The Weatherman and the Shadowboxer

Freaks of Nurture is an animated short about a neurotic mother-daughter relationship inspired by the filmmaker's own unorthodox upbringing with her single-parent mom, who is also a foster parent and dog breeder. Self-deprecating and bursting with energy, the film reveals that no matter how grown-up we think we are, we never quite stop craving the love and support of a parent.

How can children accept a parent's death when it is shrouded in silence, evasions and half-truths? The children live with a legacy of grief and guilt, feeling abandoned and always wondering, "Was it my fault?" Filmmaker Lisa Fitzgibbons grew up with the uneasy feeling that things were not as they seemed. Then she finally learned that her father had ended his life. Surprised to discover that she is not alone, she reaches out to other survivors and meets two people who also lost their fathers to suicide at an early age. Robert describes the 30 long years it took to force the truth into the open. Anne-Marie still regrets her refusal as a child to kiss her father goodbye before leaving for school that last morning. We listen to their stories, presented simply and compassionately against a background of poetic images. In speaking of their experiences, buried emotions resurface. Hope is reborn as all three come to terms with their fathers' death - and with their own lives. In French with English subtitles.

Luke Melchior jokes that at least he doesn't have to watch his cholesterol intake. Already, at 26, he has lived longer than most people with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a progressive wasting of the muscles. Knowing his life will be relatively short has made Luke feel an urgency about making a lasting contribution. He lives independently, with the help of three homecare workers, runs a web-based business selling outdoor gear, and chairs the board of the Disability Resource Centre in Victoria, BC, where he is a passionate advocate for the rights of the disabled. Bearing Witness: Luke Melchior is a candid portrait of a year in Luke's life. Though his illness may set him apart, he is essentially a young man like so many others: concerned with making his way in the world, being as independent as possible and finding a girlfriend. Bearing Witness consists of three films, each approximately one hour long, on people with life-threatening illnesses. The series also profiles Jocelyn Morton, who died of liver cancer at 44, and Robert Coley-Donohue, who died of ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease) at age 74.