Browse films

The Knits

Lisa Birke
Canada, 2017, 10 min.

In no dialogue.

A sweater, lovingly and arduously knit by a mother, incrementally unravels as her daughter treks her way across Canada by foot.

Director's Statement

In knitting, one literally gives one's time ”chronicled in interwoven loops of yarn” to keep someone warm. Hand-knitted sweaters bring us closer to our mothers and grandmothers as we physically carry a document of their love and labour next to our skin, almost like a protective second skin. This project is a loving homage to Barbara Birke (the artist's mother) and her chronic affliction of "the Knits." The artist wishes to acknowledge the generous support of the Ontario Arts Council Media Artists Creation Grant.

Category: Experimental, Festival Alum.
Themes: Arts, Family, Road Trip, Women, World Cinema.

More in Experimental

  • Old Growth

    Old Growth

    Minda Martin
    United States, 2026, 10 min.

    The film begins in motion, carrying us into the Hoh Rainforest--one of the last living cathedrals of old-growth trees in the Pacific Northwest. Immersed in its... more ›

  • Spheres

    Spheres

    Martin Gerigk
    Germany, 2026, 6 min.

    Spheres is an homage to life, a poetic essay that drifts through a series of expanding spheres, each revealing a different layer of our shared reality, from... more ›

  • The Big Bloom Drop (Death by Selfie)

    The Big Bloom Drop (Death by Selfie)

    Lisa Birke
    Canada, 2025, 10 min.

    A contemporary parody that stages the death of an of aging subject through the infinity mirror of social media tropes... more ›