Mediatheque

Mediatheque is an innovative project aimed at building an online exhibition space for media arts.  You may browse over 100 independent films and videos from across Canada below in live-streaming format. If you wish to submit a video to be added to the Mediatheque, please click the submit button.

Title Artist Original Media Year Produced
Sleeping Beauties Sheila Chapman 1998
Solitude Lois Siegel

"Solitude" is a film about the nature of the individual in the world as he moves from one space to another, shadowed by structures.

16mm 1978
Songs You Can Never Play Live Marc Adornato

From the award-winning pilot TV show, "Clone TV", comes a ridiculous experimental segment not to be missed.

DV 2002
Spacemen, Go-Go Girls, and the Great Easter Hunt Brett Kelly

The Easter Bunny has been kidnapped. It's up to 2 aliens from Uranus and 3 go-go dancers to save the day. A parody of 50's sci-fi trailers.

Hi8 2001
Spacemen, Go-Go Girls, and the True Meaning of Christmas Brett Kelly

Uranus is in trouble! A war with Jupiter is leaving the planet's source of fuel in short supply. Its fuel-mistletoe! Aliens from Uranus come to Earth to steal its supply of mistletoe.

Hi8 2007
Spectrum in White Lois Siegel

"Spectrum in White" is an unusual film of colour and transformations and optical illusions. Pure graphics are scratched directly onto the film surface.

16mm 1971
Spick and Span Rob Thompson

Armed with a bucket of cleaning utensils and a pragmatic approach to life, Jane, the hero of this dark comedy, attempts to scrub away the blood and guilt that’s left behind from a grisly suicide.

Betacam 1994
Spirits of an Amber Past Ramona Macdonald

Lithuanian folk art in Canada as practiced on the grounds of the artists Antanas and Anastasia Tamosaitis.

16mm 1978
State of the Union Marc Adornato

On September 20th, 2001, George W. Bush gave a 45 minute "State of the Union" speech live on television which contained 33 standing ovations.

DV 2003
Still Life Dan Sokolowski

Driftwood images through a day.

16mm 1991
Straighten Up Susan Terrill

A short, bloody tale of a girl's fantasies, featuring a shifty wolf, a convertible, a large hockey player, and his progeny.

DV 1996
Stravaig / Errance Nikki Forrest

An experimental portrait of a place, Scotland. You are looking for something. What you find is something else. "Stravaig / Errance" (Gaelic for wandering) is techno tourism of a personal nature.

Betacam 1999
Swan Song Phil Rose

A short clip of a swan is repeated and increasingly slowed down. In the process, the image - the swan - breaks down. Short sentences reflect on the encounter. The swan song of a swan’s image.

Hi8 2001
Tapette!!! Luc Desjardins

A paradoxical and poetic look at manifestations of a non-traditional sexuality within a traditional French Canadian family.

VHS 2002
Tasty 168 Solid Firuz Daud

Life isn’t easy for any seventeen year old girl, but Strawberry Milk has it rough.

DV 2002
Tears for Susan Anthony Seck

A little film about maple syrup by a small group of Croatian filmmakers.

2001
Teleculture the Teleculture.... Chris Mullington

Willoughby Sharp visited SAW Gallery in 1983. This flamboyant New Yorker was a denizen of Andy Warhol’s Factory scene before becoming a prophet of telecommunications and satellite technology.

¾" 1983
Telepathy John Mark Seck

An unlikely group posing as everything from superheroes to computer viruses gathers in an internet chat room.

¾" 1995
Tendencies Jordan Mctavish

An egoist, a religious zealot, and an addict meet in a park and wax philosophical. When a $10,000 lottery ticket comes between them, it will be the last time they meet.

Digital 8 2001
Terra Terra Chantal Dahan

A story narrated by my uncle, who takes us on a journey into the country of his birth, the ex-French colony of Algeria, and his Sefaradim cultural roots.

VHS 2000
Thanks Michael (Homage to Michael) Marc Adornato

From ancient prophets to modern sci-fi writers, this video montage shows a brief overview of the present technological revolution; science fiction becomes science fact.

DV 2001
The Adventures of Mabus and Sirus Marc Adornato

A comedy/satire of two spacesuit-wearing superheroes, Mabus and Sirus, and their quest to save the Earth's eternal herb from the evil Zybain.

DV 2000
The Army of Mabus Marc Adornato

Mabus clones himself in an attempt to conquer the world.

DV 2001
The Blob Jubal Brown

Paranoid science fiction obsessing over the omnipresence of television and radio waves, wireless communications... in our very midst, in us and around us.

DV 2000
The Circle Cycle C.J. Fleury

A skated performance piece exploring the passage from tradition to experiment through the choreography and sound.

VHS 1983
The Clone Show Marc Adornato

Host Marc Adornato interviews his clone, and get into a personal heated argument with his clone (played also by Marc Adornato).

DV 2002
The Darkness of My Language II Sylvana Afram

The artist was inspired to produce this tape after an extended visit to Montreal.

¾" 1988
The Double Nena Toth

Parallel stories. When a double takes the life of an original.

16mm 1979
The Fires of Joanna Penny McCann

Set in Depression-era Eastern Ontario, "The Fires of Joanna" tells the story of a woman struggling to endure a harsh and unforgiving life.

16mm 1998
The Fix Theshlen Naidoo

This is a story about money, deception, and pleasure. Caesar, a wealthy organized crime boss, loses a hundred grand to two deceitful spanish streetfighters.

DV 2003
The Games We Play Steve Mccutchen

Four friends, each representing a different aspect of society, get together one night to partake in the ultimate game of world domination - war - by means of their favourite board game, Risk ®.

DV 2003
The Golem of Socks Gerald Saul

In this puppet video, a golem is sewn together out of socks and sent to maintain society's status quo. It does this with a vengeance, even transforming himself into a model citizen.

Video 1994
The Inner Wedding Deborah Chapman

"The Inner Wedding" is a snapshot of a very ordinary woman's life. Shot from her point of view, it shows how the rituals and crisis of daily life seep and are absorbed into our psyche.

¾" 1988
The Invisible Couples' Conversation over Afternoon Tea Natasha Malakhova

The couple are talking about life and love. It's just beautiful.

Hi8 2000
The Jigg's Dinner Darryl Dinn

"Back Home" is an online cultural magazine show about Newfoundland & Labrador.

Betacam 1996
The Knit Club Pauline Kaill

Five university students meet in Halifax for their weekly knitting club. From seeing scenes from their past, we begin to understand their choices and actions in the present.

Video 2001
The Lady of Shalott Lara Fitzgerald

"The Lady of Shalott" reinterprets Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem of the same title in a contemporary setting: the bored lady sits in her highrise apartment writing pulp romance while Sir Lancelot, we

Hi8 1996
The Lims Live in Ottawa Melina Young

George Lim arrived as a young man in 1913 in Ottawa. He lived there the rest of his life except for visits to China.

Hi8 1996
The Magic Paintbrush Vivien Tytor

This video relates to the theme of fluidity as a visual metaphor and identity since the artist is evident both from behind and in front of the images.

VHS 1999
The Sisters Penny McCann

Etched on a gravestone are the stark facts: three sisters who drowned on the same summer day in 1917.

Betacam 1993
The Story of Apanatschi and Her Redheaded Wrestler Ehren "Bear Witness" Thomas

The same kind of stereotypes exist in video games as they do in TV and film.

Video 2008
The Toilet Suite Carl Stewart

Set in a washroom, "The Toilet Suite" is a funny look at the intersection of public and queer space.

Betacam 1999
The Villains Anthology Josh Stafford

A surly, foulmouthed bounty hunter cares more about getting his laundry done than saving his kidnapped ex-girlfriend from a delusional and mostly harmless masked man.

Betacam 1999
The Walk Home Michael Clowater

A man leaves his office on a Friday after work. It's a beautiful day and he decides to break from his regular routine of the subway and walk home instead.

16mm 2002
The Wind Between My Ears Carol Beecher

An inside look at viewing popular culture.

16mm 2002
They Gave up Their Pants for Love Karen Guttman

In 1899, Victorian England, the huge popularization of the bicycle sparked women's independent mobility.

VHS 1999
Thirsty Claudia Jurt

One long year has passed since 15 year old Ashleigh Burns went missing. Police have given up the search, leaving Ashleigh's best friends to solve the mystery themselves.

2002
This Will Make You Happy (Furnaceface) Anthony Seck

Alternative rock.

Betacam 2000
Thumbs Up! Ramona Macdonald

Pure improv: non-actors, crew using obsolete equipment for first time. Filmed in 2 takes.

16mm 1973
Transvestite Shopping Trip (Jed) Riley Rempel

A happy man named Jed goes shopping in his wife's underwear. When SAW Gallery did its Detonator show, they asked me to do a project. And they paid me for it too.

Hi8 2001