By all accounts this year’s edition of the Fest was the best yet, sold-out shows and happy film-goers. But don’t take it from us, take it from Winnipeg’s most famous auteur, Guy Maddin, who personally delivered to the Mighty Niagara Film Fest his great new film Rumours for its Niagara premiere:What an extreme pleasure it was to spend the last three nights at your festival. The Mighty Niagara is so smartly curated, with venues brilliantly arrayed around this adorable city, with audiences of consummate warmth and openness. I loved the truly transcendent night of Harry Smith projections accompanied by truly wonderful local musicians with an incredibly strong feeling for the films. That microcinema at the back of the NAC is a precious little nook in the cinema world. You are so lucky in St. Catharines! What a community!... I've had the loveliest time. You've really nailed the secret formula! And I know that's not easy!!!
-Guy Maddin, 2024
2024 FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
2024 FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
THE WINNIPEG CONNECTION
The Mighty Niagara Film Fest proudly presents The Winnipeg Connection film series from 13 to 17 November 2024, highlighting Winnipeg's distinct regionalist perspective as a model for fostering Niagara's emerging film culture.
Through these films, we explore the spirit of artist-run culture at work within the Winnipeg Film Group and its role in creating spaces for distinct experimental practices in film form.
From this environment emerged renowned Winnipeg filmmakers like Guy Maddin and Matthew Rankin, among many others outside of this program, who create narratives deeply rooted in local experiences that resonate beyond geographical boundaries.
The Winnipeg Connection series aims to celebrate achievements, embraces challenges, and nurtures a growing dialogue that deepens cultural understanding to support filmmaking in Niagara and inspire people to express their own unique voices.
Series highlights include:
Rumours
Guy Maddin's latest feature stars Cate Blanchett in a surreal tale about G7 leaders who get lost in the woods during a global crisis. Q&A with director Guy Maddin will follow. Presented with a local short by Jimmy Limit.
Panel Discussion- Creating Distinct Regional Film Culture
A conversation with acclaimed filmmaker Guy Maddin, Niagara artist Donna Szoke, and WFG director Leslie Supnet, exploring regionalist cinematic voices. Using Winnipeg as a model, and discussing strategies for fostering film communities across Niagara.
Winnipeg Babysitter
Daniel Barrow's archival exploration of Winnipeg’s 1970s and 80s public access TV scene screens alongside local short by Will Foran (Cult Canada) celebrating 1980s Canadian low-budget filmmaking.
Universal Language
Mathew Rankin’s second feature offers a whimsically surreal vision of a Canada where Persian and French are the official languages, and loneliness is a universal experience. Paired with a local short film by Amber Lee Williams.
DROP-IN MEDIA LAB
MNFF’s first-annual Drop-In Media Lab hosted by local artists at Niagara Artists Centre. Various interactive Audio-Visual stations will be available to move through at your own pace. The Media Lab is a low-stakes experimental improvisation, intended to be ephemeral.
Mix Media Feedback with Runit Dome and Paper Bananas
Immerse yourself in a world where analog and digital collide. This interactive installation invites you to explore and manipulate images across two creative stations. Use monitors, camcorders, video mixers, and projection equipment to experiment with video feedback, colour, and various visual effects. Twist knobs, play with collage, and project your own narrative, creating scenes rich in depth and perception.
Storyboarding Collage with Paper Bananas
Advance a narrative by filling in a square or two! Paper Bananas provides pre-cut images with a variety of magazines and books. This is collaborative in nature, make something, leave it, and someone else can add on to it!
Hand-painting with Ren
Paint directly onto the surface of 16mm film stock, frame by frame, using a variety of paints and dyes. This method allowed filmmakers to alter the color, texture, and mood of their films, often resulting in dreamlike, surreal imagery.
At this station you have the opportunity to paint on clear 16mm film or over existing footage, using a variety of brushes and dyes.
Scratch poetry with Sahar
This station involves using sharp tool, such as a safety pin, a box cutter or dental instruments to to remove the emulsion of the film to allow for light to project through. Also, something about white on black itches a.. scratch, and mimics the void-look of dream world.
This process is labour-intensive but super fun. Draw or write on some frames and then we can watch it flash before us!
Letraset with Matt
Use collage and drawing methods with letraset to create fractured and staggered abstractions. The effect is unpredictable and wacky!
Letraset revolutionized the world of typography with their instant lettering, which were dry rub-down transfers.
SOUND + VISION
Harry Smith: Early Abstractions /
Sonic Refractions
Bibliophile, mythologist, archivist, musicologist, painter, ethnographer, filmmaker, and bohemian, Harry Smith has become himself a myth, an iconoclast who left a trail of artifacts collected and artworks created that rivals theologies. Singly scouting far out territories beyond the avant garde, Smith assembled a series of films intended for musical accompaniment. Niagara artists and musicians will respond to nine of these incredible films dating from 1946 until 1964.
Niagara artists and musicians include:
Geopatra w/ Eve Atoms and David Legge,
Rob Elliott,
JFM,
Jamie Lawson,
Joe Lapinski,
Myra Mains,
Cousins,
and Adrian Papez
WHAT ALES US?
Two women reckon with a broken beer industry in Canada and start a movement to change it. Directed by Cathy van Ingen, an independent documentary filmmaker based in the Niagara region.
Q&A with Cathy van Ingen, Ren Navarro, and Yvonne Irvine
An evening of film, conversation, and craft beer!
TIDAL SURGES
Short films from emerging and established regional filmmakers.
Works by Amadela Selman, Celeste Skye Ruiz, Christopher Pew, Clelia Scala, Diana Barrientos-Irigoyen, Erica Sherwood, J Fitzpatrick, James Squires, Jason Lupish, Kevin McGuiness, Krit Sekhon, Lenka Marina Jareb Lye, Lorenza De Benedictis, Mahlet Cuff, Marinko Jareb, Mike Elliot, Minerva Navasca, Odianosen Iyomon, Poppi Fella Pellegrino, Ren Kangas, Simon McNally, Sonya Grazia, the Bawaadan Collective, and Vik Mudge.
Landmark Shorts
The Mighty Niagara Film Fest presents Landmark Shorts, a series of films under 30 seconds commissioned for the festival. The films will be in pre show at all screens at Landmark Cinemas - Pen Centre in St. Catharines, rotating a week at a time from mid October to mid November, as well as in pre show at select festival screenings 13-17 November across Niagara.
The series showcases new works by local Niagara artists Amber Lee Williams, Jimmy Limit, Maggie Groat, and Zeinah Kalati, who draw from backgrounds in still photography, collage, sculpture, visual art, and film studies to experiment with animation and video techniques in a concise moving image format.
The Revolutionary Pace: Considering Media Artworks by Cathy Sisler
A tribute to the late St. Catharines artist Cathy Sisler, featuring a curated video presentation of her groundbreaking media art and Q&A with curator Anne Golden.
Often exploring themes of physicality, identity, and the human experience, Cathy Sisler's work pushes the boundaries of traditional media. Her dynamic pieces, such as Aberrant Motion and The Better Me, have been celebrated for their critical voice and emotional depth. Sisler's thematic interests often focused on the complexities of self-representation and the impact of societal constructs on individual identity. She sought to challenge perceptions of the body and mind, inviting viewers to engage with her work on a personal level. Throughout her career, Sisler made significant contributions to the Canadian art scene, showcasing her work in various exhibitions and festivals, including notable collaborations with Groupe Intervention Vidéo (GIV) to reach French-speaking audiences.
TELEVISIONS Joe Gottli
Installation in the Plate Glass Gallery
TeleVisions is a multimedia experiment designed for chasing something truly random. A wall of CRT televisions, each displaying a random design, and constantly changing. Some screens may sync up here and there, but the entire video wall could potentially synchronize with a unified design. Featuring timelapse footage from around our fair Garden City, plus commercials, infomercials and test screens from a bygone era, you never know what you’ll be tuning in to. Will you witness an actual one-in-a-million event? Only time will tell.
SPARK: Youth Program Ridley and Jarico Films
The Youth Film Program showcases a diverse collection of short films created by young filmmakers from Ridley College Film Club Students and Jarico Films for Youth Program, highlighting their unique perspectives and creative storytelling. Each film explores various themes and serves as a platform for youth voices to shine, and bonus behind the scenes look at a few of the Jarico titles. Through innovative visuals and compelling narratives, the series aims to inspire and celebrate the artistry and passion of the next generation.
Ridley Film Club + Jarico Films For Youth features works by:
Jason Zhang, Anna Zhang, Taiga Furusho, Emily Kim, Annabelle Standish, Elise Cheung, Adeline Young, Zoie Chan, Sylvia Wang, Eric Bao, Shiva Goodarzi, Luke Winterbottom, Ashton Kidd, Aiden MacPhail, Eddie Pinelli
Saturday Morning Cartoons
Awake gently to the soothing SMASH! CRASH! BOOM! POW! of Saturday morning cartoons in NAC’s Microcinema.
Another whack of whackiness has been carefully curated by NAC member Kevin ‘Attic Daddy’ Richardson with some classics thrown in from the 16mm collections of NAC member JC Culp and a pick or two from NAC’s own legendary film archive.
MIGHTY THANK YOU
to everyone who came out and supported.
And to our staff, volunteers, hosts, and all of the artists who took this year's fest to the next level.
MNFF VOLUNTEERS
Sam Brown, Edwin Conroy, Kosar Dakhilalian, Alexandra Evans, Shannon Kitchings, Arielle Laland, Alan Lau, Dave Legge, Shannon Kitchings, Melanie MacDonald, Dylan Mitchell-Funk, Pedro Nakagaw, Jess Nguyen, Rae Rees, Andrew Finlay Stewart, Anna Szaflarski, Sage Taylor, Taylor Westbury
MNFF NIAGARA COLLEGE VOLUNTEERS
Katelyn Bay, Tyson Brucculieri, Behn Elsliger, Nigel Brian Kimari, Megan Medeiros, Jonas Nicholss, Ciera Rowe, Olivia Sjoblad
MNFF HOSTS + PANELISTS
Jason Cadieux, Deragh Campbell, Barry Grant, Yvonne Irvine, Anthony Kinik, Guy Maddin, Ren Navarro, Joan Nicks, Matthew Rankin, Leslie Supnet, Donna Szoke, Cathy van Ingen
MNFF HOSPITALITY + VENUE PARTNERS
Archives Wine and Spirits, The Bank Art House, Bansaree Restaurant, Café Pique-Nique, Dispatch, Embassy Suites by Hilton Niagara Falls Fallsview, The Film House at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, Landmark Cinemas at The Pen Centre, Maenad Wine Co., Marilyn I Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Musas's Manakish, Niagara Falls History Museum, The Ridge Cinema Lounge, Rodman Hall Boutique Hotel, Stone Mill Inn Boutique Hotel, Wandering Spirits
