Gotta Minute Film Festival 2020

7th Annual silent short film festival

About The Festival

Gotta Minute is Western Canada’s first film fest for Commuters proudly brought to you by PATTISON Onestop and FAVA.

The festival features one-minute silent short films in public spaces. Gotta Minute is a celebration of public art on public transit in public space.  A gem of a fest for one and all, big and small, proudly brought to you by PATTISON Onestop & The Film and Video Arts Society of Alberta (FAVA). Learn more about the festival here.

2020 Festival Line Up

PROGRAM I – NATURE

Name That Moss | Brittney Miller & Michael Kernan (Little Vine Productions)
Edmonton, Alberta
“Moss. Beautiful, tiny, and everywhere, but how do you name them? Follow a moss on its journey to be named by a Bryologist.”

Microcosm: Backyard | Tom Robinson and David Baron
Edmonton, Alberta
“Everyone is stuck. And when you’re stuck, but need nature, you must find its grandeur in miniature.”

Me and the Island | Carlo Ghioni
Mayne Island, British Columbia
“Upon being struck by the beauty of nature, a young conservationist carries around a continuous passion for trees and animals which leads to disastrous results.”

Roundelay | Scott Turri
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
“I created a portion of the animated sections with nonrepresentational linear elements, interested mainly in undulating moving lines, in combination with the rhythmic pattern of bird flight, and repetitive pulsing circles. By building a variety of animated parts, I then work at combining, looping, and overlaying these lyrical components by sequencing these passages into a hypnotic rhythm with the intent of mimicking the ebb and flow of nature.”

Captured | Sarah Von Gertzen and Cameron Costain
Edmonton, Alberta
“A swift descent into fear.”

From W to VV | Carlo Ghioni
Mayne Island, British Columbia
“W stands for Water and VV stands for Venetian Vendetta – nature comes back and conquers all during the pandemic lock-down – from W to VV.”

PROGRAM II – CHILDHOOD

AUTUMN | Jean-Marie VILLENEUVE
Paris, France
“A little girl is thinking about her dad.”

KITE FEST | Laura La France
Sturgeon County, Alberta
“Scenes from the 2019 Windscape Kite Festival in Swift Current, Saskatchewan.”

Boy and the Sea | Avant Kinema (Sarahjane Swan & Roger Simian)
Galashiels, Scotland
“Impressionistic portrait in home-processed Super 8 of a small boy’s sensory experience of the Sea – speaking of the haziness and magicality of memory.”

Notes on a Bike Ride | Juan Pablo Cortés Dueñez
Calgary, Alberta
“Two kids race through their neighborhood with their bikes.”

Eyes On You | shrikant prabhu
Bangalore, India
“Eyes of the children carry million dreams,secrets of the world”

Lights| Van-Thu Michelle Tran
Edmonton, Alberta
“A film about death, smoking, peer pressure, and the changing of times. A girl who has a fear of smoke and dying gets lost in her fears and anxiety while at a party but comes to a reassuring realization of finding support in your friends.”

PROGRAM III – RELATIONSHIPS & CONNECTIONS

Scenes Before Quarantine | Laura la France
Sturgeon County, Alberta
“What we were up to before the pandemic reached us.”

Betty is in Lockdown | Jordy Wiens
Edmonton, Alberta
“Trapped in her assisted living facility, Betty takes matters into her own hands when she’s told that she is not allowed to see her great-grandchildren.”

Pisces of a Man | Juan Pablo Cortés Dueñez
Calgary, Alberta
“Portraits of women from Calgary.”

Cup | Anthony Goertz
Edmonton, Alberta
“When you throw away today’s coffee cup, where does it go?”

Birthdaycake | Faizel Janmohamed
Edmonton, Alberta
“A gathering of old friends”

Sacred | Akira Iahtail
Edmonton, Alberta
“Métis and Cree Elder Elsie Paul teaches how to make bannock and Métis grease buns, and the ways she incorporates her cultural teachings in the process.”

PROGRAM IV – MUSIC & MOVEMENT

Swimming Pools | Becky Thera
Edmonton, Alberta
“Swimming Pools is a poetic effort to subvert feminine ideals through synchronized swimming. Using movement, I aim to break the containment of gender and embrace vulnerability.”

The Wait | Nolt Vutthisak
Nonthaburi, Thailand
“”The Wait” (Written & Directed by Nolt Vutthisak) tells the story of a lonely drummer (Kritthee Visitkitjakarn) during the self-distancing period in 2020, who has grown frustrated with the absence of his band. Killing time, the self-taught drummer must do something by his own imagination.”

My Favourite Song | Madeline Setzer
Edmonton, Alberta
“Laying on the floor in the dark, playing your favourite record.”

My Hands | Jeff Evans-Todd
Vancouver, British Columbia
“This is the story of my own personal fidgety hands, and how, occasionally, they find moments of peace.”

In/exhale | Tia Bennett
Edmonton, Alberta
“In/exhale was made using charcoal drawings of my mother. It speaks to the cyclical nature of routines and the special calm that comes with endless, repetitive things– like pieces of her yoga routine.”

Passages No.1 | Myriam Boutin
Calgary, Alberta
“Searching for a way out in a maze of your own making.”

PROGRAM V – SOLITUDE

(Para)Normal | Renna Pilar
Visalia, California
“Made during the quarantine era of the global pandemic, this fashion film contemplates the concept of normality through stream of consciousness and one-of-a-kind statement pieces.”

Finding Star Seed | Veronika Jane McGinnis
Edmonton, Alberta
“In Finding Star Seed, I explore streams of consciousness in the hopes of achieving mindfulness through magick; while processing guilt and loss.”

I don’t dare touch | Dana Rayment
Edmonton, Alberta
“Coming back to dance with my hands, the first morning light and found footage in the background. A story of light and a return to the joy of dance.”

Sound without Sound | Parker Thiessen
Edmonton, Alberta
“An oscilloscope waving in the ether, lost signals, pulsing, oozing, sounds seen but not heard.”

The Strange Cloud | Mathew Gooding
Edmonton, Alberta
Makes me want to touch it.

PROGRAM VI – CREATION

Artist | Max Zachrisson
Switzerland
“Have I made it yet? You’ve exposed yourself, you’re vulnerable, you’re on a slippery slope to nowhere in pursuit of someone else’s vision of success. Your adoring fans exist only within this hollow, self-made shell of illusion. Have I made it now? You’re in a constant state of bombardment and the more you try, the more you receive it. How about now? You’re scared, so procrastinate a little more, distract yourself with other things. I must make it. You laugh and cry about it, a dog never catches it’s tail you know. Have I made it yet?”

Orange Pekoe| Margaret W Field
Edmonton, Alberta
“Orange Pekoe is a film based on a small poem (about writing, poetry, and tea leaves) created in tea leaves.”

Whirlwind | Adolfo Ruiz
Edmonton, Alberta
“Whirlwind is a hand-drawn animation, consisting of over 700 pen and ink drawings, rendered during the early stages (from March to July) of the 2020 global pandemic. The film’s visuals were elicited by unfolding events during these months—evoking the entanglement of urban landscapes and the natural world, while illustrating a constant sense of movement and transformation. The animation evolves through a combination of representational and abstract imagery. Whirlwind occasionally reveals recognizable shapes, but the film primarily makes use of organic form and stark geometry to describe the flux of activity that has emerged in recent months.”

Rhapsody | Gregory John Kasunich
North Hollywood, California
“A young, blind, student begins her journey to become a pianist.”

Chaotic Bodies | Sydney Lancaster
Edmonton, Alberta
“An environment with chaotic, sometimes frantic activity; a lone individual pauses, assesses, takes a minute to reflect, before re-engaging in the world.”

Prologue | Jody Wood
Brooklyn, New York
“A playful exploration about our human desire to control our own randomly occurring fate.”

Awards Celebration

GOTTA MINUTE 1ST PLACE AWARD
Prologue
 | Jody Wood
Brooklyn, New York
Award:
$1000 Sponsored by the ESIO
RED GIANT Complete Filmmaking Software

GOTTA MINUTE 2ND PLACE AWARD

KITE FEST | Laura La France
Sturgeon County, Alberta
Award:
$500 Sponsored by AMPIA
RED GIANT Complete Filmmaking Software
$250 Vistek Gift Card

GOTTA MINUTE 3RD PLACE AWARD

Pisces of a Man | Medina Kalaç
Calgary, Alberta
Award:
$250 Sponsored by the Calgary Film Centre
Studio Post Gift Certificate $750
McBain Sound Gear $300

GOTTA MINUTE SPIRIT OF EDMONTON AWARD
Birthdaycake | Faizel Janmohamed
Edmonton, Alberta
Award:
$250
Toon Boom Storyboard Pro Filmmaking Software $670
Reel Mensch Gift Certificate $600
Metro 6 Pack $60

GOTTA MINUTE AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD
AUTUMN | Jean-Marie VILLENEUVE
Paris, France
Award:
$250
RED GIANT Complete Filmmaking Software

GOTTA MINUTE ALBERTA MEDIA ART AWARD
Lights| Van-Thu Michelle Tran
Edmonton, Alberta
Award:
$250
Toon Boom Harmony Premium Filmmaking Software $1260
Royal Alberta Museum Family Day Pass $50

GOTTA MINUTE BEST ANIMATED SHORT AWARD
Whirlwind | Adolfo Ruiz
Edmonton, Alberta
Award:
$250
Toon Boom Harmony Premium Filmmaking Software

GOTTA MINUTE BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT AWARD
Cup | Anthony Goertz
Edmonton, Alberta
Award:
$250
McBain Motorized Gimbal $1200
Metro 6 Pack $60