The
Joy Award
Winner Ann & Sasha by Connie Littlefield.
This documentary traces the astonishing stories of Alexander
and Ann Shulgin. Alexander is the inventor of Ecstasy,
and several hundred other psychoactive chemical compounds.
His seminal role as a chemical researcher and author is
not widely recognized despite the worldwide impact his
work has had indirectly on club nightlife, and contrastingly,
required-reading for drug enforcement agents and lawyers.
He is also the inventor of the first bio-degradable insecticide.
Now retired, Shulgin continues research at home, believing
that psychoactive drugs can offer significant medical
benefits rather than mere recreational misuse. He often
tests his creations on himself and Ann in an effort to
better understand the workings of consciousness.
The film documents the strength of their relationship
despite many years of an ambivalent place in the world;
on the one hand Shulgin is the leading expert to whom
authorities turn for knowledge - yet at the same time
it is he who first released the perceived devils authorities
seek to fight. Their endurance in dealing with a legal
system rife with misunderstanding offers an intriguing
look at both an historically significant figure, and the
often bizarre contradictions of the society they hope
to improve.
Connie Littlefield
is based in Halifax. Working in documentary format, Connie
explores issues which relate to the human state - what
we value, believe and desire -and why. She has worked
independently and with the National Film Board since 1986.
Previous films include Hoffman's Potion, also about a
significant historical chemist, and Damage Done.
Announced by
Rob Riselli of PS Atlantic, the Joy Award includes:
$10,000 in rental services from PS Atlantic (Halifax).
$6,000 in post-production services and equipment from
the Atlantic Filmmakers Coop
$1,200 in equipment rental from 45 North.
$1,000 in film stock from Kodak Canada Inc.
$500 in cash from Prime Insurance.
CBC TV Script Development Award
Winner Freaks of Tatamagouche by Jennifer Tilley,
This animated documentary is "hosted" by a possibly,
but not entirely, human with some discrepancies in his
appendages and a tail. This narrator, a self-styled Freak,
takes the viewers on a three-part tour of an unknown side
of Tatamagouche's history beginning with Mr. Ray Brothers,
a Tatamagouche insurance salesman who collected nearly
a thousand very unusual and bizarre items. Then there
is the famous P. T. Barnum's connection with Tatamagouche
and the story of the oldest woman on Earth, the Feegee
Mermaid, and the Museum of Curiosities. And third, an
unlikely pair, the two-foot-high Commodore Nutt and the
Giantess of Nova Scotia.
Presented with humanity and humour, this documentary will
explore Nova Scotian history from a different perspective,
demonstrating that there are rich corners and fascinating
threads woven through the region's past, as diverse and
often strange as the most exotic places and tales.
Jennifer Tilley
is a Nova Scotia filmmaker and media artist whose work
has been shown internationally. She is a recipient of
the Academy of Canadian Film & Television's National
Apprenticeship Award, and was selected as part of V-Tape's
25th anniversary celebratory presentations.
Announced by
Peter Hall of Presenting Partner CBC, the Award includes
$5000 in cash to support development of the script from
our Presenting Partner CBC.
Newfoundland Joy Award
Winner Not Over Easy by Jordan Canning,
Karen, who just split up with Ken, is faced with an unexpected
reminder of their relationship's better times. In this
short comedy, Karen finds herself daydreaming about giving
Ken another chance, through the unique imaginary world
of her alter ego as an egg. Mixing live action and animation,
the drama moves from the human scale world of a bitter
breakup to the egg scale world of an imaginary reconciliation,
where Ken's egg avatar has just one more chance to keep
his sunny side up.
Jordan Canning
is a Saint John's based filmmaker. Her short Bathroom
screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, and
was the Best Atlantic Short winner at the Atlantic Film
Festival last year. Her most recent film, Countdown, received
the NSI Drama Prize, and placed second out of 1400 films
in the NFB Cannes Short Film Competition 2009.
Announced
by Gaston Bernier of KODAK Canada, the Award includes;
$7,500 in rental services from Atlantic Studio Cooperative.
$2,000 in cash from CBC Television Newfoundland and Labrador.
$2,000 in post production services and $500 towards production
equipment rental from the Newfoundland Independent Filmmakers
Cooperative.
$1,200 in script consultation from John Doyle.
$1,000 in film stock from Kodak Canada Inc.
New Brunswick Joy Award
Winner Box Face by Joel Thompson
Announced at the
Silver Wave Film Festival by a representative of New Brunswick
Film, the Award includes;
$10,000 in rental services and $500 in materials from
PS Atlantic (Halifax)
$3,500 in equipment or facilities from the New Brunswick
Filmmakers Co-operative.
$1500 cash from New Brunswick Film.
$1,000 in film stock from Kodak Canada Inc.
Joy
Post Award
Winner Righteous by Cory Bowles.
Righteous is a dramatic short which explores the controversial
realm of racism but from a perspective rarely acknowledged.
Issues surrounding racial tension are a two-way street,
as Reny, a young black man, discovers when his attitude
towards his sister's boyfriend brings him into a surprising
confrontation. The film is based on Bowles' very well
received one-man play of the same name.
Cory Bowles
is a Halifax based filmmaker, dancer, choreographer, actor
and writer. His last film, Scavengers, has received very
positive reviews and shown at film festivals internationally.
Announced by
founding Linda Joy Awards Board member Lulu Keating, the
Award includes;
$10,000 in post production services and $600 in materials
from Power Post.
$5,000 in services from the National Film Board of Canada
Documentary East Atlantic.
$2,500 in lab, audio or video services fromTechnicolor.
Helen
Hill Animated Joy Award
Winner Collectables by Coleen MacIssac.
In this short dramatic animation, the collecting-obsessed
Celeste amasses an ever increasing and unwieldy variety
of little treasures. Her acquisition quest comes to a
crisis as she is faced with the loss of all the things
she has horded. Questioning our almost desperate need
to acquire more and more, Collectables suggests there
is a better way of connecting with our lives. The film
will be animated using drawings in watercolours and crayon.
Colleen MacIssac
is a relative newcomer to the film scene, but will be
familiar because of her wonderful recent line-drawing
animation Kate & Bradbury which has been screened
several times in Halifax alone in the past year. She is
a graduate of the Emily Carr Institute with a Major in
Animation. She recently participated in the One Minute
Film Scholarship Program.
Announced by
past CBC TV Script Award winner Lukas Cardona, the Award
includes;
$5000 in services from Power Post.
$2000 in equipment and facility access plus $500 in film
stock* from the Atlantic Filmmakers Cooperative.
$1000 in equipment and edit suite access, plus $100 mentoring
support from the Centre For Art Tapes.
$500 cash.
Case of Mini DV Tape.
The Linda Joy Media Arts Society thanks its operational
sponsors:
CBC, Presenting Partner
NS Department of Tourism Culture and Heritage, Culture
Division
Canada Council for the Arts
Newfoundland & Labrador Film Development Corp.
R. Forbes Delivery Enterprises
CTV
The Linda Joy
Awards Brunch is presented with the generous support of:
Propeller Breweries
Tide View Cider
J. Willy Krauch & Sons
Scanway Catering
Just Us Coffee
Atlantic Film Festival
Silverwave Film Festival
The owners and residents of 2125 Brunswick Street!
For more information
please contact Will Roberts, 902.420.4522, info@lindajoy.com |
