MINSTRELL VS PUPPET was the winner of BEST FILM at the January 2020 Experimental FEEDBACK Film Festival in Toronto.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Hannah Bonecutter: The trials, tribulations, and conflicts (internal and external) that I, as well as many others, endure as a woman of color today motivated me to make this film. Upon careful observance and personal experience of the various stigmatization, stereotypes, and limitations society places upon women of color, and with the current wave of women empowerment here in America, I was compelled to make a statement on these important issues; a statement that force people to face, discuss, and hopefully work to improve these issues facing women of color today. This film is that statement.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?

It took about 3 months from the…

 STORMCHASER swept the awards at the February 2020 FEMALE Feedback Film Festival in Toronto. Winner of BEST FILM. BEST PERFORMANCES. BEST CINEMATROGRAPHY

 Matthew Toffolo: How did you come up with the idea for this short film? And… What motivated you to make the film?

“He’s a door-to-door ‘door’ salesman,” my friend said.

“A what…?” I thought I’d misheard what her new boyfriend did for a living.

“He lost his job. Now, he sells storm doors, door-to-door.

Our exchange conjured black-and-white images from the Maysles’ documentary, Salesman, about door-to-door bible peddlers in the ‘60s. Surely, this daily grind was a thing of the past. But as I did some digging, I discovered it still exists; and that many contractors targeting weather-torn areas this way are called “storm chasers” — instead of “ambulance chasers” — because of their predatory practices.

This triggered a deep compulsion in me to express my own sardonic…

HER TURF played to rave reviews at the February 2020 Documentary Festival in Toronto.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Shantel Hansen: This started back in 2014 when I conceived of the idea of filming women in male dominated sports. Here in the United States, this wasn’t a topic talked about or filmed that often until recently there are more conversations over all about women in male dominated spaces in sports, professionally, and workplace. When I discovered women in football officiating, I knew that there had to be stories to uncover, document, and share. What I didn’t know was how I was going to do it. As a first time director and producer, it took over four years to make this documentary come alive. There have been a lot of ups and downs. A lot of highs and low moments. Looking back, I can’t express how grateful…

STARTING LINEUP played to rave reviews at the February 2020 Documentary Film Festival in Toronto.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Sarah Baptist: I went to the overflow area of Jurassic Park for Game 1 of the Raptors playoff. I instantly became friends with the two men behind me in line. There was something really unique about the community. Strangers were friends. The next time I went back, I brought a camera and I tried to capture it.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?

It took two months.

3. How would you describe your short film in two words!?

Basketball community!

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

The lineup was right beside a highway. The audio really needed to be

5. What were your initial reactions when watching…

A QUICK LOVE STORY was the winner of BEST PERFORMANCES at the February 2020 ROMANCE Festival in Toronto.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Brenden Dannaher: Another short film that I was lined up to direct fell through. So I decided to produce my own short film myself. I had four different ideas in mind. This idea got the best reaction and also happened to be the cheapest to make.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?

Approximately 10 months from the initial idea to completion of the film. Six months of that was just letting the ideas gel.

3. How would you describe your short film in two words!?

Romantic silliness.

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Finding the right actors. It took us a while, but it…

THE WEB OPERA played to rave reviews at the February 2020 Music & Dance Festival in Los Angeles.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Michael Roth: Two things, really. First, aesthetic and somewhat practical: whenever I’ve met a writer over the past 10 years or so who’s wanted to collaborate on an opera or music theatre piece — anything like that, even if the idea is a good one — I’ve always felt obliged to state what’s almost obvious: it’s hard, once you get going, to know if it will ever really exist as a fully produced thing. It’s a lot of work and takes a lot of money, and you don’t know where you might be heading and if you will ever have it onstage fully realised and — sometimes just as important — get more than one performance.That’s not a reason to not do something…

SOLDIER ONLINE was voted BEST ANIMATION FILM at the January 2020 DANCE & MUSIC Festival in Toronto.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

John J.A. Jannone: Daniel Munkus, one of the three musicians in the band Old Robes, was my student in the M.F.A. program in Performance and Interactive Media Arts (PIMA) at Brooklyn College. We became friends and collaborated for several years. When Old Robes’ new album The Spider and the Spectator was coming out, Daniel commissioned a bunch of artists to make music videos, and I created this video. The mystery and energy of this song struck me in particular, and I was interested in who the “Soldier Online,” the character in the song, was.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?

I worked on this animation for about a month. Since it…