Experimental Works for Educational Environments: Super Super 8

Introduced as a home-movie format almost 40 years ago, Super 8 film remains a vital and accessible medium for filmmakers worldwide. This compilation of works by both emerging makers and lifelong Super 8 devotees provides a glimpse into the form, aesthetics and politics of this popular but often overlooked gauge.

1) 4x8x3 by Chris Kennedy (2004 / Regular 8 / 3 min.)
8mm unsplit. Streetcars circle. The ferry leaves and returns in one gesture. Camera and character dance.

2) All U Can Eat by Stevi Urben (2003 / Super 8 / 12 min.)
Increasingly separated from his place of birth, a 70-year-old Jewish native of Quebec fuses personal and historical memory to create a sense of belonging.

3) Coolie Gyal by Renata Mohamed (2004 / Super 8 / 5.5 min.)
In this coming-out story, an honest and sincere letter is read from a daughter to her parents.

4) Evanesce by Jamie Phelan (2003 / Super 8 / 5.5 min.)
Phelan confronts the possibility of losing his sight and tries to make sense of the memories trapped in pictures that are disappearing before his very eyes.

5) Made in Japan by Midi Onodera (1985 / Super 8 / 2.5 min.)
North American portrayals of Japan perpetuate the myths of Americanized culture, distorting and misrepresenting traditional values.

6) October 25th + 26th, 1996 by Kika Thorne (1996 / Super 8 / 8 min.)
To protest the erosion of the city, the October Group inflates a 150’ long building using the air vents in front of Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square.

7) Parade by Juliana Saragosa (2001 / Super 8 / 6.5 min.)
A hand-made film that explores a 21st-century ritual celebration: Toronto’s Gay Pride Parade (2000).

8) Reading Canada Backwards by Steven Topping (1995 / Super 8 / 12 min.)
A travel log of a technical object keeping time on a big train. 4000 miles from Vancouver to Halifax with three frames of film shot for every mile.

9) Firefly by John Porter (1980 / Super 8 / 3.5 min.)
A performance with projector creates a dance of light.