Emails From Gary

Sheik to Sheik

October 1936 •English

A radio salesman gets knocked out by a golf ball and dreams he's in the desert where he sells radios to sheiks.

Mango Sticky Rice

January 2016 •English

Katie is a dog loving foodie who is very content with her single life. Soon, she finds herself being pressured to find love. Meanwhile, Chris, the delivery boy just wants to get her attention. Will Katie find someone who will love her for who she is? Will Chris finally win her over?

The Soloists

October 2021 •French

In a small village ruled by ridiculous laws, three singing sisters and their dog rehearse for the Annual Autumn Festival. But an unexpected event will disrupt their plans.

Trouble

February 2023 •English

Set in 1952, this musical thriller is what happens when a traveling salesman shows up on the doorstep of a dying old man and can't contain the song within his heart. A dark riff on a classic musical.

Third Page from the Sun

January 2014 •French

Three books: a film festival catalogue, a dictionary, the Bible. Three works whose materiality has become obsolete by the digital dematerialization. A commentary on the fragility of culture.

Chop, Chop, Chop, Chopin ...

January 1999 •Polish

Original animated film made for the International Chopin Year. The soundtrack consists of Fryderyk Chopin's music performed by Justyna Steczkowska, Tomasz Stańko and Michał Urbaniak. The author rejects the pompous, exalted, pathos-laden, obligatory admiration that paralyses the possibility of hearing Chopin's music in a fresh way.

Dream

January 2020 •Japanese

The short follows the dream of a young boy in which strange whale teleports him to a fantasy land where a happy cat named Pero (modeled after the character in the Nagagutsu wo Haita Neko anime that serves as Toei Animation's mascot) appears. The piece is entirely dialogueless.

Gift

February 2021 •Japanese

Tiny and Ruby: Hell Divin' Women

February 1989 •English

This profile of storied trumpeter of jazz, Tiny Davis, and her cohort pianist-drummer, Ruby Lucas, is an amalgam of artifacts about the two women, accompanied with poetry by Cheryl Clarke.

Don't Hug Me I'm Scared 3

October 2014 •English

During a chicken picnic, Yellow Guy gets upset after Green Bird kills a butterfly. Yellow Guy then meets a butterfly that takes him on a journey to discover his concept of love.

Crossfade

July 2025 •English

Two lifelong friends and aspiring musicians begin to spiral downwards as one of them decides to move away to pursue a new career.

My Spiritual Medicine

November 2011 •Chinese

Two white-collar clerks setup a private radio program in Shanghai. An Otaku lady lives in isolation. As the random fates of individuals are linked and changed by the radiowave, love, in all possible forms, burgeons.

Christmas Comes But Once a Year

December 1936 •English

At an orphanage, the children are sad because they received used defective toys as gifts. Professor Grampy sees the children while passing by in his sled and has an idea on how to give them a merry Christmas.

Kyiv Melodies

January 1967 •Ukrainian

The action of the film takes place in winter Kyiv. After a sleepless night, a young composer goes for a walk through a snowy city in search of inspiration for a new melody; its route passes against the background of many sights of the capital. On the way, the hero observes city life and nature, people, near the maternity hospital he pulls out a happy young father who has fallen into a coma, and he notices a girl in a trolleybus. She is in a hurry in her affairs, and the enthusiastic composer follows her relentlessly. And every sound he hears becomes part of a new melody for him. The finale of the film is a panorama of Kyiv to the song "Two Colors".

All Souls Carnival

March 1957 •English

Len Lye usually timed his films with great care to match their soundtracks, but for All Souls Carnival, he and composer Henry Brant worked separately, preferring to see if the score and visual track would synchronise by chance. Lye also experimented with a new Direct Film technique, drenching the filmstrip in colourful paint and marker pen.

To Be Free

March 2017 •English

In a tiny after-hours club, Nina Simone finds a way, for one moment, to be free.

Float

September 2015 •English

Float is an artistic 4-5 minute film shot completely underwater of trans folks swimming naked set to music by trans musician Rae Spoon.

DAM! The Story of Kit the Beaver

February 2017 •English

DAM! The Story of Kit the Beaver is an animated film that’s not about your average beaver. It’s the tale of Kit, a very independent (and easily distracted) young beaver who loves to explore the sounds of the forest she lives in. Animated short with original orchestral score performed by The Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

The Swan

June 1990 •Polish

Animation with colored salt by Aleksandra Korejwo. Music by composer Camille Saint-Saëns performed by the Polish Radio Orchestra.

The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat

May 1982 •English

The Cat in the Hat is all set for a lovely picnic, but the evil Grinch changes his plans by inventing a contraption that captures noise and makes it sound ferocious. The Cat has to save the world from the clutches of the Grinch and the only way to do it is to reach Grinch's soft spot.