Tiny Hours

Teaunna Gray ‘A Black Woman Is…’ (8:26) We asked our directors… here’s what they said 🎬⤵️ “Why should people FUND THE ARTS?” The arts shape how we understand each other. They preserve stories, challenge perspectives, and create spaces where people feel seen. In difficult times especially, art gives us connection, and hope. Supporting the arts doesn’t always have to mean huge donations or big ticket items. Share an artist’s work. Attend a local screening or gallery show. Buy a ticket. Bring a friend. Talk about the work online. Give art as a gift. Small acts of support help artists keep going. A future without accessible art and community spaces is a much smaller and less honest ones. “Why do local festivals and community spaces matter?” Festivals like Tiny Hours exist because artists deserve intentional spaces to gather, share work, and feel supported. There are so many barriers around larger institutions and traditional arts spaces, especially for emerging filmmakers and underrepresented voices. Community is everything to me. Some of the most meaningful experiences I’ve had around art happened in small rooms filled with people who genuinely cared. “What kind of stories are you most drawn to telling?” I’ve always been drawn to people living at the margins of our society. Before filmmaking, my first dream in life was simply to help people and listen to them. Their stories, their questions, their “why.” That’s what drew me to documentaries. I love that film can introduce us to people and places we may never encounter otherwise. Representation is what drives me. I’m interested in stories that expand our understanding of each other and remind people they deserve to be seen fully.

“Through the voices of Black women and girls, a documentary reveals a portrait of Black womanhood that refuses to be singular.“ A Black Woman Is… Directed by Teaunna Gray, will be a part of our Block 1 screenings - Love, Memory & Self 🗓️ May 30th Doors Open 2PM 📍70 Ward St @westside_studio 🎟️🔗 Ticket link in our bio

Thipika Balakrishnan ‘Love Letter’ (12:00) We asked our directors… here’s what they said 🎬⤵️ “Why do local festivals and community spaces matter?” Local festivals and community spaces remind emerging artists, kids, newcomers, and everyday people that their stories deserve space too. I grew up in community centres and arts programming. The short film I made in high school premiered at Revue Cinema. Sitting in that theatre made me realize that I mattered: that this city had room for me. Without community, art can feel distant. With them, creativity becomes a collective experience. “What would you say to someone who is sitting on unfinished work right now?” Leaving it unfinished can feel safer than letting it live outside of you. As I am studying the people I admire - they were not always confident, they were committed. I return to this quote every time from the Greatest Muhammad Ali: “If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it.” There’s something powerful about writing it every day. It has turned my belief into practice. “What film(s) inspired you from childhood?” I’m grateful to have grown up in a city that exposed me to so many different kinds of films. While I’ve always loved Tamil cinema, music videos and North American TV, spending time at friends’ and neighbours’ homes introduced me to stories and styles I wouldn’t have encountered otherwise. It made me realize from a young age that cinema means something different to everyone. In terms of inspiration as a kid, I loved Baasha, Disney Classics (Lion King, Aladdin), Hoop Dreams, Harry Potter, Shrek, Pokemon 2000 and Rush Hour.

“A young THIPI (7), is saddened by her crush moving away and decides to write him a love letter. Set in the backdrop of 2000s Toronto, within the vibrant, flavourful Tamil immigrant home of Thipi’s grandfather (who is also an astrological fortune teller), Thipi is forced to face the truth about fate and letting go.” Love Letter Directed by Thipika Balakrishnan, will be a part of our Block 1 screenings - Love, Memory & Self 🗓️ May 30th Doors Open 2PM 📍70 Ward St @westside_studio 🎟️🔗 Ticket link in our bio

Lorenza De Benedictis ‘A Thousand Little Trees of Blood’ (6:15) We asked our directors… here’s what they said 🎬⤵️ “What would you say to someone who is sitting on unfinished work right now?” I hate this question because I feel like so many people expect me to say - get back to work on it ! Which is how I have felt for a really long time, but I really just think that sometimes work dies and it might come back but maybe unfinished is all it will ever be. Art can be so personal you truly just keep it to yourself. Not everything needs to be out in the world. You can enjoy art just for the sake of trying and failing and moving on and looking back on it and loving the unfinished and rough parts of it. I don’t want to get very deep into it but I think if art is a feeling and an extension of who we are, then we shouldn’t pressure ourselves to finish something, because we are also unfinished. “What film(s) inspired you from childhood?” There are so many. I could say maybe Shrek and Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Movie - the one from 2004. Both are so strange in their own way. Shrek has amazing writing that my sister and I constantly quote and it’s a true “family” film in that there are so many adult jokes without them being so overtly gross. I don’t know any other films that have done it as well as that one. Yu-Gi-Oh! is just something I watched all the time because it was on YTV at 7:30 AM every morning before Pokemon, and I love history + mythology so the blending of those things together really excites me. I could also say Peter Pan - favourite Disney movie for no reason other than it just speaks to the impossible. I could name so many films made between 2002 and 2010 that have impacted me greatly because it was a time of massive pop-culture immersion that continues to thrive today.

“Stella and Giulio are on one of their many, stressful dates, when a small catalyst creates an untimely end.” A Thousand Little Trees of Blood Directed by Lorenza De Benedictis, will be a part of our Block 1 screenings - Love, Memory & Self 🗓️ May 30th Doors Open 2PM 📍70 Ward St @westside_studio 🎟️🔗 Ticket link in our bio

Tiny Hours Film Festival is almost here — MAY 30th we’re gathering at @westside_studio for a full day of short films, conversation, art & community. 🎬✨ Tickets are going fast, visit our link in bio for all the info on program, tickets & film selections. 🔗 This year’s program features 10 films by emerging and independent filmmakers exploring identity, memory, intimacy, culture, grief, joy, and everything in between. The lineup is one we’re so proud to have curated. Your ticket includes: 🎞️ Both screening blocks 🎞️ Artist panel + conversations 🎞️ Gallery installations 🎞️ Mixer + community gathering We built Tiny Hours as a space for films that stay with you and for the people who want to experience them together. Swipe to see this year’s official selections ✨ Tickets available now via the link in bio. Limited capacity. Poster by the incredible @abbey.fran

“A queer woman grapples with grief, self-discovery, and the bittersweet memories of her ended, deeply emotional, yet tumultuous relationship.” Morning Coffee Co-directed by Nolan Begley & Kyla Mah, will be a part of our Block 1 screenings - Love, Memory & Self 🗓️ May 30th Doors Open 2PM 📍70 Ward St @westside_studio 🎟️🔗 Ticket link in our bio

Nolan Begley & Kyla Mah ‘Morning Coffee’ (12:45) We asked our directors… here’s what they said 🎬⤵️ “What kind of stories are you most drawn to telling?” There’s always a pursuit for emotional honesty in every film we are lucky enough to make together. For us, we draw from personal histories, stories rooted in our mixed cultures, and the notion of being brave with our vulnerability. Whether it’s a narrative-driven commercial, short film, or music video, we lead with an honest degree of sensitivity in hopes to make art that folks can find themselves in and ultimately resonate with on an emotional level. “What would you say to someone who is sitting on unfinished work right now?” Everything I am proud of in my life came on the other side of being scared. Finish it. Do it tired, do it afraid, do it with audacity - a friend of mine once said “be delusional” - sometimes you have to give yourself permission to believe in yourself first. You never really know how much impact you can make just by sharing your experience. If you care about it and it means something to you then do it - and if it’s not “right” the first time, then do it again. Don’t be your first “no”.

“Two years from their first night together, Willie & Marisol have their “first date.” As they navigate a “post-pandemic” Toronto, they sift through who and what they’ve become amidst the circumstances, grief, and secrets that have kept them apart. Together, they discover if there can be love after loss. Starring TIFF 21’ Rising Star Emma Ferreira.” Fried Fish & Plantain Directed by Paul-Daniel Torres, will be a part of our Block 1 screenings - Love, Memory & Self 🗓️ May 30th Doors Open 2PM 📍70 Ward St @westside_studio 🎟️🔗 Ticket link in our bio

Paul-Daniel Torres ‘Fried Fish & Plantain’ (13:38) We asked our directors… here’s what they said 🎬⤵️ “What film(s) inspired you from childhood?” Growing up, it felt like we were at the local movie theatre every Tuesday, at blockbuster every friday and watching TBS’s Dinner and a Movie every saturday. A lot of these movies are the VHS’s and DVD’s I’d pop in with my sister, and I’m always going to cherish that. List: The Iron Giant, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, Tarzan, Hercules, John Q., Atlantis, The Phantom Menace, Transformers (1986)/(2007), Bulletproof Monk, Enter The Dragon, Fists of Fury, Shaolin Soccer, Rocky, Rocky 4, George of The Jungle, The Mummy, Forrest Gump, The Magnificent Seven, Sherlock Holmes, Iron Man, My Name is Khan, Spy Kids, Ghost Rider, Rush Hour, Men in Black, Grease, The Prince of Egypt, Revenge of The Sith, The Princess Bride, Space Jam, Dinosaurs, It’s a Wonderful Life, Life is Beautiful, Master of Disguise, Shrek 1 &2, Hook, Austin Powers, Star Trek, Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings, Lost in Space, Van Helsing, Chicken Run. “What would you say to someone who is sitting on unfinished work right now?” Just chip away at it little by little, even if it’s just one word, or one cut, or one email a day. You take little baby steps. You’ll look up in three months and YOU WILL see progress. That little inner critic, can say nothing to you, cause you got the proof you never gave up. “Why do local film festivals and community spaces matter?” More opportunities to showcase, learn and support each other only mean we will get better as filmmakers, as people and as artists. I think alot of what’s holding us back when it comes to the development of film in Toronto/Canada, is we want to solve problems from “top to bottom”. Which is great! But we need to be building a strong foundation, not even “emerging” filmmakers, but for “aspiring” filmmakers. So one day we can connect the dots and meet each other halfway. 📷: @paulanerdormiendo

“This film follows Huỳnh, a traditional fish sauce maker living in Đà Nẵng, central Vietnam. For almost 250 years, his family has sustained an ancestral craft rooted in the coastal culture of the region. Through his daily practice, from sourcing ingredients to fermentation, the film traces the rhythms, labour and heritage embedded in this enduring tradition.” Craft Takes Labour Directed by Gabriel Hutchinson, will be a part of our Block 1 screenings - Love, Memory & Self 🗓️ May 30th Doors Open 2PM 📍70 Ward St @westside_studio 🎟️🔗 Ticket link in our bio