Occasionally eccentric and always thought-provoking, Micro Cinema showcases new experimental films while sharing stories, ideas, and connections about Canadian identity and is one of the only permanent exhibition spaces for film and media in Western Canada. See film, video art, animations, and short documentaries, on media monitors throughout Arts Commons. Through a curatorial selection process, Micro Cinema programs up to 24 local and national media artists annually in exciting Micro Cinema exhibitions running three months in duration.
Are you a media artist?
Arts Commons invites media artists to submit their short films, animations, video art, media art, and short documentaries. Visit our Artist Opportunities page for more information.
Last Summer
Devon Bolton Memorial Award Winner for Best Alberta Short Film at CIFF 2024
Canada, 21 min, English
Directed by Barry Bilinsky
Produced by Tap Roots Academy
When Ellie receives the news that their best friend Sam is leaving for art school the next morning, it seems like their entire summer together has been ruined. With the help of their friends, not only do they experience the night of their lives, but they find courage within their hearts to make it count.
Barry Bilinsky (He/Him) is a Theatre and Film Creator originally from Amiskwâciywâskahikan, Alberta. Of Metis, Cree, and Ukrainian Heritage, Barry’s work explores the intersections of culture quite common on the Prairies – a confluence of perspectives sometimes complimentary but often contradictory and misunderstood. Since graduating from the University of Alberta in 2012, Barry has been involved in several productions that have shaped their craft – from Pochinko Style clowning with Fool Spectrum Theatre and Greenfools, to intercultural exchanges with Making Treaty 7 Cultural Society and Ancestors and Elders with Shumka Ukrainian Dancers. Most recently, Barry was the Creative Director of Content and Media of the Internationally acclaimed “Indigenous Peoples’ Experience” attraction at Fort Edmonton Park in Edmonton and is also Artistic Director of Tantoo Cardinal’s Taproot Actors’ Academy in Kikino Alberta.
Instagram: @barrybilinsky
Camping
Special Jury Prize for Social Relevance at CIFF 2024
Canada, 7 min, English
Directed by Sacha Michaud, Alyssa Ashmore, & Nicole Calfchild
CAMPING is a stop-motion short that follows the story of Shawna, a young woman living in an urban encampment as she attempts to find housing. This was a community project, written by people with the lived experience of being unhoused.
CAMPING, directed by Sasha Michaud, Alyssa Ashmore and Nicole Calfchild was represented on the red carpet by Sasha Michaud, a Calgary artist, and Nicole Calfchild, from Siksika Nation. A stop-motion short, CAMPING follows the story of Shawna, a young woman living in an urban encampment as she attempts to find housing. The script for the film was a collaboration among several individuals who had experience “sleeping rough”, and offers insight into the difficulties faced by people in these situations.
Image: Nicole Calfchild & Sacha Michaud, directors of “Camping,” photo by Michael Grondin
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