Sanford has a chance to change the way he's lived his life.
"On the Couch"
A lesbian executive experiences the worst day of her life in the confines of her living room, on the couch. As her world comes crashing down around her, she contemplates taking her life.
"Embryo"
Jason Fields, a neurotic man stricken with Agoraphobia, receives an unexpected wooden box in the mail. He opens it to find a bizarre device that promises to grant him his ultimate fantasy if he simply places the accompanying helmet on five people and then wear it himself. When a friend accidentally tries on the helmet, it steals his mind and feeds it to a strange creature now forming inside the bell jar. Driven by his lust to receive the promise of the device and a growing need to feed the grotesque creature, Jason soon finds himself with a host of "frozen" victims hidden in his bedroom. Jason's once orderly existence unravels and a simple act of curiosity derails into madness as he incubates a mysterious and nightmarish monster.
"Small Change"
A young woman's glee at discovering a "magical" truth-telling coin turns to alarm when it reveals disturbing facts about her fiancés past. But her coin also shows that the future isn't about avoiding chances, it's about taking them.
"Hold the Rice"
Tess Green, 25, a funky blonde Chinese-American mechanic from Small Town, Texas, has been dining at Xian Garden with her very Chinese mother, Daisy, and her very redneck father, Gary Green (ex-FBI) since she was 9 years old. The owner, Mr. Wing Chen was very fond of the family, particularly of Tess. One day, Wing Chen suddenly dies of a heart attack and the Green family is called in for the reading of the will. Not only that - Mr. Chen was, in fact, Tess' biological father! Not knowing much about her heritage and even less about running a restaurant, Tess is left with the dilemma of either opening up her dream auto shop or taking on Mr. Chen's legacy.
"Mojo Café"
The Mojo Café is a supernatural Hollywood nightclub where the ultimate Q-rating test takes place. If you fail, the "reapers" take you away to an alien ship, presumably forever. If you pass, however, it's proof that you are dumb enough to get a mind-wipe and an anal probe and a slot as a TV talk show host or a network anchor. The onsite Gallery of the Dumb includes Geraldo Rivera and Connie Chung. Could you be next?
"Evenfall"
Eve is new to the spy business which makes her need to succeed higher than most. Miles is like the evil twin brother of James Bond: all the charm and lethality but with a warped conscience. Uncle is the overprotective figure-a great character to have in an action thriller! Durand is a man making up for his humble beginnings in life through treachery and wealth. Ben is a whiz kid that every good spy needs for the success of the op!
"Natural Selection"
In the future city of Los Angeles 2097, outlaw genetic engineering has transformed the streets into a battleground between those who protect nature and those who exploit it.
"F*@k the Movie"
Rhetoric is re-defined as we explore every derivation of the f word as it relates to our character's emotions, his actions and his state of mind.
"Confessions of a Late Bloomer"
For 15 year-old Donny, high school sucks. He's the smallest in the class and is only ever noticed when he's the butt of someone's joke. But this week it's all about to change.forever. To escape the pummeling of his life, Donny accepts the school bully's challenge to kiss Sheila, the girl of Donny's dreams by the end of the week. Now, Donny must stumble along an absurd journey to manhood while proving to the world that manliness is a state of mind.and a little fake body hair.
"Clowns"
Forget the center ring, the real show at this circus takes place backstage. CLOWNS is a hilarious black comedy about the real lives of the men behind the nose. Taking place in eight minutes of chaotic real time before a show, the short follows the extreme character arc of Frank - a once great CLOWN, now reduced to a pathetic shell of his former self due to drug, alcohol, gambling, and sex addiction. He is helped along his hero's journey toward transformation and redemption by the swift ass kicking he receives at the hands of a fresh faced young clown, known only as the NEW KID.
"Daddy's Boy"
It's a story about love and meat!
