Digi60 Filmamkers’ Festival set Ottawa-area filmmakers head-to-head in a 60-day competition to make a movie under seven minutes long on the theme of escape. From December 16 to 18, a total of 35 spine-chilling films were screened at the Ottawa Art Gallery. The three-day festival also hosted mixers, workshops, and panels for film creators.
Read our reviews from Block B and Block C.
The first screenings of the Digi60 festival, Block A, featured several short films about intimate partner violence, monsters, real events, and even one about a hand puppet kidnapper. A jury gave over seven awards, including those for best film and emerging filmmaker. Here are reviews of the films in Digi60’s Block A.
Heads Up by Sarah Hatton and Pierre Laporte
A woman negotiates her way out of a bad date in this psychological thriller depicting the relationship between misogyny and a woman’s safety. The directors’ unique vision leaves viewers feeling as uncomfortable as the woman walking down a dark street at night. Heads Up landed among the top five films. It also took home the best emerging filmmaker award, which jury members chose for its powerful directional voice.
Him by Liam Quigley
Him is a drama about a woman’s relationships with an abusive partner and an ex gone bad. The juxtaposition between the film’s mysteriously fatal ending and its transfixing black-and-white shots is uncanny. Characters move through tight spaces and between stair spindles, leaving the audience feeling confined and unable to escape, much like a captive witness of a split-second murder.
Video Diary by Jenna Brown
First-time filmmaker Jenna Brown brought a video that’s all too familiar to many viewers: the vlog. Except Brown, sitting from her gaming chair, retells how she escaped from a demon. In reality, Brown was conquering mental illness and sleep paralysis. The video creatively utilizes sound effects depicting the monster’s voice, telling the unreal tale in a down-to-earth and familiar way.
Pray by Andrew Dunlop
In this short horror movie, a woman enters a forest searching for her missing sister. Instead of her sister, she finds a hellish reality that no one wants to encounter during a hike in the forest. Some scenes are reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project, and in the hellscape, there is a hypnotic swarm of screaming people that is absolutely absorbing to watch.
Let’s Begin Again by Lisetty Sandoval and Ryan Baily
In the surreal Let’s Begin Again, a woman who has endured sexual violence wakes up in the presence of a feminine stranger. She drifts between serene nature dreams and a traumatic past. The film has viewers asking whether she will ever be able to escape from either her life or her nightmares. The wide shots of Ottawa’s landscape are a pleasure to see on screen.
Women, Life, Freedom by Rahim Bahrami
Rahim Bahrami pieces real footage from Iranians and TikTokers following the death of Mahsa Amini in Women, Life, Freedom. The documentary video is edited with evocative statements about Amini’s death and the unrest caused by Iran’s Guidance Patrol. The clips of police brutality are a heart-wrenching wake-up call to injustice.
Escape Key by Josh “Spark the Genius” Rachilis
In this comedy-horror, directed by and starring Josh Rachilis, a man is held captive by a hand puppet. He can call his distant social media friends, but will they help him? The creative and simply-shot film leaves viewers hoping they have digital connections who will rescue them if they ever find themselves in a basement with an unlikely kidnapper. The comedy received loud bouts of laughter from the audience.
Murder on Busker Street by Ben Burgeron
Murder on Busker Street is a kitschy crime comedy about two married police detectives attempting to solve a murder mystery. Of all of the film’s absurd characters, a ventriloquist dummy endangers the life of a busker. The investigation was an entertaining ride to a chuckle-worthy line from the doll: “Who’s the dummy now?”
It’s You by Shadow Vasquez and Tania Z.
A man is trapped in an abusive relationship, but It’s You shows the horror of toxic love in an unsettling way. A monster and a gang of masked pupils lure the man into repulsive acts until he removes his wedding ring. The film’s characters are at once perturbing and comical. The scenes are exceptionally lit and pull the viewer in uncomfortably close.
Justice by Hassib Hani
Justice is a gritty drama about gun violence based on director Hassib Hani’s experience living in a low-income neighbourhood. A gangster runs into an old friend and drives him home, but when the pair stop at a gas station the friend is shot dead. The 6-minute film unfolds in just a single shot. Justice won best film as well as best technical film. The jury applauded its exceptional pacing, tension, and “fly on the wall feeling.”
Simulacra by Chirs Nyce and Mark Nyce
The thriller Simulacra is about a man who finds himself handcuffed in a dark room with a nurse. However, he doesn’t know what happened to him, and it’s unclear if the nurse is actually there to help him. The uncertainty about whether the healthcare worker will help or harm him is bound to make viewers weary of becoming a patient who loses their memory.
The Neighbours by May Kass
An overly-anxious woman can’t sleep thanks to noisy neighbours in her apartment building. In this psychological thriller, the main character calls the police in the wee morning hours only to find her neighbours caught up in a film set. The Neighbours’ meta plot twist had audience members laughing at the surprise ending.
Digi60 Filmmakers’ Festival is a yearly film festival in Ottawa. More information, including year-round initiatives, can be found on the Digi60 website. Follow the festival on Instagram and Twitter.
.gif)
