WILDsound Puts Spotlight on Award-Winning Documentaries

The June 2022 Toronto Documentary Film Festival was a perfect chance for documentary filmmakers to showcase their work and compete for awards. The Feedback Film Festival has been offering the very best documentary short films since 2016, and has now expanded to offering a Documentary Film Festival monthly in the heart of downtown Toronto at the Carlton Cinemas.

The latest WILDsound podcasts have been hugely insightful as Matthew Toffolo, owner and CEO of WILDsound Festival, chats with the sharp minds behind some of the festival’s most successful documentaries.

WILDsound Festival TV is a Canadian streaming service that broadcasts a unique film festival every day with the intention of highlighting the world’s best indie films, as well as readings of original screenplays, novels, short stories, and poetry.

Ileana Dana Daire of Speak KDSK

“Speak KDSK” was the winner of Best Short Form Short Film at the May 2022 Toronto Documentary Festival. The short film pays tribute to the great Russian painter Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky and speaks of his exceptional talent and his life through 3D animation, giving it a very unique perspective.

Since 2007, Ileana Dana Darie has served as a professor of 3D and traditional animation at the School of Digital Arts, Animation and Design (NAD), one of the oldest 3D animation and visual effects schools in Quebec. Over the past 20 years thousands of students from around the world have been trained in advanced animation techniques here.

The podcast episode with Darie dives into her fascination with Kandinsky, who is considered a pioneer in abstract art. She reveals the search for the perfect voiceover for her film “Speak KDSK”; as Kandinsky lived from 1866-1944, Darie wanted to find what she describes as a timeless voice – something not too modern – and a voice that reflected Kandinsky’s energy and passion.

During the podcast she also discusses the particular challenge of matching the short film’s animation style to Kandinsky’s own art style. The result is beautiful and almost eerie – a gorgeous homage to Kandinsky.

Martha Davis of Pandaland: Making it Count

“Pandaland: Making it Count” was the winner of Best Film at the June 2022 Toronto Documentary Film Festival. The documentary describes the means by which children approach engagement and learning to understand major social issues. To study these behaviors, Davis created a multi-media installation of more than 70 toy pandas in her own neighborhood. She then encouraged children to play and explore and observed the results.

The documentary is lighthearted and optimistic, highlighting the creativity of the children as they stage a play election for their pandas and demonstrate community building, acts of civic engagement, and the importance of working together as a vehicle of effecting change. The film allows the children’s natural compassion to shine and suggests the birth of activism in their young minds.

As Toffolo interviews Davis during the WILDsound podcast, he displays his typical enthusiasm for the film industry in general and his dedication to showcasing each guest in particular. Davis answers his thoughtful questions about children learning about democracy and how Pandaland developed organically throughout the pandemic. Davis shares that the entire crux of Pandaland became evident when she put up a tent for “homeless pandas”, inspiring the local children to address the pretend social problem, a reflection of real social issues that they’ll face throughout their lives.

WILDsound’s Daily Film Festival Offers a Platform for Artists

Unique, creative, insightful films like “Speak KDSK” and “Pandaland” may never be seen without valuable platforms such as the Toronto film festivals and WILDsound. Toffolo’s podcast is a perfect means for displaying these gems that may otherwise receive the attention they deserve.

By offering users the unique experience of a film festival in a streaming app, WILDsound is going where the film industry and technology have never gone before. Toffolo and his team are dedicated to providing a vehicle for obtaining audience feedback for filmmakers and as they never repeat content, users are privy to a constantly growing library of films, screenplays, poetry readings, and more.

Learn more about WILDsound

Website: http://www.wildsound.ca

Email: info@wildsoundfestival.com

Phone: 416-568-9046

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Podcast: WILDsound podcast 

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