Ryan Steel

A mute loner encounters ambivalent feelings, first loves, and the heart break of pre-adolescence at a haunted summer camp.

A mother remembers her brother as her son comes to terms with his partner.

In 1986, three city blocks in downtown Winnipeg were demolished to make way for a shopping centre/utopian community space called Portage Place.

In 1986, three city blocks in downtown Winnipeg were demolished to make way for a shopping centre/utopian community space called Portage Place.

In 1986, three city blocks in downtown Winnipeg were demolished to make way for a shopping centre/utopian community space called Portage Place.

A deceased filmmaker experiences a posthumous dream in which he attempts to reunite with his wife. (Homage to Italian film director Federico Fellini in the year of the centennial celebration of his birth.)

After a bad day at work, a fairground performer sets out to disprove the theory of heredity so that he can marry his sister.

Cranks is a city symphony focused on several different characters living in the sleepy isolated town of Winnipeg. Formally, the film emulates the aesthetic of a photo album - each new scene a black & white tableau vivant of a new character and setting. Connecting the various characters is the letters they all wrote - very odd ones - to Peter Warren, the radio host of the infamous Action Line program, which was broadcast throughout Canada from 1971-1998. Cranks explores how journalists like Peter Warren, who pioneered an accusatory and belligerent style of reporting, how this angry way of tackling issues has trickled down into our culture, and has impacted and emboldened real lives.

A meditation on the buses, people and ghosts of Winnipeg Transit.

A meditation on the buses, people and ghosts of Winnipeg Transit.

A meditation on the buses, people and ghosts of Winnipeg Transit.

An obsessive birdwatcher becomes infatuated with an unexpected traveler seeking shelter in the cabin he shares with his wife.

An obsessive birdwatcher becomes infatuated with an unexpected traveler seeking shelter in the cabin he shares with his wife.

A freelance graphic designer encounters a rare type of crickets.

A freelance graphic designer encounters a rare type of crickets.