Grandpa’s Fingers

A short fable about family, storytelling, and cannibalism that gives new meaning to the phrase “finger food”.

16mm,

colour,

4.5 minutes


©1997

Starring Joseph Callaghan, Roy Monk, Haili Kimball, Leah Kimball & Lisa Cupoli
Music by Philip Stanger
Cinematography by Mazako Nagai
Written & Directed by Lisa Hayes

Film Festivals

  • Images Festival of Independent Film & Video, Toronto, April 1997
  • Quinte Film Alternative, Belleville, Canada, May 1997
  • XVII Int’l Film Festival For Children & Young People, Moscow, Russia , Sept. 1997
  • LIFT National Salon des Refusés, Toronto, Sept. 1997
  • Third Rail Festival, Toronto, Oct. 1997
  • Huy International Short Film Festival, Belgium, Oct. 1997
  • 10th Int’l Film Festival for Children & Young People, Hyderabad, India, Nov. 1997
  • New Frontiers Film & Video Festival, Ottawa, Canada, Nov. 1997
  • Winnipeg Film Group, Canada, Nov. 1997
  • Oshawa-Durham Film Festival, Canada, Nov. 1997
  • Int’l Festival of Documentary & Short Film, Bilbao, Spain, Nov. 1997
  • Making Waves Women’s Film Festival, Taipei, Taiwan, May 1998
  • Rhode Island International Film Festival, USA, Aug. 1998
  • Sea to Sky Film Festival, Squamish, Canada, Sept. 1998
  • Women In the Director’s Chair, Chicago, USA, March 1999
  • CURTA CINEMA Int’l Short Film Festival, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Nov. 1999
  • Flying Broom Women’s Film Festival, Ankara (Turkey), May 2002

Broadcasts

  • CANAL+, France
  • CBC, “Canadian Reflections”, Canada
  • CANAL+, France

Media

  • Evans, Jack. 1997. “Hollywood East? Film at Moscow festival features city residents,” THE INTELLIGENCER. Thursday August 28, 1997.
  • Gignac, Tamara. 1997. “Durham film festival puts indie gems on the big screen,” THIS WEEK FRIDAY EDITION. November 21, 1997.
  • Gignac, Tamara. 1997. “Oshawa filmmaker glad to be back in town,” THIS WEEK FRIDAY EDITION. November 28, 1997.
  • MacWhirter, Sarah. 1997. “Entertainment Under the Stars,” THE INTELLIGENCER. Tuesday May 27, 1997.
  • MacWhirter, Sarah. 1997. “Stars attend under the stars presentation. Area family focus of film presented in Market Square,” THE INTELLIGENCER. Saturday May 31, 1997.
  • Wasserman, Leslie. 1997. “LIFT’s National Salon des Refusés,” CBC TV Interview. September 1997.

Production Notes

This film script was inspired by a true story told to filmmaker, Lisa Hayes, by her Grandpa, Roy Monk. Yes, it’s a true story! What better person is there to play Grandpa, than the man who actually created the tale? Knowing that this humble 87 year old man would not be enthusiastic about acting in a film about himself, the filmmaker decided not to ask her Grandpa to participate in the film. Instead, she arrived in his home town of Belleville, approximately 250 km east of Toronto, with a van full of film equipment, and a small ‘documentary’ sized crew. Lisa discussed her plan with her Grandpa the evening before they were scheduled to shoot. He was (and still is) shocked that anyone would care about his story, but reluctantly agreed to give it a try. Lisa down-played the crew, telling him that a few friends from Toronto had come to help out. The cast and crew camped out at the home of the filmmaker’s mother, Eleanore Hayes, the night before shooting, all worried that Grandpa might not play his part the next day. Lisa had written and storyboarded many versions of the script, depending on the level of participation that her Grandpa was willing to give on the day of shooting. Much to everyone’s surprise, he quite enjoyed himself, once he got comfortable with his new role. The predominately female crew put him at ease and he enjoyed the attention he received.

The rest of the cast, also new-comers to film, creatively brought the characters to life. Young actors Haili Kimball and Leah Kimball, cousins of the filmmaker, played the parts of Lisa Hayes and her older sister Cheryl. Among the lush green countryside, Joseph Callaghan did a remarkable job as Young Grandpa, conveying the fantastic, fairy-tale-like story imagined by the young girl. And Lisa Cupoli stepped in to play Young Grandma, the creator of the butter sandwiches.

Grandpa’s “finger sandwich” gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “Finger Food”.