Directed by Danielle Sturk

Logline: THE BEST TRUCK STOP IN TOWN

Synopsis: Romance and tragedy bind eight siblings who work with their parents at their family-run truck stop diner deep in the entrails of 1960's industrial Saint-Boniface. El Toro no longer exists between the old Canada Packers and the Union Stock Yards but does very much so in the minds of the surviving DeGagné brood.

The film El Toro rebuilds the walls, stools, and atmosphere of the restaurant, recreating a surreal, rich, and imaginative world, evoking a lost time and place through the lens of memory, nostalgia and love. And yes, animals were consumed, filmed, drawn, and animated in this hybrid documentary.

Distribution Contact: WFG

More Details

RUNTIME: 43 Minutes
GENRE: Documentary, Experimental, Animation
PRODUCTION FORMAT: Super 8mm, HD
LANGUAGE: English
LOCATION: Manitoba
TECHNIQUES: Animated Objects, Computer Animation, Stop Motion, Cut Outs, Live Action, Visual Effects
KEYWORDS: Diner, Winnipeg, Saint-Boniface, Family, History, Family History, Female Filmmaker

Director's Statement: This funky film began in 2011 at a family reunion around a pool party with an audio recorder in one hand and a hamburger in the other. It ended years later with my fingers placing frozen corn kernels around an illustration of my Mémère ready for 2D animation.

With the absolute and continued support of the Manitoba Arts Council since 2011, I was afforded the immense privilege to explore and develop new (to me) forms of visual storytelling, and the pleasure to do so with outstanding Manitoban artists.

The support of the Canada Council for The Arts as well as the Winnipeg Arts Council is keenly appreciated, and was essential in the making of this film.

To my family of aunts and uncles, cousins, cousins’ kids, my own kids and their friends, who all pitched in to tell their story, or help to tell it by taking on the role of trucker or waitress, or props assistant – merci! Finally, a very warm thank you to my mom, Rachel DeGagné, whose non-fiction short story “Epitaph For El Toro”, inspired the making of this smorgasbord. Enjoy!