Scroll Top

IN THE JAM JAR

A FILM BY COLIN NIXON

Short Film – Canada – 2021 –  13 min
Color | English with French subtitles | 1.85:1 | 5.1

SYNOPSIS
In the Jam Jar is an invitation to the intimacy of 81-year-old Joan’s final days, whose musings silently echo with Dan’s, her 50-year-old son. This fiction short-movie is a dive into death and grief, a tribute to maternal love comprised of nail clippings, aquarelle, strawberry jam and a ghost radar.
Cast

France Castel, Alain Goulem, Martin Stone

Crew

DIRECTOR : Colin Nixon
WRITER : Colin Nixon
PRODUCER : Étienne Hansez (Bravo Charlie)
CINEMATOGRAPHY : Natan B. Foisy
ART DIRECTION : Catherine K. Pelletier
SOUND DESIGN : Patrice Leblanc
SOUND MIXING : Bernard Gariépy-Strobl
EDITING : Philippe Lefebvre
MUSIC : Anaïs Larocque

NOT SHORT ON TALENT — CANNES

Short Film Corner

Images en Vues, 2021

Slamdance,  2022

Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma, 2022

Festival du Nouveau Cinéma (FNC), 2021

 *GRAND PRIX * PUBLIC AWARD

Director's notes

In the Jam Jar is born from a discussion about death I had with my grandfather a few weeks before he passed from cancer. Soothing for him and enlightening to me, it softened my fear of his passing.

Then I came to think about times when that difficult conversation can’t occur, when it’s too late to express our feelings to a loved one. That became the heart of the project; things that go unsaid. Things we regret not sharing, love that feels trapped.

While I was searching for visual inspiration I gravitated towards pictures of round objects, from which the story’s structure and esthetic naturally emerged. Through circularity it was possible to create a secret space where a dying mother and her grieving son’s thoughts would echo each other.

Colin Nixon - Director - Réalisateur - In The Jam Jar - Photo par Naomie Doirilus
DIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY

Passionnate about his work in different nonprofits, Colin loves sharing stories about the people that surround him. This small-town mama’s boy has been interested by both documentary and fiction since he graduated for the UQÀM in 2015.

FILMOGRAPHY

IN THE JAM JAR | 2021, Short Film

-21 | 2018, Short Film

CHEZ MOI HOCHELAGA | 2017, Short Film

THE MARMOT’S CALL | 2016, Short Film

JEEZ | 2015, Short Film

CALICO | 2014, Short Film

Add IN THE JAM JAR to your list

FESTIVALS & AWARDS

Festival du Nouveau Cinéma (FNC), 2021 *GRAND PRIZE *AUDIENCE AWARD

Images en Vues, 2021

Talent Tout Court – Cannes, 2021

Slamdance, 2022

Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma, 2022

Busan International Short Film Festival (BISFF), 2022

New York City Independent Film Festival, 2022

Festival du Cinéma de Knowlton, 2022

Thessaloniki International Short Film Festival, 2022

Canadian Screen Awards : Nominated for Best Narrative Short Film

Prends Ça Court! Gala, 2022 *TELEFILM CANADA AWARD *CLUB VIDÉO AWARD *AQCC AWARD – SPECIAL MENTION *GRANDÉ STUDIOS AWARD

Courts d’un Soir Film Festival, 2022

HollyShorts Film Festival, 2022

Off-Courts Trouville, 2022 *JURY AWARD – BEST DIRECTING

Festival de cinéma de la ville de Québec (FCVQ), 2022

Les Percéides, 2022

Long weekend du court, 2022

St Louis International Film Festival,  2022 *BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT AWARD

International Short Film Festival ZUBROFFKA, 2022

Plein(s) Écran(s), 2023 *PAIRS AWARD *EMERGING TALENT AWARD

Big Water Film Festival, 2023

Festival Canadien de Dieppe, 2023 * SPECIAL MENTION