How Filmmakers Go from Short Films to First Features - Toronto International Film Festival
Release Date: 12/26/2025
Female Desire & Sundance Success: Chloé Robichaud on Her Sexy New Film 'Two Women'
She's All Over the Place
The Hilarious and Sexy New Film Will Be Coming to Theaters April 24! Winner of the Special Jury Prize at Sundance, is an irrepressible comedy about two mothers who refuse to settle for stagnant lives and instead pursue the joy they need to feel alive and fulfilled. When neighbors Violette (Laurence Leboeuf) and Florence (Karine Gonthier-Hyndman) bond over the ennui of parenthood, they realize that the solution to reviving their joie de vivre may be in listening to their libidos. As the two start finding sex in unexpected places, they examine the larger unfulfilled...
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Cate Shortland (Somersault) on Female Filmmaking, Vulnerability & Finding Your Voice
She's All Over the Place
On this episode of She’s All Over the Place, host Katie Chonacas sits down with acclaimed filmmaker Cate Shortland, director and pioneering voice for women behind the camera, to discuss her landmark debut feature Somersault. Originally nominated for Un Certain Regard and the Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, Somersault follows teenage Heidi, who escapes home after a traumatic encounter and attempts to rebuild her identity in a frozen ski town. Through isolation, longing, and fragile connection, the film explores adolescence, intimacy, and the human need for belonging. We go far...
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MEDUZA: The Ukrainian Actor Who Became a Real Sniper | Roc Morin
She's All Over the Place
Filmmaker Roc Morin on following soldier and actor Pavlo Aldoshyn during the war in Ukraine What happens when an actor who once played a sniper in a movie becomes a real sniper in war? In this episode of She’s All Over the Place, host Katie Chonacas speaks with director Roc Morin about the documentary MEDUZA, a powerful film following Ukrainian actor Pavlo Aldoshyn from the first days of the 2022 invasion through two years on the front lines. Before the war, Pavlo was known for the film White Raven and as a contestant on Ukraine’s version of The Voice. When Russia invaded Ukraine, he was...
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The Story Behind Diane Keaton’s Documentary Heaven (New HD Restoration) | Producer Arnie Holland
She's All Over the Place
Diane Keaton’s first feature as a director wasn’t a romantic comedy — it was an existential documentary about the afterlife. On this episode of She’s All Over the Place, host Katie Chonacas sits down with producer Arnie Holland to discuss the 2026 HD remaster and re-release of Heaven, Diane Keaton’s unconventional documentary exploring what people truly believe happens after death. Originally released to critical curiosity and now restored for modern audiences, Heaven blends interviews, film clips, and music to examine religion, Hollywood mythology, and humanity’s fascination with...
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Curtis Institute of Music Sexual Abuse Exposed | Dear Lara Documentary & Survivor Testimony
She's All Over the Place
Content Warning: This episode discusses sexual abuse and institutional failure. Listener discretion advised. Why can’t parents find this when they search the Curtis Institute of Music? In this episode, we examine Dear Lara, the powerful new social justice documentary from world-renowned violinist and filmmaker Lara St. John, which premiered nationally at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF). The film documents St. John’s public account of sexual assault she endured at age 14 while a student at the Curtis Institute of Music—first reported by The Philadelphia...
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Blake Winston Rice | Toronto Film Festival Premiere Director of DISC
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Blake Winston Rice joins She’s All Over the Place to discuss the world premiere of his latest short film DISC at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival. Blake is an award-winning writer-director whose breakout short Tea premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, with Patty Jenkins serving as Executive Producer. Since Cannes, Tea has screened at 13 Oscar-qualifying festivals, earned multiple awards, and is now a Vimeo Staff Pick streaming on Kanopy. In this conversation, Blake breaks down: The making of DISC, starring Jim Cummings (Thunder Road, The Wolf of Snow Hollow) and...
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Origin: The Story of the Basketball Africa League at TIFF | Amadou Gallo Fall
She's All Over the Place
A deep dive into the Basketball Africa League’s impact on sports, culture, talent development, and media, featuring insights from BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall and NBA Africa CEO Clare Akamanzi. In 2019, a longtime dream for many became a reality when the National Basketball Association (NBA) committed to launching the Basketball Africa League (BAL). With 12 teams from the continent representing nations including Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, and Rwanda, the league would showcase the diversity of culture, talent, and love for basketball across Africa while providing a pathway for youth to play...
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Artist Journal: Psychological Isolation & the Loss of Belonging
She's All Over the Place
In this Artist Journal solo episode of She’s All Over the Place, host Katie Chonacas reflects on psychological isolation—the experience of emotional and social disconnection that can exist even in the presence of others. Inspired by Brené Brown’s work on belonging and disconnection, this episode explores how psychological isolation develops, why it can become long-standing, and how it quietly erodes our sense of safety, connection, and self-trust. Katie shares a personal reflection on emotional isolation, social withdrawal, and the loss of belonging, offering language and awareness for...
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The Long Way Home: When Soviet Rock Met the West
She's All Over the Place
In this episode of She's All Over the Place, I had the wonderful opportunity to sit and chat with the producer, Steven Lawrence, to explore The Long Way Home: Remastered and Expanded (2026) Michael Apted’s long-lost documentary about Soviet underground rock legend Boris Grebenshchikov and his extraordinary 1988 journey from Leningrad to the West during the early days of Glasnost. Filmed at a moment of rare optimism inside the USSR, the documentary follows Grebenshchikov as he records an album with Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), alongside Annie Lennox, Chrissie Hynde, Ray Cooper, and Crosby,...
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Filmmakers “Steal Away” | Clement Virgo & Tamara Faith Berger | TIFF
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Join me on She’s All Over The Place as I sit down with director Clement Virgo and writer Tamara Faith Berger to explore the making of the psychological thriller “Steal Away”, which premiered at TIFF. We dive into the film’s lush, intense world of teen drama, desire, and power, adapted from the non-fiction book Steal Away Home. Hear insights into the creative process, casting decisions with Angourie Rice and Mallori Johnson, and how the film illuminates untold histories of female power and systemic cruelty. If you’re a filmmaker, actor, or creative, this episode gives a...
info_outlineDIALOGUES: Short Cuts to First Features" is a Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Industry program featuring conversations with emerging directors who transitioned from making acclaimed short films (Short Cuts alumni) to directing their debut features, sharing insights on script development, collaboration, and overcoming challenges to build their filmmaking careers. It's a key part of the TIFF Industry Conference, focusing on practical advice and inspiration for filmmakers aiming to make that crucial jump to feature-length projects.
I had the grand pleasure to join alumni directors of TIFF Short Cuts and Industry Talent, Lloyd Lee Choi (Lucky Lu), Sasha Leigh Henry (Dinner with Friends), Taratoa Stappard (Mārama), and Eva Thomas (Nika & Madison), as they discuss their journeys from making short films to developing and directing their first features. Learn how they honed their scripts, found the collaborators and supporters they needed, and coped with practical challenges while protecting their creative visions.
Lloyd Lee Choi is a Korean-Canadian filmmaker based in Brooklyn. He has directed the short films Same Old (22), which played the Festival, and Closing Dynasty (23). Earlier this year he received the TIFF–CBC Films Screenwriter Award for his screenplay Yakult Ajumma. Lucky Lu (25) is his feature film debut.
Sasha Leigh Henry is a Toronto-based writer, director, and producer. Her short films include Love Bent (14), To Love and Back (16), Bitches Love Brunch (18), and the Festival Official Selection Sinking Ship (20). She also created, wrote, and directed the television show Bria Mack Gets a Life (22), which premiered at the Festival. Dinner With Friends (25) is her latest film.
Taratoa Stappard was born in Aotearoa and lives in London. He has directed the shorts Eight for Eight Thirty (96), Strip (98), Euston Road (04), Goalie (16), and Emkhatsini: Between (18). Mārama (25), his latest film, is his feature debut.
Eva Thomas is a writer and filmmaker from Walpole Island First Nation based in Wallaceburg, Ontario. Her production credits include the Festival Official Selections Night Raiders (21) and Kaniehtiio Horn’s Seeds (24). She directed the short film Redlights (23) and co-directed the feature Aberdeen (24), both of which played the Festival. Nika & Madison (25) is her latest film.
Moderated by:
Jason Anderson is the International Programmer for Short Cuts. A member of TIFF’s Programming team since 2015, he’s also worked on TIFF Kids and Canada’s Top Ten. He’s been the director of programming for the Kingston Canadian Film Festival since 2008 and the programming director for Aspen Shortsfest since 2019. A longtime journalist and critic who graduated from the University of Toronto with a B.A. in English literature, he was a film critic and columnist for the Toronto weeklies The Grid and Eye Weekly, and regularly contributed to such publications as The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, Toro, and Saturday Night. He currently writes about music and film for Uncut magazine, Sight & Sound, and Cinema Scope. He has taught a course on film criticism for the University of Toronto since 2008 and has taught journalism courses at Toronto Metropolitan University. His least useful areas of expertise include the Step Up franchise, show business memoirs, and the discography of Nile Rodgers.
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