Uxbridge artists represented at short film festival

Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A former Joseph Gould Public School student and a local Oscar-winning Foley artist were among the movie makers present last week for the 22nd annual Canadian short film festival at the Roxy Theatres.

Xanthe van der Gulik, the former JGSP student, said the morning after the screening, “I have dreamed of having my film shown on the big screen at the Roxy Theatre and last night my dream came true!” She was the director of a film called Doorbell, a story of a small act of kindness changing someone's life.

Andy Malcolm, a long-established and successful Foley artist, worked on a couple of the movies shown. Malcolm's work was seen (heard) on the 1993 Oscar-winning cartoon Bob's Birthday and the 1992 Oscar-nominated cartoon, Strings.

The festival featured 10 movies, ranging in length from a one-minute-44-second claymation piece titled Amma to the 14-minute-18 second film called Four Men and a Body. The films themselves ran the gamut from whimsical to funny to dark to bizarre. One film, Doors of War, was actually a teaser for a longer length documentary due to be released next year. The film features doors damaged during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Another film that was part of the festival is also set to become a feature length piece. Lure, directed by Jacob Phair, of Uxbridge, reportedly has investors in the wings and is awaiting the green light for proceeding.

“I used to work at the Roxy,” said Phair, “and I knew then that all I wanted to do was make movies. And look at this! It’s amazing!”

Lure will also be part of the Durham Region International Film Festival On Oct. 26.

One of the longest movies of the evening was the 13-minute-four-second offering called June Bug, the story of an elderly woman fighting the inevitable effects of aging with anger, frustration, stubbornness and, finally, resignation.

Both cinemas were filled to capacity for the event, with the pre-show lineup snaking from the Roxy front doors to the far end of the library. Inside, there was popcorn, wine and snacks for the patrons, along with a number of door prizes.

The films were presented in two five-film segments, each followed by a question-and-answer session with members of the production team of each movie. The other films shown were Lavenza and Last Tango.