12/16, Saturday. 12:30pm. Cinematheque screens the category winners of Canadia Shorts Film Festival- Reborn by Matthew Rouleau: An old man reflects on his past, having spent his entire life within the confines of a spacecraft. He wonders when the time will come for him to find the true purpose of his life.
- KC by Mike Palmer: a short documentary on Katrina who wins a live painting competition in 20 short minutes in front of a live audience.
- The Cage by Daniele Bagolin, Nancy Zorzin, Irene Zordan, Paolo Romio, Matteo Giacomelli: A girl navigates through paths of her life.
- IYOV by Sergey Spirin, Andrei Beresnev: Iyon lost his wife and house suddenly, prompting him to question the meaning of life.
- Dead Drop by Jason Gosbee: A wounded man arrives at a car lot fighting off 2 men who tried to kill him.
- Orest Leere and His Marvelous, Mysterious, Malicious Empathy Machine by Jeff Smith : Orest Leere lives in an isolated gothic tower. He has created an "Empathy Machine" that allows him to steal memories from his victims, because Orest has none of his own.
- Something's Not Quite Right by Tom Cornwall: One morning David Sleet wakes up and feels out of sorts. Desperate for answers, he sets out on a quest to find out what's not quite right about today.
- Old Dragon Man by Doug Cook: an animation of ~1 minute follows the introspective journey of an elderly artist as he paints a majestic dragon.
- The One Note Man by George C. Siougas: A lonely bassoonist lives his life meticulously, mired in routine. Each day, he plays a single note in an orchestra and leaves the stage while the rest continue. One day, his exit is accidentally delayed and he hears a breathtaking violin solo, which changes his life forever.
I then walked to SFU's downtown for a book discussion on Michael Hardt's new book The Subversive Seventies.
I'm equaly surprised to find that the room was almost full. I cannot believe that so many people would be interested in the 70s' politics and social movements on a nice Saturday.
Many were taking notes!
I was late, so had to sit wherever a vacant seat was available. Quite in the front - now I couldn't leave.
Hardt talked about the main thesis in his new book, and then, these 3 people gave separate talks that echo some points of his book:
- Glen Coulthard, associate professor in Indigenous Studies and the Departments of Political Science at UBC.
- Alberto Toscano, Reader at University of London, co-director of the Centre for Philosophy and Critical Thought, visiting at SFU this term.
- Sharon Luk, associate Professor of Geography at SFU.
