.

Attention, aspiring filmmakers: you may want to take a page from Kazik Radwanski’s book. The Ryerson film grad completed his short film Princess Margaret Blvd. as a fourth-year school project in 2007, and the film garnered attention by the Toronto International Film Festival, eventually being chosen as one of the Top Ten Canadian Shorts of 2008. His next project, Out in That Deep Blue Sea, appeared on the 2009 Top Ten Shorts list as well.

Such a fast and unexpected rise to notoriety can only be credited to the lyrical quality of the films themselves. Shot on crisp and naturally lit 35mm, Princess Margaret Blvd. explores an older woman’s struggle with the onset of Alzheimer’s and doesn’t offer any easy answers in the process. Out in That Deep Blue Sea offers a portrait of an aging real estate agent who is forced to deal with a slump late in his career, and is left to navigate the delicate personal and professional boundaries of his life in order to stay afloat.

Radwanski and producer / classmate Daniel Montgomery have been overwhelmed  by the critical acclaim their work has received over the last couple of years. The filmmaker will be in attendance for a screening on March 9, 2010 at the Ryerson University library. Both films will be shown along with a third short, Assault;  together, they make up Radwanski’s MDF Trilogy. The screening will be followed by a discussion / Q&A moderated by Magali Simard, Canadian Programming Coordinator at TIFF.

This is a great opportunity to pick the brain of a student-turned-emerging-filmmaker and examine the evolution of his style and entry into the uber-competitive festival circuit. Check out the films’ sites for images and more info: Princess Margaret Blvd. and Out in That Deep Blue Sea. Click here for event details and location. Admission is free and all are welcome.