Shorts Program: Feels Like Home
11:00AM, OCT 25
What does it take to build a home, or feel at home? Four short films interpret and answer the question in different ways. In Quan Luong’s Tailor Made, a charming clothier in Winnipeg traces his journey from Vietnam to Canada, reflecting on a decision that altered the lives of not just his family but generations of Vietnamese children. In Johnny Libertella: One Million Smiles, filmmaker Bruno Dramatik focuses on the introverted owner of a shop in Montreal selling cowboy boots. Living above the shop and working seven days a week, Johnny blurs the line between work and home in pursuit of his passion. Two women, one Palestinian and one Indigenous, living in the same apartment building find common ground in their shared histories and learn what it takes to build a home connected to nature in Mawtini (My Homeland), directed by Fateema Al-Hamaydeh Miller. In Ayesha Sheikh’s Parc-Ex: The Heart of MTL, a former resident of Park Extension, a working-class Montreal neighbourhood, reflects on how the community there helped shape the man he grew up to be.
— Pahull Bains
Parc-Ex The Heart of MTL
Directed by
Ayesha Sheikh
13 Minutes
Canada
French
Every Sunday, Hudson returns to Park Extension to see his father. Along the way, he runs into his childhood friend, Baki. Together, they wander their old stomping grounds, just like when they were kids. As they walk, Hudson reminisces about how the neighbourhood shaped who he has become.
_edited.png)
Ayesha Sheikh was born in Montreal. The only daughter of a Peruvian mother and a Pakistani father, she spent her early childhood in Cusco with her grandparents. Upon returning to Canada, she went to school in French and then studied art and film at the Université de Montréal. Ayesha has been working in the audiovisual industry for over a decade.
Johnny Libertella - One Million Smiles
Directed by
Bruno Dramatik
10 Minutes
Canada
French
60-year-old Johnny Libertella has spent his entire life in the Rosemont–La-Petite-Patrie neighbourhood. Like his parents before him, he lives just above his shop on Plaza St-Hubert. For over three decades, he has religiously manned the counter of his footwear shop that specializes in cowboy boots, only straying away from the Plaza to visit his daughter every Sunday.
_edited.png)
Jocelyn Bruno, who goes by Bruno Dramatik, is a Quebec director, multidisciplinary artist and singer-songwriter. As a member of Muzion, he won two ADISQ Félix awards for best hip-hop album of the year. As a solo artist, he has received several Juno nominations for best urban album of the year.
Mawtini (My Homeland)
Directed by
Fateema Al-Hamaydeh Miller
19 Minutes
Canada
Arabic, English
Together Nawal, a young Palestinian woman, and Tanya, an older Indigenous woman, start a guerrilla garden on the lawn of their apartment building and battle middle management to make it to harvest.
_edited.png)
Fateema is a queer Palestinian/Canadian filmmaker whose work explores themes of fragmented identity, isolation and connection through "oh no, should I laugh?" comedy. She is passionate about creating nuanced representation of Arabs and Muslims for the screen and prioritizes making space for marginalized voices both in front of and behind the camera.
Tailor Made
Directed by
Quan Luong
13 Minutes
Canada
Vietnamese, English
Tailor Made is a documentary about the passion and perseverance of Tam Nguyen, a refugee from Vietnam who came to Canada in the ‘80s as part of the Vietnamese “boat people” and used his masterful tailoring skills to craft a new life for himself and others. Tailor Made captures his reflections on his life's journey and how he fulfilled a promise to dedicate his life to helping others.
_edited.png)
Quan Luong is a Vietnamese filmmaker based in Winnipeg, Canada. His first feature documentary Seeking Fire premiered on Prime Video in November 2022 and has been sold to broadcasters around the world. Quan's current projects include a six-episode docu-series with CBC Gem called Finding Diamonds and short documentary Tailor Made.