40th Anniversary Short Program

Highlighting the deep connections between Nova Scotia’s filmmaking and writing communities, this series of short films—each created or co-created by a WFNS member—screened on September 21, 2016, as part of the Atlantic Film Festival. The screening featured a range of cinematic styles and subjects—including cinepoetry, short documentary, and traditional shorts—that evoked different stages in our 40 year history.

• Dawg (15 min), directed and written by WFNS member Shelly Thompson: Tilley has nursed her mother through a long, final illness. Housesitting brings her a new friend in the form of Dawg, a gentle canine companion. When Dawg also passes on, his death helps Tilly to mark and mourn her lost mother too.
• The Grain Elevators (4 min), directed by Megan Wenneberg and featuring WFNS member Matt Robinson: A former couple comes together to watch their life play out before them on Halifax’s crumbling grain elevators. This film is a result of AFCOOP and WFNS matching up poets with filmmakers to produce collaborative cinepoems.
• The Trumpeter (26 min), directed by Janice L. Platt and based on a short story by Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award funder Thomas Head Raddall: Set in Nova Scotia in 1798, The Trumpeter tells the story of a young woman named Thankfull Rogers, who learns that the Duke of Kent and his entourage are on their way and will want to use her father’s ferry.
• Tell Me (3 min), directed by WFNS member Shandi Mitchell: An intimate portrait of the relationship between the filmmaker and her father. Daring to ask the most personal questions, Mitchell captures heartbreak, humour, and our universal mortality in three evocative minutes.
• Speak It! From the Heart of Black Nova Scotia (29 min), directed by WFNS member Sylvia D. Hamilton: In their predominantly white school in Halifax, a group of black students face daily reminders of racism. With help from mentors, they discover the richness of their heritage and learn some of the ways they can begin to effect change.