Hiro (film)

Hiro
Movie screenshot
Directed byMatthew Swanson
Written byMatthew Swanson
Produced byOliver Lindsay
StarringHiro Kanagawa
Vicky Huang
Music byDon MacDonald
Distributed byPaper Cut Films
Release date
  • September 11, 2005 (2005-09-11) (TIFF)
Running time
20 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguagesJapanese
English subtitles

Hiro is a Canadian short film, written and directed by Matthew Swanson and released in 2005.[1] It centers on Hiro (Hiro Kanagawa), a shy Japanese insect collector who finds himself thrust into a wild chase to recover a stolen beetle after a chance encounter with a young girl (Vicky Huang).[2]

The film's dialogue is in Japanese, although Swanson does not personally speak the language.[3] Swanson described it as "liberating" to direct in a language he did not understand.[3]

The film premiered at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival.[1]

Awards

The film was nominated for a Genie Award for Best Live Action Short Drama.[4]

It also won the award for Best Short Film at the 2006 SXSW Film Festival,[5] and was the first Canadian film to win the "Spirit of Slamdance" Audience Award at the Slamdance Film Festival.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b Guy Dixon, "That's my film on line two". The Globe and Mail, September 10, 2005.
  2. ^ "An extension of life". Los Angeles Times, February 16, 2006.
  3. ^ a b "Abstract art-and-music pas de deux wins a Genie". Concordia Journal, Marcy 23, 2005.
  4. ^ "Trailer Park Boys, Bon Cop compete for best picture Genie". CBC News, January 9, 2007.
  5. ^ "‘Free’ reigns over SXSW film festival". Variety, March 15, 2006.
  6. ^ "Sundance Film Festival: Julia Kwan, Jamie Travis, Matthew Swanson, Carmen Aguirre". The Georgia Straight, February 2, 2006.


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