Short Documentary (2022)
Featuring: Michael Davidson, Orville Cummings
Writer + Director: Chris Strikes
Producer: Kate Fraser, Chris Strikes, Maya Annik Bedward
DOP: Ashley Iris Gill
Editor: Maria Todorov-Topouzov
Original Music + Sound Design: Solitair
Synopsis
The story of Toronto’s bizarre 1985 “patty wars,” when Jamaican-Canadian bakers went head-to-head with the federal government over the name of their beloved beef patty.
Third Culture is thrilled to announce our first co-production! We worked with Chris Strikes of Callowgrove Entertainment Inc. to produce the CBC Short Doc.
PATTY vs. PATTY is a short documentary that revisits the bizarre “Patty Wars” of February 1985, when Canadian federal food inspectors deemed the beef patties Jamaicans know and love to have been illegally named. Told from the perspective of Michael Davidson, the fresh-faced manager of Kensington Patty Palace, PATTY vs. PATTY weaves together first-hand anecdotes, archival footage and comedic reenactments to remember a story of bureaucracy gone wild and community resistance, with Toronto’s greatest snack at the heart of it all.
Patty vs. Patty was released on GEM in February 2022, and is now streaming worldwide on Youtube.
A mixed-media animated documentary about the stories we tell ourselves when looking for love online.
Our hero, Nauê, is in the hospital in critical condition – Sapo and Lorena need our support now, more than ever, so they can focus on caring and advocating for him!
Nauê has a rare genetic condition called IFAP syndrome. One of the biggest risks to children with IFAP is skin infection, and bacteria entering their blood system. This is what Nauê is fighting right now.
Because IFAP is so rare, doctors struggle to understand the complexity of his symptoms. IFAP’s complications make feeding, hydrating, going to the bathroom, administering IVs, and providing pain relief extremely difficult. Nauê has been a soldier, fighting bravely through terrible discomfort.
As you can imagine, it takes all of Sapo and Lorena’s strength and energy to stay present and positive as they navigate this difficult and dangerous time for their family. Their hope is that Nauê improves enough so they can care for him at home where he feels safe and connected. They have been at the hospital 24/7 for over two weeks now. Neither of them have the benefit of paid leave from their work during this crisis – we are calling on the community and anyone who has seen their story to help them.
Your contributions will cover Sapo and Lorena’s lost income while in hospital, help pay for bills and living expenses, and create a medical care fund for Nauê’s discharge and private skin care specialists.
Go Fund Me Campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-sapo-lorena-care-for-naue
A Brazilian couple uses Capoeira to raise their young son, who battles for life amidst the complications of a rare medical condition. What begins as a portrait about fun, becomes an exploration of their day to day challenges, and a testament to the ancestral practice that keeps their family together.
Black Zombie is a feature documentary about slavery, resistance and the living dead. Tracing the cultural origins of the Zombie from Haitian folklore to Hollywood horror, Black Zombie investigates popular misrepresentations of this symbolic figure to reveal the buried history and transformative power it holds.
To find out more about this project, please visit our blog.
We are in solidarity with more than 50 Black Canadian Producers, who are calling for the implementation of a Black Screen Office to address the systemically racist barriers Black Producers face in the domestic film and television industry.
The call was recently made in an open letter to the Minister of Canadian Heritage.
As Black Canadian professionals in the screen-based media sector, from coast to coast to coast, we are writing to you to request a meeting to discuss how we can work together to eliminate the unacknowledged anti-Black racism in the Canadian screen-based industries. We believe unfair policies and practices that disenfranchise and discriminate against Black Canadian creators and producers are embedded in the film and TV industry. We want to bring this to your attention and impress on you that much change is needed.
Sparked by the global outrage and protests over the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery in the US, and amplified in Canada by the off-duty police assault of Dafonte Miller, and death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, as well as the devastating impact of COVID-19 on Black and Brown communities, Canada must reckon with its own history of anti-Black racism. As part of this reckoning, Canada’s cultural and screen-based industries must remove its systemically racist barriers to access and achievement, and embrace real transformative change.
You can learn more about the action in Playback and the Hollywood Reporter.
We have officially begun production on our feature documentary BLACK ZOMBIE! Follow us on Instagram and Facebook as we travel to Jacmel (Haiti), Stroud (UK), Los Angeles (US) and beyond to uncover the origin story of this misunderstood monster. Thank you to our partners Canada Media Fund, Ontario Creates, the Hot Docs Crosscurrents Fund, the Rogers Doc Fund and the Documentary Channel for making this film a reality.
Third Culture will be attending the European Film Market this year as part of the Hot Docs filmmaker delegation. In addition to attending the market, Third Culture Producer, Maya Annik Bedward will be participating in inaugural DocSalon Toolbox Programme.
The DocSalon Toolbox Programme is an immersive four-day experience comprising a suite of workshop modules, meetings, industry talks as well as one-on-one consultation and guidance by a delegation coordinator and a consultant. These components collectively form a kit of business tools and market intelligence that documentary professionals can subsequently apply to their own projects.
More information can be found on the DocSalon website: https://www.efm-docsalon.com
We’re going to Philadelphia! THE HAIRCUT is screening at the The BlackStar Film Festival, which runs from August 1-4th this year! The BlackStar Film Festival is an annual event that celebrates the visual and storytelling traditions of the African diaspora, showcasing films by black, brown and indigenous people from around the world. We’re also excited to be pitching our upcoming film BLACK ZOMBIE at the inaugural BlackStar Pitch. We’ve been hard at work on our pitch for the past few weeks, so look forward to an update from us in the future. Happy August!
We’re excited to introduce our newest team member, Jess Stewart-Lee! She will be supporting activities at the Third Culture office this summer as we enter production on two new projects.
Jess is a recent University of Toronto graduate in Cinema Studies and Diaspora & Transnational Studies. She’s a huge fan of photography, true crime, documentaries and sitting alone in a dark room for hours while editing.
We would like to thank Canada Summer Jobs for their support with this opportunity!
THE HAIRCUT continues its festival tour with screenings! See below for dates and info.
