The Taylor Files
On the eve of the Vietnam War, America is cornered in Thailand while Laos crumbles and its citizens flee under Communist victory. Beneath the surface, another conflict brews— a psychic arms race to uncover hidden powers in the region. Eccentric and drug addicted neuropsychiatrist Dr. Waylan Taylor usually works alone, so he is not thrilled when he is paired up with stubborn, intense Laotian agent Emerson Vang – a trained torturer who has her own agenda for being there. Amidst rising tensions between them, their interrogations into psychic abilities begin to reveal the war’s brutal cost on displaced peoples at the hands of the various factions vying for control in the region.
Series created by: Karl Janisse & Maya Bastian
Written by Maya Bastian, Jasper Chen & Karl Janisse
Directed by Maya Bastian
Produced by Reflector Entertainment & Bandai Namco
A short form series as part of the Unknown 9 Narrative Universe
Watch on Bandai Namco
Tigress
TELEFILM CANADA NOT SHORT ON TALENT @ CANNES COURT METRAGE
NETFLIX/CFC CALLING CARD ACCELERATOR
CANADIAN PREMIERE: FESTIVAL DE NOUVEAU CINEMA, MONTREAL
Trina, a stubborn and rebellious 20-something has gone to the motherland as an aid worker during the war. Once there, she finds herself overwhelmed by the traumas she witnesses and turns to partying hard as a way to cope. One night during a drunken foray, she encounters another version of herself as a paramilitary fighter for the Tamil Tigers — and her sense of western privilege collides with the reality of her ancestors.
Featured on NPR, Now Magazine, She Does The City, Global News Radio, Geek Girl Authority, Harlton Empire, Occhi Magazine.
Distributor: Cinelogue
Air Show
Written and directed by Maya Bastian, ‘Air Show’ is a short narrative film that interrogates the experience of newly-arrived Toronto refugees who experience the Canadian Air Show for the first time. The film aims to explore the intersection of Canadian culture and tradition with our ever-evolving climate of diversity.
Featured in The Globe and Mail, CBC’s The National, Metro Morning, NewsTalk 1010, Metro Daily and Huffington Post.
Arrival Archives
Two families, similar identities. Fleeing violence, they sought refuge in Canada and began a new life. This is the experience of thousands of people in our country and yet these stories go mostly untold. Arrival Archives is an artful exploration of newcomer arrival stories, told through a multi-generational viewpoint. The stories intertwine as one, illustrating that Canada’s cultural landscape is a communal experience shared by many different faces.
Directed by Maya Bastian for Home Made Visible.
Winner! Best International Short Documentary, Garden State Film Festival 2020 Screened at: DOXA, Reframe International Film Festival, Gimli Film Festival. Featured on CBC News.
Distributor: V-Tape
Mosaic Stories – Kizito
The first in a series about six people who have all experienced radical racism. Kizito Musabimana is a half-Tutsi, half- Hutu Rwandan who survived the Rwandan genocide. He wrote this piece entitled ‘I Am’
Directed by Maya Bastian for The Mosaic Institute/Canada 150.
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