Tragedy Plus Time
Comedies with a pinch of absurd
All tickets pay-what-you-wish. Select the amount at the links above.
Presented by NIFCO (Newfoundland Independent Filmmakers Co-op)
Meet the Creatures
Director / Writer / Producer: Veronica Dymond • Newfoundland & Labrador • 4 mins
A mother isn’t sure she can accept her daughter’s new paramour in this animated short originally created for last year’s Nickel Sci-Fi Challenge. St. John’s comedian Veronica Dymond made this one, so you know it’s funny and a little bit weird.
Spiricom
Directors / Writers: Rubén H. Pérez & Carmen Nogueroles • Spain • 14 mins
After a woman loses her husband to a heart attack she begins to suspect his death may not have been from natural causes. With the help of a device that allows the dead to answer yes or no questions, Violetta interrogates her husband for the truth.
Watercraft
Director / Writer / Producer: Gabriel Auclair-Doucet • Québec • 4 mins
Elsa is looking to hire a realtor and pits two potential agents against one another in a series of challenges. Montreal director Auclair-Doucet’s motto is “stay weird” and you'll see here he’s doubled down on his mission.
Time Traveling Through Time
Director / Writer: Ryan Ward • Manitoba • 14 mins
A wannabe film director becomes embroiled in a battle against the laws of time and space when his attempt to recreate the iconic photograph-only time travel film, La Jetée, spirals out of control. A wonderfully weird film.
Dead Wife Club
Director: Shara Desiree King • Writer: Amanda Bulman • Producer: Ashley Knight • Newfoundland & Labrador • 14 mins
A funny and moving short about a man attending a bereavement counseling meeting who says he’s angry with his dead wife —sparking a debate and a series of flashbacks that looks at the complexities of love. Featuring great performances from an ensemble cast, including the legendary Andy Jones, this film was created through NIFCO's Picture Start program. And an early version of the script was made as part of our 2021 Nickel Script Writing Challenge!
CAPTCHA
Director / Writer / Producer: David Feehan • Alberta/Newfoundland & Labrador • 9 mins
A young man struggles to prove his own humanity after he finds himself unable to tick the “I’m not a robot” box in an online CAPTCHA test. A hilarious short that drives home the mystery of what makes us human.
Chimeras
Director: Jean-Philippe Dagenais • Québec • 9 mins
A germaphobe struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder attempts to manage his fears, but things get complicated when a new virus comes to town.
Stationheads
Director / Writer: Stu Gamble • Hungary • 18 mins
A stylish short comedy about three overeducated twenty-somethings working a dead-end job at a gas station whose futures are grim. But when a group of bank robbers turn up fresh from a heist and fresh out of fuel, things suddenly get interesting.
Post-Screening Q&A
Featuring Andie Bulman (NL), Veronica Dymond (NL), and David Feehan (AB).
Film Still Slideshow — Image Descriptions
Meet the Creatures: a cartoon animation of a person with short purple hair wearing a purple sweater on the left, and a magenta-coloured alien with one eye on the right. They are looking at each other with worry on their faces.
Spiricom: a young adult woman with wavy brown hair sits close to the camera, laughing with her eyes squinted and teeth bared. She sits in front of an orange couch in a room with artwork on the white walls.
Watercraft: a young adult man with shoulder-length light brown hair wearing a black button-up shirt and paisley tie sits leaning against a white van, smiling and looking up. To the left is another person, wearing a tropical patterned shirt, with only their lower torso and hips in view.
Time Traveling Through Time: a sepia-toned photograph of a young adult woman wearing a white camisole, her head angled upwards and submerged in a body of water from the neck down.
Chimeras: a middle-aged adult man wearing a white protective suit and full-face visor, embracing another person who is back on to the camera.
CAPTCHA: a young adult man with short, red hair and facial hair, wearing a blue t-shirt and grey cardigan, with blood smeared on his nose and mouth. He is running towards the camera with a panicked look on his face.
Dead Wife Club: an older man with balding white hair and a beard wearing a brown button-up shirt and jeans to the left, and a young adult man with black hair and a beard wearing a tan jacket, red button-up shirt and jeans to the right. They are sitting and looking at each other.
Stationheads: two young adult men with brown hair and facial hair, wearing orange jumpsuits, look down at the camera below them. The man on the left is holding a pressure-washing tool over his shoulder.