BELL MANOR PARK
SATURDAY, aUGUST 19, 2023

COCO

With the short films Wapawekka and Éloïse, little dreamer

Miguel is a 12-year-old Mexican boy who dreams of becoming a musician in a steadfastly anti-music family. His creativity piqued by a magical guitar that he encounters, Miguel somehow finds himself communing with talking, singing, dancing skeletons in the Land of the Dead. Drawing heavily on Mexican folklore and artistry, the stunningly animated film Coco is a poignant tribute to family and culture, winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film. Sparking strong emotion in children and grown-ups alike, Coco is a film adored by all.

Drawing on her own experiences growing up Cree/Métis (nêhinaw âpihtawikosisân) in Saskatchewan, TOPS’ 2023 Spotlight Filmmaker Danis Goulet’s thoughtful short film Wapawekka invites the audience to consider continuity and change in families, cultures, and the land itself. Josh, a hip-hop artist, would rather be anywhere else than with his dad for one last journey to their isolated cabin on the family's traditional Cree territory in northern Saskatchewan. As the intergenerational gap between them becomes more apparent, so does the pull of a much greater force.

Myriam L. Obin’s short Éloïse, little dreamer is a tale about the titular Éloïse, a young girl who finds herself in a world she does not recognize when she gets lost away from home. She enters a dreamlike environment, blurring scenes of celebration and protest through the eyes of a child, as Éloïse traverses streets filled with colour and sound in search of the one face that will provide her comfort.