Off-the-Wall features eccentric and quirky characters that embody expressive interpretations of the self, utilizing narrative and experimental approaches to storytelling. Each story brings you into the intimate spaces of the characters' worlds and invites us to look beyond the ordinary.

This screening will be followed by a pre-recorded artist talk facilitated by Kimberly Ho.

Featured

UNITED STATES, Emerging Category, Canadian Premiere

Charissa Kroeger + Eric Schloesser
DURATION: 6:04

An escape from reality: we follow two strangers through a sizzling, quirky outburst of dance in a retro-futuristic, parallel world. SMOKESTACK LIGHTNING chronicles the adventure of these two heroes as they navigate their shared dreamscape, devoid of time and relieved of convention. Their meeting initiates a momentary connection, a reprise from the world around them; movement as their language.

CREDITS
Directors: Charissa Kroeger, Eric Schloesser
Choreographers: Charissa Kroeger, Eric Schloesser
Performers: Charissa Kroeger, Eric Schloesser
Director of Photography: Ian Coad
1st Assistant Camera: Marcin Szocinski
Editor: Grant Shelpuk
Sound Design: Sofia Hultquist
Makeup Artist: Sara Tagaloa
Hairstylist: Antoine Martinez
Costume Design: Samath Orm
Additional Crew: Owen Scarlett, Gracie Whyte

UNITED STATES, Emerging Category, Canadian Premiere

CANADA, Youth Category, Vancouver Premiere

Betsy

CANADA, Youth Category, Vancouver Premiere

Nicola Adilman
DURATION: 7:15

BETSY is a quirky, bath-taking, cigarette-crazed woman whose morning routine is unlike most. Gatorade, swimming goggles, and ants on a log for breakfast are just a few of Betsy's true loves. It does not take much to bring her contentment. A visit to the gazebo in her local park leads to a joyful moment captured in a long take. Eccentric gestures, unconventional costumes, varied shot sequences, and exuberant movement combine to advance the filmic storytelling, allowing the viewer to feel a part of Betsy's journey.

CREDITS
Director: Nicola Adilman
Performer: Nicola Adilman
Editor: Nicola Adilman
Cinematographer: Simon Tesfay
Music: “In My Lover's Hand” by Golden Age Radio and “Bougie Boogie” by Touched

CANADA, Youth Category, Vancouver Premiere

UNITED STATES, Youth Category

It Cries Too Loudly

UNITED STATES, Youth Category

Dolly Sfeir
DURATION: 8:28

Devastated and powerless as she watched the 2020 Beirut explosion and its aftermath from afar, Lebanese American choreographer and director Dolly Sfeir set about creating a work to express her delicate state of mind. IT CRIES TOO LOUDLY is a dance film exploring the overlap between joy and tragedy in her tumultuous home country and the experience of being an emigre.

CREDITS
Director: Dolly Sfeir
Performers: Ian Spring, Omar Roman De Jesus, Annalee Traylor
Cinematographer: Pierre Marais
Producers: Abingdon Theatre Company, Chad Austin, Pierre Marais
Editor: Pierre Marais

UNITED STATES, Youth Category

CANADA, Youth Category

for fear of (overflow)

CANADA, Youth Category

Alder Sherwood
DURATION: 3:33

FOR FEAR OF (OVERFLOW) is an exploration of the similarities between an overthinking mind and the act of containment. aiming to open our eyes to how slippery our own limits can become when closely examined, the use of juxtaposed timelines, falsities, and a constant desire for repetition and interruption lead to an eerie sense of confusion and restlessness—in both subject and spectator.

CREDITS
Director, Choreographer, Performer, Editor: Alder Sherwood
Cinematographer: Danielle Mackenzie Long
Sound Design: Oksana Augustine

CANADA, Youth Category

PHILIPPINES, Youth Category, World Premiere

Duel

PHILIPPINES, Youth Category, World Premiere

Alfonso Sales
DURATION: 4:18

At the heart of the desert, a bounty hunter finally finds an infamous raider and attempts to take him down to claim the bounty. Both cowboys duel it out to prove who the baddest cowboy is in the wild, wild west.

CREDITS
Director: Alfonso Sales
Choreographers, Performers: Juan Diego Villarosa, Juan Gabriel Villarosa
Cinematographer: Alfonso Sales
Producer: Sky Solitude Pictures
Editor: Alfonso Sales
Production Assistant: Karla Urquiaga
Writer: Alfonso Sales
Co-Writers: Juan Diego Villarosa, Juan Gabriel Villarosa

PHILIPPINES, Youth Category, World Premiere

Accessibility

This event will be live-streamed via Vimeo. Films that include spoken words will have subtitles in English. The prerecorded artist talk will have closed captions.

Learn more about accessibility at F-O-R-M 2021 here.

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2021 Events

Off-the-Wall - Tuesday Screening

Off-the-Wall features eccentric and quirky characters that embody expressive interpretations of the self, utilizing narrative and experimental approaches to storytelling. Each story brings you into the intimate spaces of the characters' worlds and invites us to look beyond the ordinary.

Accessibility