Rise of the eSports Hero

Directed by Stephen Gillis, Erica Landrock; Produced by Erica Landrock; Written by Stephen Gillis, Sheona McDonald

Writer/Director: Stephen Gillis; Director/Producer: Erica Landrock; Writer: Sheona McDonald

This documentary explores the sub-culture of pro-gaming through the lives of North America’s top eSports team, Team Evil Geniuses as they tour the world competing for money, fame and glory. Chris “HuK” Loranger is one of Canada’s finest eSports exports and self-proclaimed diva. Greg “IdrA” Fields is a legend in the Starcraft community but is now disillusioned with his once passion. Geoff “iNcontroL” Robinson, a former college football captain turned pro-gamer, is now at a crossroads between his career and his bride to be, a Miss USA pageant contestant. Evil Geniuses’ CEO, Alexander Garfield, is faced with the growing pains of being on the leading edge of a burgeoning multi-billion dollar industry as he must deal with balancing sponsors and managing egos all while trying to lead his team into the biggest season of their career.

43 minutes

The Country of Wolves

Directed by Neil Christopher; Produced by Louise Flaherty

Directed by Neil Christopher; Produced by Louise Flaherty

The Country of Wolves (Amaqqut Nunaat) is a traditional Inuit story about two brothers who find themselves adrift on broken sea ice while out hunting for seal. They drift in the darkness for many days, until the ice they are on settles on the shore of a strange and distant land. The hunters begin to look for landmarks or people to help them find their way back home.

Eventually, they come to a camp and the two brothers split up to find help. The younger brother goes to the large communal igloo, where music and merriment can be heard. The older brother walks to a small igloo at the edge of the camp. Here he finds a strange old woman who is surprised to see him. She identifies him as human and tells him that he is in the Country of Wolves. She warns him of danger, but says it is too late for his brother. From this land, almost no one returns…

11 minutes

Torturous

Written by: Angus Swantee & Craig Gunn, Directed by Angus Swantee; Produced Brent MacRae

Written by: Angus Swantee & Craig Gunn, Directed by Angus Swantee; Produced Brent MacRae

“Torturous” chronicles an encounter between an employment counselor and a professional torture artist, blending gore, humor, and irony into a deft cinematic mix.

6 min

Shtarkers: Tough Guys

Written by Tony Perzow; Directed by Tony Perzow & R.S. Bailey;  Produced by Gabby Egito & Tony Perzow

Written by Tony Perzow; Directed by Tony Perzow & R.S. Bailey; Produced by Gabby Egito & Tony Perzow

Shtarkers, meaning “strong men” in Yiddish.

What happens when a hooker, a drug dealer, a couple of thugs, a Shylock, three bums, and a Hasidic Jew find themselves in a dark alley?

One evening, a couple of degenerate thugs are unpleasantly surprised by the dreaded Uncle Moe, the Shylock. He came to collect an unpaid debt; however, an unexpected intervention embarrassingly rears its ugly head. What happens next? Laughter! A hilarious Jewish gangster musical based on the award winning play Angelo’s by Tony Perzow.

7 min

The Meeting

Written/Directed by Karen Lam; Produced by Victoria Angell & Karen Lam

Written/Directed by Karen Lam; Produced by Victoria Angell & Karen Lam

In a weekly church meet-up, four serial killers confess their darkest sins, hoping to cure themselves of their homicidal tendencies. But when pretty, blonde Harriet bursts into the room, the men are torn between wanting her to stay, and claiming her as another victim. They begrudgingly allow her to join the group, where Harriet admits she killed her husband in cold blood. But in a surprise twist, all expectations are turned upside down when Harriet reveals the darkest secret of all.

16 min

Arkham Rising

Written/Directed by Tito Guillen; Produced by Toddske Hillier

Written/Directed by Tito Guillen; Produced by Toddske Hillier

Arkham Rising is a fan film set during the events of 2012’s most anticipated film, The Dark Knight Rises.

Following Batman’s defeat at the hands of the mercenary known as Bane, Gotham City has fallen into chaos. Criminals have been freed to roam the streets. Gotham City is held hostage as not even the National Guard can find a way to release its citizens from their captors. The guards at Arkham Asylum, hearing the fate of their counterparts at Black Gate Prison, have abandoned their posts. Only the mentally unstable inmates and those foolish enough to try and engage them remain in Arkham now.

5 min

FANomenon

Written by Lynne Carter, Jay Armstrong, & Barbara Sharer; Directed by Lynne Carter;  Produced by Lynne Carter & Jay Armstrong

Written by Lynne Carter, Jay Armstrong, & Barbara Sharer; Directed by Lynne Carter;
Produced by Lynne Carter & Jay Armstrong

FANomenon follows rural retail worker Suzie as she goes on a quest to meet her hero, a fictional space explorer. She journeys through the world of science fiction fandom, and in doing so, learns about the relationships fans have with each other and with their heroes.

Middle-aged women make up a large yet inconspicuous community of fans. FANomenon explores their culture, their creative pursuits, and why they need heroes.

50 min

The Post-Lifers

The Post-Lifers

Written/Directed by Greg Kovacs; Produced by Nathan Hawkins & Brad MacMillan

The dead have risen and want your brains! Or do they? This hard-hitting mockumentary chronicles a group of zombies during a world-wide infestation. Tremble with fear and laughter as you are taken along an exclusive journey into the unknown and undead. It’s zombies like you’ve never seen them before…articulate.

14 min.

Voodoo Sex Talk

Voodoo Sex Talk

Written by Kyle Horton & Norm Fassbender; Directed by Norm Fassbender; Produced by Kate Holowach

A voodoo doll, a pink unicorn, and sexy Deb give sketchy sexual advice to callers on their radio program called Voodoo Sex Talk. Nobody in their right mind should trust these losers. We’ll have two episodes: The Wang and The Costumes.

1 min.

The Stolen

stolen

Written/Directed by Karen Lam; Produced by Karen Wong

Young Essie turns to the fantastical world of her imagination to escape her emotionally abusive home. Her father, a veteran, committed suicide after witnessing the horrors of war in Afghanistan. Her older brother, Braden, is now lashing out in anger at the world around him. One day, Essie witnesses Braden and his friends beating frail teenager Sebastian and putting him in a cage. Essie rescues Sebastian and tells him she is a fairy princess. When Sebastian promises to grant her a wish, she discovers he is more than he seems.

5 min

A Life

a life

Written/Directed by Justin Colautti; Produced by Daniel Whidden

Robbie Diner (Guy Bradford) is an atheist, and he’s not afraid to show it. When Christ returns to Earth to renew the copyright on The Bible, he tests Robbie’s beliefs in non-believing—by exploding on his face. Robbie’s faith goes from one end of the spectrum to another, as he sees the light and joins the newly formed Church Of The Injectable Christ.

Director Justin Colautti (Chance Encounters, Official Selection, Hot Docs 2011) feasts on the absurdity of absolutes in a challenging and introspective satire that revels in the opiate of the masses.
Watch the trailer

15 min

Scrap Metal

scrap metal

Written/Directed/Produced by Anthony Straus

The Cold War is over, but with a different ending. New York is in ruins and is overgrown with a network of some kind of sentient plant organisms. All human life has vanished. However, roaming the empty streets is a lone robot leftover from a Soviet spy initiative. The robot’s only companion is a screw which the robot lives with inside his out-of-place subway car wreck. When mutant plant monster known as Gigaplant emerges, threatening to eat the screw, the robot must do everything he can to defend his helpless friend from certain demise.

4 min

Rantdog’s Top Ten Zombies – EVER!

Written by Dave Clark & Norm Fassbender; Directed by Norm Fassbender; Produced by Kate Holowach

Midnight in a fog-bound swamp, Rantdog (Zombie fan) debates Twitch (non-Zombie fan), who is gagged and bound to a post. Nearby, a pile of rotting Zombie bodies and a freshly dug grave. Will Twitch learn to love Rantdog’s favorite zombies in time? Do you agree with Rantdog. No zombie fan can miss this.

8 min

5 Minutes Each

Written/Directed/Produced by Vojin Vosovic

5 Minutes Each is a metaphorical story about the constant struggle of the artist to reach those five minutes of limelight. A tale about an upswing and downfall, with the climax appearing concurrently and unexpectedly. The hermetical life of artists, who are enclosed into their own world of ideas, striving to create the epochal masterpiece. Even if they succeed, the image they create is the reflection of themselves. And with the same fervor, they repeat the process in endless cycles.

10 min

CAUTION: May Contain Nuts—Dragon*Con Edition

Written by CAUTION: May Contain Nuts; Directed by Bruce Pirrie & Dana Andersen; Produced by Camille Beaudoin, Jake Chapman, & Eric Rebalkin

The finest genre humor from the Canadian comedy troupe CAUTION: May Contain Nuts, constructed specially for Dragon*Con. Casting a wide net, these sketch comedians take on zombies, cyborgs, sasquatches, supervillains, and tabletop RPG’s… and also some geeky topics.

30 min