Guy Maddin Shorts

Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Wednesday, October 16 at 8:35 p.m.: Introduction by director Guy Maddin

A sampling of Maddin’s prodigious short-film output, introduced by the filmmaker himself.

ODILON REDON: THE EYE LIKE A STRANGE BALLOON MOUNTS TOWARD INFINITY (1995, 6 min.): Keller, an old sub-aquatic locomotive engineer, and his son Caelum witness a train collision and rescue from its wreckage Berenice, an orphaned pre-adolescent girl-snail. Keller and Caelum adopt Berenice as a member of their family. Keller even names his beloved steam engine after his “daughter”. When Berenice reaches puberty, both Keller and Caelum fall in love with her, becoming romantic rivals. A disturbed Berenice runs away to marry a Zepplin pilot, only to be kidnapped by her adoptive father. Keller is blinded in a train mishap. Caelum loses his head and turns into a flower. Berenice turns into a cactus.

MY DAD IS 100 YEARS OLD (2005, 17 min.) Isabella Rossellini celebrates the life and work of her father, director Roberto Rossellini, on the 100th anniversary of his birth.

SPANKY – TO THE PIER AND BACK (2008, 4 min.): Spanky the pug dog takes a walk to the pier and back in Gimli, Manitoba.

SISSY BOY SLAP PARTY (2004, 6 min.): Starring Louis Negin and his Chippewa Sissy-Boys, this six-minute study in what can go wrong when the sissys are left alone is an exercise in grafting the Three Stooges onto a Kenneth Anger lilac bush. Originally commissioned as a four-minute short in support of The Saddest Music in the World, this 6 minute version stands on its own as a timeless look at a very human problem. Now contains 50% more slapping! 

GLORIOUS (2008, 12 min.): In this very NSFW Super-8 short, a weakening ganglord regains a tight grip over his children when he is visited by the ghost of his father. The ghost then collects his “generational fees.”

HEART OF THE WORLD (2000, 6 min.): “Conjures up a universe so vast and wacky that anyone can get lost in it… no matter how many times we view it we can never catch up. It will probably hold as many mysteries the 12th time you see it as the first.” – Jonathan Rosenbaum. Best Experimental Film of the Year, National Society of Film Critics. Courtesy TIFF Film Reference Library.

BRING ME THE HEAD OF TIM HORTON (2015, 31 min.): Guided by the spirit of “The Cuadecuc Manifesto” (coined by co-director Evan Johnson and inspired by Pere Portabella’s 1970 experimental cult documentary, Cuadecuc, vampir), Bring Me the Head of Tim Horton is a strange, stirring behind-the-scenes look at Paul Gross’s feature, Hyena Road. Shot on location at CFB Shilo near Brandon, Manitoba, and in Aqaba, Jordan, the film mixes deep contrast black-and-white expressionism with wry and raw western revisionism reminiscent of Sam Peckinpah, as it summons unwieldy, psychedelic energy from the main event.

 

 

See more and save! Get a Forbidden Rooms Pack (3-ticket pack: $30 for IFC Center members and $45 for non-members). Ticket packs are good for any three shows in the series lasting from October 11-17, 2024.

Part of our retrospective Forbidden Rooms: The Films of Guy Maddin

  • Running Time 90 minutes
  • Distributor Comscore
  • Director Guy Maddin
  • Accessibility Assistive Listening, T-Coil

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.