Tapeboy

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, eccentric bedroom musician Tommy Doss is invited to lunch by the connection-starved Lucy, who is taken by his enigmatic personality and homemade tapes.

  • King Dawit
    Director
  • King Dawit
    Writer
  • King Dawit
    Producer
  • Krishna Kolanupaka
    Producer
    ±40, Hidden Intentions
  • Jonathan Miller
    Key Cast
    "Tommy Doss"
  • Savannah Weeks
    Key Cast
    "Lucy"
  • Tom Lute
    Key Cast
    "Cardinal"
    The Trial of Wild Bill, Corona in the Time of Connor
  • Conor Forrest
    Cinematographer
    Friday Night Fish, A Summers Day at Sherwood Park
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Romance, Drama, Experimental, Covid, Mumblecore
  • Runtime:
    17 minutes 54 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 14, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    4,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, Super 8mm
  • Aspect Ratio:
    4:3, 16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Silicon Beach Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    October 4, 2021
    North American Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Vesuvius International Film Festival
    Naples
    Italy
    June 30, 2021
    Best Director COVID-19 Short
  • Yellowstone International Film Festival
    New Delhi
    India
    Official Selection
  • Lonely Wolf International Film Festival

    United Kingdom
    April 29, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Toronto Short Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
    March 21, 2023
    Official Selection
Director Biography - King Dawit

King Dawit is a film director, writer, and producer, known for often surreal, striking and character-driven narratives. After graduating from George Brown College in 2020, he directed Tapeboy (2021), an avant-garde, music-driven romance short which earned numerous awards, and played at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood for the Silicon Beach Film Festival. With a background in content creation on several platforms, Dawit evokes techniques from pre-sound and New Hollywood, while maintaining his native Toronto as the backdrop for many of his films.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Tapeboy is my love letter to low-budget filmstrips, DIY psychedelic rock, experimentalism, and isolation (in both meanings) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Taking place during the pandemic in Kensington Market, Toronto, the film sees the story of two people on a date, one starved for any kind of connection, and the other content in the world he's created. Like a tape, there's two sides to the story, and on the other side is the comfortable world Tommy lives in, full of his music, his tapes, and the Walkman he plays them on. The film is meant to evoke the feel of a Super 8mm home movie, between the actual Super 8 footage, and the pacing and timing of a dusty film tucked away in a bin.

I wanted to use Kensington as a canvas for the story, a place where neighbourhood meant supporting local haunts and shops, a decision that meant featuring the real-life Paradise Bound Records and Ozzy's Burgers. The film is a love letter to the area, and also to psychedelic indie music, particularly Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys' Smile, various groups from the Elephant 6 Collective, Captain Beefheart, and Daniel Johnston. Whether it be the lush, vibrance of Kensington in the Fall, or the anything goes of Tommy's basement, or the reality of isolation during the pandemic, or the joy of just sharing a tape -- and forming a connection.