Window Horses at TIFF

(September 12, 2016 – Toronto, ON) The last of 3 screenings at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival for the animated feature Window Horses is tomorrow, September 13 at 4:45 at the ScotiaBank cinemas in downtown Toronto.

Based on her own book, the full title of this film is Window Horses (The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming). It features an all-star cast that includes Sandra Oh, Ellen Page, Don McKellar, Nancy Kwan, stage actor Camyar Chaichian, Shohreh Aghdashloo (House of Sand and Fog), Kristen Thompson, Eddy Ko and many others.

The Rosie in the title is a young Canadian poet of Chinese and Persian descent. She lives in Vancouver with her overprotective but loving Chinese grandparents and dreams of an artistic and glamorous life abroad. An invitation to a poetry festival in Shiraz, Iran, rocks her boat, and though she has never travelled on her own, she decides to embark on the trip that will change her life. In Iran, she meets fellow artists from around the

world and locals who open her eyes to the nature of art. They become guides to Rosie’s own personal narrative as they offer new perspectives on the story of a father she thought had abandoned her. Her time in Shiraz will be a transformative one during which she will learn to ground herself by connecting with her own roots, both far and near.

In addition to lending her voice to the National Film Board co-production, Sandra Oh also serves as Executive Producer of the film. Speaking about Window Horses, she said, “Window Horses hits all the things that are important to me: it’s pro-girl, pro-tolerance, pro-diversity and pro-art!! My nieces are mixed race and it’s very important to me that they see themselves represented in this society.”

Window Horses is filled with poetry and stories. While the narrative of the film is presented in one particular style, the poems and histories were created by different artists, to both accentuate and blend the myriad of differences in cultures, philosophies, time frames and poetry. It is, ultimately, a film about identity and the imagination as the Window Horses poems come to life with multiple, beautiful animation styles.

Following TIFF, Window Horses will screen twice at the Ottawa International Film Festival, including the opening night feature on September 21st. Click here for a link to the OIAF website and other September film festivals.