German art star Olaf Nicolai makes his film debut with Rodakis (Germany), a fictitious biography of Greek craftsman Alekos Rodakis; Chris Chong Chan Fui's Block B (Malaysia/Canada) examines the lives of an expatriate Indian community weaving itself through the contradicting soundscapes of contemporary Malaysia; Norbert Pfaffenbichler's rigorous MOSAIK MÉCANIQUE (Austria) systematically lays out the 98 shots of Charlie Chaplin's 1914 short A Film Johnnie in parallel loops across a CinemaScope image; Ben Russell's Black and White Trypps Number Three (USA) focuses on a young, mesmerized audience during a performance by the noise band Lightning Bolt; Rosalind Nashashibi (who represented Scotland at the 2007 Venice Biennale) and Lucy Skaer's Flash in the Metropolitan (UK), is a sibylline nighttime excursion through The Met's antiquities galleries; Erika Loic's Parícutin (Toronto) chronicles the history of the titular Mexican volcano. Ben Russell, experimental filmmaker and Guggenheim award recipient, concludes the programme with Trypps #5 (Dubai) (USA/United Arab Emirates), a slice of happiness packaged under the flickering neon light of global capitalism.

AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN SHORT FILM

The award for Best Canadian Short Film goes to Chris Chong Chan Fui's Block B. The film examines the lives of an expatriate Indian community weaving itself through the contradicting soundscapes of contemporary Malaysia. The jury notes: "simple, graphic, hypnotic – this is an achievement of bringing cinema to its bare essentials."