Breakthroughs Film Festival is returning for its 13th year of highlighting and programming shorts from emerging women and non-binary filmmakers. The festival is running from December 6 to 8 at the Paradise Theatre, and SheDoesTheCity is giving away two tickets to Breakthroughs Film Festival through our giveaway here!

This annual festival’s vision is to bridge the gender gap in the filmmaking industry, through showcasing Canadian and International short films in all genres made by emerging directors of all ages, including a special category for New Generation artists, aged 18-30 years old. The festival also hosts a Q&A with participating directors after each night of screenings for audiences of aspiring filmmakers to learn more about their work, upcoming projects and more.

The festival is broken up into two nights: By Chance, By Choice on Friday December 6 and The Uncomfort Zone on Sunday December 8. By Chance, By Choice has a lineup of 10 films, all about unexpected encounters and surprising experiences that serve as catalysts for profound transformation. The Uncomfort Zone also has a lineup of 10 shorts, which share the common thread of choosing to conform to outdated expectations or embrace the challenge and forge a new path when the world around us demands transformation.

Here are some of our top picks from these lineups:

Death to the Bikini!

Directed by Justine Gauthier, a Montreal-based director and editor, this film follows a 10-year-old named Lili, who after years of swimming topless, is being forced by her parents to wear a bikini top for a trip to the water park. A film about bodily autonomy and gender equality, Justine paints a powerful picture about a pivotal age in a young girl’s life.

Gemma

Gemma is a tenacious young woman who (much like a lot of us during quarantine) is trying out a bunch of hobbies in an effort to figure out her special talent. Christina Ienna, award winning cinematographer, is the director behind this piece about the unspoken pressures and expectations that many of us put on ourselves when we are developing new skills. This film reminds us that the journey is just as important as the destination.

The Pleasure is All Mine

Amélia is 76 and retired and has just discovered that, despite a marriage spanning over 5 decades, she has never had an orgasm. In this short directed by Vanessa Sandre, a Brazilian filmmaker based in Toronto, Amélia is determined to have her first orgasm at any cost. This film is a journey of self-knowledge, rebellion and pursuit of pleasure.

Becoming

In this digital short by Mckenna Pipher, a Nonbinary, Trans and Queer digital artist and animator, audiences are invited to explore the way Trans people come to be in their bodies more fully through transition. Told through 2D frame-by-frame mixed media animation that combines analog watercolour paintings and digital animation, the hope is that this short helps to destabilize accepted narratives around transition.

Remembering Me

Acclaimed model, theatre artist and filmmaker Abigail Whitney is sharing her short film Remembering Me, about a daughter digitizing the tapes her mother captured of their family over the years, for the first time. Through never-before-seen family footage, mother and daughter trace their forgotten memories, continuing the legacy started all those years ago.