ShortStick

This year marks 50 years of Ottawa International Animation Festival, and Josh was on the ground covering some of the best that the animation industry has to offer. In Part 1, he reviews 3 of his favourites from the fest. Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe!, dir. Andrea Szelesová Andrea Szelesová’s Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe! is a beautifully crafted animated short that turns an unusual fantasy premise into a touching story about loneliness, difference and acceptance. The film follows Yios, a

With TIFF now at an end, I wanted to end my coverage with 7 Must-See live action short films (in no particular order) from the fest. It's an art to know when to end a short film and how to land the plane perfectly. I feel like these seven shorts really embodied that art and had some of the best endings I saw at TIFF. Sure to be at a festival near you soon, keep an eye out for these seven titles. 1) Moongirl, dir. Victor Boccard There is not much that can be said about this b

Moongirl, dir Victor Boccard The visually arresting Moongirl captivates in both its cinematography and story. Shot on 16mm film, Moongirl blends French and Japanese culture as it pulls from French poet Victor Hugo’s 1847 poem “demain dès l’aube” and Japanese myth “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya." The beautifully melancholic story starts off following an old man, a painter, on a journey. It then flashes back to an earlier time where a young woman and young man are walking th

Fight Kid, dir. Michael Del Monte A devoted father of an MMA fighter (Eddie) accepts a fight for his son Isaiah two days before the match is scheduled in Fight Kid. The battle doesn’t start at the ding of the starting bell, but in the days leading up to that moment - Isaiah has to be 115 pounds to fight and he currently weighs 126. With that, the weight cut begins. Although a narrative short, there are some moments where this film felt like a documentary. So it wasn’t a surp

It's been a wonderful and busy week at the Toronto International Film Festival. With the new festival market, the Student Academy Awards and more screenings than you can imagine, there is a little something for everyone. Throughout the next week or two we will be posting reviews of some of our favourites starting with two animated gems in Please and 2:Love and the sharply written and imaginiative Leftover Women. Please, dir. Anna Mantzaris In English, the word love feels very

The Last People of Petra, dir. Lara Dihmis The third and final 2026 Student Academy Award winner in the documentary category is Lara Dihmis for her film The Last People of Petra. Lara is the 13th student coming out of the NYU News & Documentary program to be recognised for the prestigious Academy Award. The film sheds light on the B'doul (also spelled Bedul / Bdoul) tribe who traditionally live in and around the ancient city of Petra in southern Jordan. Following the World He