Toronto Youth Shorts returns for our 14th festival season, featuring 26 short films* presented across two program lineups. Both programs are screened on the same day. The festival awards will be announced after the show.
*Films not listed in screening order.
*Films not listed in screening order.
PROGRAM #1: COPING MECHANISM
Whether it be your workplace, your social circle, your health, or simply all the thoughts buzzing around in your mind, life is not always easy and everyone copes differently. Ranging from the mundane to the absurd, these films explore many ways of self-determination and courage required to pave forward.
Whether it be your workplace, your social circle, your health, or simply all the thoughts buzzing around in your mind, life is not always easy and everyone copes differently. Ranging from the mundane to the absurd, these films explore many ways of self-determination and courage required to pave forward.
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#BOSSBABE
Directed by Kassy Gascho Produced By Melissa Jones Desperate to climb the ranks of a #girlboss pyramid scheme, Sofi throws a recruitment party for a few girlfriends. |
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Cordelia!
Directed by Melissa Jones Produced By DC Dzoja A troubled young girl plays with fire as an effective coping mechanism. But when problems at home and school become too hard to bear, she realizes she can use that fire to protect herself. |
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Frida in the Sky
Directed by Dani Sadun Produced By Lauren Eden Frida, an 8-year-old engineering prodigy, builds an airplane behind her mother’s back to follow in her Abuela’s legacy. |
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Hindsight
Directed by Shubhi Sahni A fleeting retrospect of a young woman who develops a chronic illness over the course of 2020. |
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Involuntary Wingman
Directed by Alex Ef Produced By Lauren Eden David is blackmailed by Owen to get him a date with his crush, Sierra. When the relationship proves impossible, David teams up with Sierra to take him down. |
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It's About Time
Directed by Adam Pedersen Produced By Adam Pedersen, Rose Lu On the worst day of his life, a grieving call centre employee acts irrationally in the face of life or death. |
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Last Summer
Directed by Sophie Eileen Corbett A girl sifts through memories of the past summer while struggling with change. |
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māyā
Directed and Produced by Samyuktha Movva A woman celebrates her wedding anniversary. |
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Pondwater
Directed by Emma Scarth A girl finds a sentient mushroom sprite and accidentally releases him. Chaos ensues. |
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Quick Lunch
Directed by Dylan Posgate and Paul Villenave A kleptomaniac steps up his game by stealing an Apple Watch. |
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Rhoald
Directed by Greg Kon A miserable editor gets a peak into a life of freedom, the outdoors, and roller blades—but it's not as perfect as he imagined. Especially not in the Canadian winter. |
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Score For Scene 7
Directed by Lizzie Han Produced By Daria Zapriagaeva, Miguel Angel Loyo Labastida Adelaide must confront her past in order to finish composing the score for a romance film. |
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Tails of the Were-Cow
Directed by William Manning A cute date is going perfectly well until a full moon appears. |
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The Tea Party
Directed by Arianna Grace Goarley, Noah Hollinshead Alice becomes anxious when her friends arrive early to her tea party, which triggers the characteristics of her ADHD to take on the form of characters from Alice in Wonderland. |
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Wichless
Directed by Soma Kido-Belanger Produced By Sarah Ifraimov, Mimi Berman A student is sitting alone at lunch when suddenly a girl walking by catches his eye. |
PROGRAM #2: INSIGHTS
Chance encounters bring about magic and sparks fly in the most unexpected ways. These shorts bring perspective and nuance into how our connections deepen us while shining new lights onto stories of different communities.
Chance encounters bring about magic and sparks fly in the most unexpected ways. These shorts bring perspective and nuance into how our connections deepen us while shining new lights onto stories of different communities.
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Artist's Alley
Directed by Jenna DeFacendis Despite being separated by day and night, a small city squirrel and a playful raccoon’s creativity bring these two very different animals together. |
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Crane
Directed by Carri Chen Produced By Chara Ho David listens to a livestream, watching intently. Olivia makes herself vulnerable for a Q&A. Through this virtual reconnection, a silent healing harbours. |
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Dandelion Green
Directed by Kathleen Burgess Produced By Olivia Solo Weeks before aging out of the foster care system, 17-year old Kay falls into an electric friendship with Olivia, transforming the way they see themselves, and their future. |
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From Napoli, With Love
Directed by Luca Cunial Produced By Gemma Eva Luca lives for pizza but when the pandemic diminishes any hopes of flying to Italy to explore his cultural roots, he teams up with his twin sister and Nonna to discover what makes a love of pizza so special. |
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Hoa
Directed by Trâm Anh (Andy) Nguyen Before developing her memory disorders, Trần Thị Tuyết Hoa wrote an autobiographical book about her life. She now reads this book everyday in her Hanoi home. |
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In Which A Lonely Kid Accidently Accesses Another Dimension
Directed by Fin Janleigh Produced By Sandy Clipsham A dimension hopping, book stealing wizard losses their magic chalk and a lonely non-binary kid finds it. |
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Kamayan
Directed by Minerva Navasca The traditional Filipino way of eating is shown through a foreign, outdated lens. |
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Pigeon People
Directed by Julia Hogg Produced By Victoria Learn Welcome to the world of pigeon racing! Meet some dedicated people behind this niche sport who break down the Canadian racing pigeon scene and what it means to them. |
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The Pest
Directed by jungwoo choi Conrad the Torontonian is having a problem with a raccoon messing with his trash on his front yard. |
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To The Moon
Directed by Jaiden Reese Maddy and her father have different views on how to make money. |
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unhome
Directed by Ella Saini Produced By Reese Barrow The impact of gentrification in Scarborough is explored through scrapbook imagery, memories, and nostalgia by three residents. |
NOTE: Though the festival is aimed at promoting work by a younger generation, not all content may be suitable for all audiences. Films may contain violence, course language, and other mature themes. Viewer discretion is advised.