Taliesin Mason-McCrea
Canada
2022
English
Flashing/Strobing Lights
Featured in:
VIFF Short Forum: Program 2
Fear, doubt, and loneliness give way to pleasure, empowerment, and reclamation—or, is it the other way around?
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The Mortal Storm
In this explicitly anti-Nazi melodrama directed by Frank Borzage (Three Comrades) a year before the US entered the war, Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart fall in love as their friends and family fall prey to the rise of Hitler's Nazi party in Germany.
La Bola Negra
A big, old-school historical melodrama gets a thrillingly modern, queer makeover from Spanish duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, who artfully juggle three gay protagonists across stories set in 1932, 1937, and 2017. Winner: Best Director, Cannes. Screening on 35mm.
The History of Concrete
After attending a workshop on pitching saccharine Hallmark movies, John Wilson tries to apply all the same best practices to his documentary about concrete. Frequently absurd and endlessly entertaining detours, asides, and digressions ensue.
The Mad Dog of Europe
The story of an unmade screenplay from the writer of Citizen Kane. In 1932, Herman Mankiewicz wrote a film that foretold the persecution of the Jews and the war in Europe. But Hollywood wouldn't take the risk and The Mad Dog of Europe was never made.
NAZA
NAZA is a codeword euphemistically used by Israeli intelligence to indicate the number of civilians it expects will be killed in an airstrike. This chilling documentary exposes the policy and process of state-sanctioned mass killings.
Three Comrades
Scripted by F Scott Fitzgerald, Three Comrades (1938) was the first US studio film to chronicle the rise of European fascism in the 30s. Three German veterans open up a repair shop and try to regain a normal life, but political extremists have other ideas.
Credits
Producer
Sidney Gordon
Screenwriter
Sidney Gordon
Cinematography
Emil Vargas
Original Music
Aysha Dulong
Director
Sidney Gordon
Sidney Gordon is a queer multimedia emulsion-based artist, born and raised on Treaty 4 territory. They hold a Bachelor of Media Arts in Film + Screen Arts from Emily Carr University of Art + Design in so-called “Vancouver,” where they currently reside. In 2022, they won the Chancellor’s Award, Best Experimental Film, and the VIVO Distribution Award, and were longlisted for The Polygon Gallery’s Lind Prize in 2021. Their film and cameraless-photo works have been shown both locally and internationally.



