Toronto Youth Shorts alumni, Tanya Hoshi and Priscilla Galvez (Biggie's Garage, TYS2014), are producing a web series called How to Buy a Baby.

The series follow thirty-something couple, Jane and Charlie Levy, who have long given up on having a baby the fun way. Having been diagnosed with infertility, they are resigned to needing costly and invasive assistance if they are ever to become parents. They are determined, though, to keep things fertiliFUN and not lose sight of the reasons why they wanted to have a baby together in the first place. But what happens to a couple when so many people are involved in the intimate act of procreation? Can a marriage survive and thrive with the financial and emotional pressures of infertility? How much will two people sacrifice to make a new life? 

Outrageous, real and darkly funny, How to Buy a Baby is competing for funding from the Independent Production Fund to complete the 14 episode series.

Read more about How to Buy a Baby at https://www.facebook.com/howtobuyababy

As part of its ongoing effort to make television programming accessible to all Canadians, the CRTC mandated in 2009 that all over-the-air broadcasters must provide described video (DV) for a portion of the content they air. Described video is an optional audio track, designed to provide extra context for vision-impaired audiences -- i.e. which characters are in a scene, where it takes place, and any other non-audible information -- similar to the function closed captioning plays for the hearing-impaired. Currently, conventional broadcasters are required to air four hours of described content per week, though that number will rise to include all primetime programming by 2019. A cottage industry of DV-providers has already sprung up in Canada to help broadcasters meet these regulations, and it should continue to grow significantly over the next few years as more stringent regulations come into place. In fact, as DV becomes mandatory in more English-speaking countries around the world, Canada's status as an early adopter could help it become a leader in the field (hint hint to those seeking employment in the industry).

Currently, though, DV is in its infancy, and for many providers, it remains a work in progress. In order to help standardize the quality of described video across channels, the Toronto-based Accessible Media Inc. has created a "Best Practices" document of "artistic and technical guidelines." And for those unfamiliar with DV, it is indeed an art. While the unofficial mantra of film schools everywhere is, "Show, don't tell," DV providers have to turn that adage on its head and translate visual images back into something that can be conveyed in words. And, beyond that, they have to do it quickly, and without obscuring any dialogue. With the picture moving at a constant rate of 30 frames per second, time is of the essence.

Most interesting, perhaps, are the ways in which the DV best practices dovetail with a number of ongoing conversations regarding representation in media. For instance, when is it important to describe someone's race or gender on screen? What visual signifiers of a character's identity should DV creators prioritize, and how should they put them into words? As writers, directors and broadcasters continue to become more open to putting characters on screen who don't fit into normative categories, these questions become even more essential. AMI's Best Practices suggest that "[I]dentification of characters by race, ethnic origin or disability is not required unless there is relevancy to plot, motivation or background." Yet, "relevancy" can be difficult to define. What makes someone's skin colour relevant to a narrative? Aziz Ansari, the Indian-American creator and star of Master of None, has spoken about the need to create stories for minority characters that don't revolve around their ethnic identity. And, indeed, a white character could participate in many of the story arcs on Master of None without significantly changing the meaning. But, an important part of normalizing non-white experiences on screen requires the juxtaposition that comes from visible minorities living banal, middle class lives. It seems possible, then, that ignoring race altogether may undermine that goal, even if it's done with the best intentions. As described video continues to make visual media accessible to more Canadians, then, it also gives us a new avenue through which we can use inform and complicate our understanding of representation on screen. 

​-Paul

​On April 20th, communities all over the country will be screening great Canadian films in honour of National Canadian Film Day. This event, created by Reel Canada, is a fantastic way to celebrate our national cinema, which is often lost in a sea of Hollywood films. I’ve had a great time this past month helping the Reel Canada team plan for this event, and I am very proud to support this initiative to get Canadians excited about Canadian film! Seeing the diverse range of films being sent across the country got my thinking about some of my favorite Canadian films. Here’s a list of top 5 films to watch on National Canadian Film Day:

1)Mommy (Xavier Dolan, 2014): One of the winners of the Jury Prize at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, this film is an extraordinary accomplishment for the 27-year-old director. Dolan tells the story of a single mother, her violent son, and the shy neighbour who enters their lives. The most beautiful aspect of the film is the three main characters and their relationship with each other. No one is presented as strictly good or evil, as each have their virtues and flaws, and they all try to help each other be the best versions of themselves. Dolan presents heart-felt moments of the three characters forgetting their worries and enjoying each other’s company, which brings light to the dark subject matter. Each actor gives an amazing performance, especially Anne Dorval, who won a Canadian Screen Award for her portrayal of the mother. Combined with unique editing and a great soundtrack, this is a very moving film.

2)The F Word (Michael Dowse, 2013): A movie that was filmed in Toronto, and actually takes place in Toronto, how refreshing! This film is filled with charm, witty dialogue, and lovely shots of Toronto.  Everything about this film is so natural and fun to watch: the story of two friends struggling with becoming more than friends is relatable, Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan have great chemistry and the writing reflects how young people talk to each other today. Can you think of 10 other names for Cool Whip?

3) The Red Violin (Francois Girard, 1998): A poetic film about the transcendent power of music. The story unravels the mystery behind this iconic instrument in a brilliant way, and displays the unique impact that music has in each country and time period it reaches. With beautiful sets, and an Oscar-winning score, this is a gorgeous film that takes you on a journey around the world, across time, through the move of music.

4) Being Canadian (Robert Cohen, 2015): A hilarious documentary that follows Robert Cohen as he travels across Canada to figure out what it really means to be Canadian. Along the way, he chats with locals, Canadian celebrities, and non-Canadians to discover that no one really knows how to define our culture. It’s a light-hearted film that pokes fun at Canada, while still making you feel proud to be part of such a multi-faceted culture. It’s also fun to be able to relate to the topics they discuss on screen, such as our love of Tim Hortons, tendency to be too nice, and the fact that a scandal to us is 30 million dollars’ worth of maple syrup stolen.

5) My Internship in Canada (Philippe Falardeau, 2015): A comedic take on Canadian politics following the partnership between an indecisive Member of Parliament, Steve Guibord,  and his hopeful intern from Haiti, Souverain Pascal. When Guibord has to break the tie-breaking vote deciding if Canada will go to war in the Middle East, he travels across Quebec to see if the public can help him make this decision. The clash between the stubborn Canadian and the idealistic immigrant is enjoyable to watch, and the absurd arguments presented by the different lobby groups are hilarious.

Those are my favorite Canadian films. Which ones are yours?

Don’t forget to celebrate National Canadian Film Day tomorrow by watching a great Canadian film! Visit www.canadianfilmday.ca to see which screenings will be held in your area, as well as the full broadcast schedule to see what will be playing on T.V! 

The Bloor Cinema is one of my favourite spots in the city to catch a movie. Inside and out, it feels like the kind of authentic, old-school cinema that is becoming increasingly rare. It’s definitely a throwback, which, as it turns out, unexpectedly made it the perfect home for this year’s Spotlight Charity Film Festival.

Now in its third year, Spotlight celebrates the best of local high school filmmaking, handing out awards in the categories of documentary, narrative, and experimental. Spotlight also has some serious philanthropic heft, with this year’s festival raising $8000 for Sketch.

Apart from the social good aspect, though, Spotlight also has a lot of artistic merit to offer. This year’s award winners – picked by a judging panel of industry professionals – were all maturely executed and high-quality offerings from such young filmmakers.

I’m not sure exactly what I expected when I walked into a screening of films made by high school students, but it definitely wasn’t an experimental animated documentary about vintage Hollywood starlet Eartha Kitt. But indeed, James Perry’s You Must Think About That One Again was a standout of the night, bringing Kitt’s fiery and still-relevant monologue on female independence to life through elegant typography and an arresting animation style.

Elsewhere, I saw films that prominently featured Super 8 home movies, old family photographs, and even an old stereo receiver with magical time-traveling abilities. Maybe I’m just a jaded 20-something who will soon be rambling about “the good old days”, but I did find it heartening to see a lot of these young filmmakers looking back and celebrating technology and art that is several decades older than they are.

However, the night wasn’t all about odes to analog technology. One of the other highlights was Carol Nguyen’s This Home is Not Empty, a stunningly filmed examination of intricate 3D paper models that rightfully won the experimental category. Elsewhere, Tristan Surman’s stylish A Dying Man Named Steve tied for first in the narrative category and proved to be an audience favourite thanks to its biting, blackly comic story of a terminally ill young man who just wants to find a home for his unlikeable dog once he’s gone.

In terms of raising money for a great cause and celebrating the next wave of Toronto filmmakers, the night was all-around fun and hopeful. It’s always great to see so much young talent on display.

-Colleen

​After school on Monday, I left right at 3:30 to rush over to The Big Screen Student Film Festival put on by the Etobicoke School of the Arts at a Cineplex in Etobicoke. This festival was created to showcase student work in front of classmates and industry professionals, and was funded by Scotiabank. I was a couple minutes late, so I didn’t get the chance to pick up any popcorn!

The large theatre was practically full (it was a really popular event) so I took a seat in the very front row and craned my neck up to see the huge screen. Each film shown began with a title slide with the director’s name and grade, which I found provided a nice division between films and helped me to keep track of different directors.

I can say in all honesty that I truly enjoyed each film; it was a very well programmed event, with varying themes and styles. I especially enjoyed A Dying Man Names Steve by Tristan Surman, which is about a man who “after finding out that he is going to die, … realizes that he has to find a new home for his dog before he goes”. It’s humorous, has a cast of great actors, and there was a beautiful atmosphere throughout the film evoked through the use of music and cool colours.

Another favourite is Petrichor by Carol Nguyen; described as “a guide to love and loss”, which features earthworms and graceful poetry.

After all the films were shown, there was a brief awards ceremony. Some of the awards included Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Sound Design. It was great to see films get recognition and to hear the support everyone had for each other. It was a wonderful festival with amazing films and filmmakers!

-Avondale

There was no better way to end a week off of school than seeing what the Toronto university film community had to offer. 

I had never been to this type of event before, so I was very excited. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting, but I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived. Having never been in Hart House before, I was immediately captured by it's charm, and beauty. When I met with the rest of the Youth Shorts programming team, we climbed a set of stairs and entered a small room, filled with rows of chairs. I knew that I was going to have a good night when I saw what was at the back of the room - free food. My compliments to the U of T Film Festival organizers for not only understanding the importance of food at these types of events, but for providing such a wide and enjoyable selection of snacks. The baked brie was a particular favourite. Anyway, I digress. It was very interesting for me to see what caliber of diverse films the youth film community was producing.

I had a few favourites from the night:

Kicking things off was a brief animated piece by Carla Veldman titled Uncle Antlers. Centered around a girl and her imaginary friend, Uncle Antlers, this film told an emotional and relevant story as to how our imaginations change as we age, and how the things we once held dear can be cast aside as we grow up (or at least that was how I interpreted it). The charming hand-drawn style and beautiful musical accompaniment made this my favourite short of the first part of the program.

The Blood Royal by Carlo Schefter instantly drew my attention with it's energetic, and driving soundtrack. The grungy and experimental film noir stylings were something that really differentiated it from any other film seen that night. 

Although the two films above stood out the most to me, I would to say that all the films were very different, and did something to set themselves apart from the others. This wide range of vastly different pieces is what made my first film festival one that I will always remember.

-Christian

Somehow the word "dark" became synonymous to praise and critical acclaim when it comes to the world of film and television, especially in the science fiction and fantasy genre. The definition for dark as an adjective is "with little or no light" yet many critics and audiences use the word as a description of high-brow sophistication, believing it as an automatic indicator that it will be better.

Take for example the latest superhero flick, Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. Yes, critical reaction to Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy has been high and undoubtedly Warner Brothers would want to cash in on that success but at what point do we draw the line? Do we say enough is enough when a symbol of optimism and hope like Superman becomes a desaturated tool of mass destruction? I personally don't think audiences need a depressed Superman walking around the cold mumbling to himself nor do we need to see the Power Rangers murdered in cold blood but many will agree otherwise. A good portion of the audience believes that content needs Game of Thrones level violence and gratuitous blackness to be worthy of viewing. Anything else is too light-hearted and comes off as camp, even when it's not. 

I certainly see the appeal of a gritty drama. But I disagree with a notion that dark dramas make better content. Female characters should not be walking allegories for the numerous atrocities committed against them in order to be relevant or good just as curse words do not automatically make a film or TV show better. I think there is a belief that the stakes feel higher and the more emotionally compelling when propelled to a dark place but melodrama accomplishes just that for a specific audience yet rarely would you find someone who would place that genre above others in ranking quality.

It's truly bizarre how out-of-hand this is getting because content makers are almost pressured in adapting this tone for the sake of the viewing audience. There can be many positive attributes to stories that are bleaker in tone but the darkness should service the story, not shoehorned for the sake of it. Being dark is not an automatic quality stamp of approval. I'm totally okay with Supergirl being a happy go-getter whose biggest problem other than saving the world is keeping track of her boss' latte order. Not everyone is Batman, nor should we want everyone - or anyone for that matter - to be.

-Henry