The 11th Annual Toronto Youth Shorts (TYS) returns this weekend offering us an excellent serving of local short films made by young Ontario-based filmmakers. The festival serves as a platform for young filmmakers to showcase their budding, cinematic talents.

This year festival will feature 40 short films divided into four programmes. All programmes offer a varied selection of films for all tastes. Below I give you a glimpse of what a few films premiering at TYS.

KITH AND KIN

Devil’s Advokid – Animation
Valeria Marchioni, Production Manager
Isabelle Caron, Storyboard Supervisor

Synopsis: A lesser demon possesses a boy, sending Mom on a mission to get her son back – and some rest.

Do not be fooled by the short description of this film. This cutely animated film shows us how little ones need and require loving care… even a lesser demon.

The film’s length is just I liked the fact this film has no dialogue and still get its point across. It is cute, funny, and endearing. The animation works quite well. This short can easily be seen as a television series.

Karen Comes Home – Fiction
Directed by Jake Lee
Co-presented with Reelworld Film Festival

Synopsis: Returning home to attend a relative’s funeral wake, Karen’s parents can’t seem to stop bickering. 

An excellent narrative about Karen’s dysfunctional parents. The cultural component helps drives the narrative. The themes of family pressures and familial duties are dealt with both dramatic and funny moments.

Good use of camera work, lighting, and setting to complement the main cast of three. Totally relatable story, which I’d like to see more of from various points of view. Highly enjoyed this short.

MOVING ON

A Noise That Carries – Fiction
Directed by Guillermo de la Rosa
Produced by Steven Czikk

Synopsis: A lonely man has the chilling feeling that someone has broken into his home.

Set in a small town, we hear strange noises in the night. Is the man imagining this or is there something more sinister at play.

Without giving much away, this short has some decent elements of a genre, suspense/horror film. There is good camera work, good sound, and overall good editing. I was keen to see how the story would resolve. I’d like to see the story fleshed out more, as it has a lot of potential.

Turning Tables – Documentary
Directed by Chrisann Hessing
Produced by Tanya Hoshi
Co-presented with Hot Docs

Synopsis: Joshua DePerry aka Classic Roots puts his own spin on what it means to be urban and Indigenous by pioneering PowWow Techno. 

I had seen this short documentary before, and quite like it. Short documentaries are not always easy to edit, as the source material can be several hours long. In this short, we get to know Classic Roots well enough. We get a glimpse into his Indigenous roots, his family, his own story, and his vision for his future. If you’ve yet to hear his musical vibes, or see him dance, this is your chance.

Turning Tables Trailer from Chrisann Hessing on Vimeo.