Terminal Love

On a cold night in Toronto, 2 days before Christmas, a young boy and a girl who have recently started going out meet for a seemingly normal coffee date. However, they soon find out this might just be their very last conversation. 500 Days of Summer meets Tarantino in Terminal Love, a romantic dark comedy fuelled by surreal aesthetics and a musical story-world. The story explores relationships between young couples in the modern age of technology and smartphones, where online personas, social media, and the fear of getting ‘ghosted’ leads to an endless loop of fictitious disconnect, insecurity and paranoia.

  • Sina Dolati
    Director
  • Sina Dolati
    Writer
  • Sina Dolati
    Producer
  • Rio Tarditti
    Key Cast
    "The Boy"
  • Kayla Jo Farris
    Key Cast
    "The Girl"
  • Sean Meldrum
    Key Cast
    "Robbie The Robber"
  • Michael Lake
    Key Cast
    "John"
  • Chris O'bray
    Key Cast
    "The Barista"
  • Daniel Abrams
    Co-producer
  • Victor Vo
    Co-producer
  • Sina Dolati
    Editor
  • Emmanuel Teji
    Director of Photography
  • Victor Vo
    1st Assistant Director
  • Sara Elsharawy
    Production Manager
  • Eva Kozlova
    Production Designer
  • Faith Leleu
    Script Supervisor
  • David Prato
    Sound Recordist
  • Indra Ama
    Gaffers
  • Hirokazu Taka
    Gaffers
  • Minsoo Koh
    1st Assistant Camera
  • Minsoo Koh
    Key Grip
  • Carley Chamberlain
    Makeup Artists
  • Miyuki Mori
    Makeup Artists
  • Yash Kini
    VFX
  • Arman Sadrazadeh
    Still Photographer
  • Sina Dolati
    Colourist
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Dark Comedy, Drama, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Arthouse
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 45 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 18, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:35
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes
  • SPLICE Film Fest
    New York
    United States
    June 21, 2019
    Brooklyn Premiere
    "Narrative" Audience Choice Award
  • Hollywood North Film Awards
    Toronto
    Canada
    "Best VFX & Colour" Nomination
  • NewFilmmakers New York
    New York
    United States
    April 3, 2019
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Sina Dolati

Sina Dolati is an Iranian-Canadian writer, director, producer and editor based in Toronto. He holds an MA from Ryerson University RTA School of Media, where he focused on immersive media and Virtual Reality filmmaking. Sina has produced a multitude of editorial, promotional and narrative short form content, many of which have went on to reach audienced at film festivals such New Filmmakers New York and the Mississauga Youth Film Festival. Sina also works as the Creative Director of Toronto New Wave, a non-profit annual film, music and interactive media festival currently in its third year.

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Director Statement

Terminal Love began as a very personal story for me, and soon after I found myself developing a script around the concept. Young relationships can often end before going anywhere, and sometimes it means more to one person than it does to the other. We often see this from a one-sided perspective and our communication through texting—and social media merely adds fuel to our insecurities.

Terminal Love aligns the viewer with this one-sided perspective, as we learn about a dying relationship through the eyes of The Boy, and we feel for him. However, the unanticipated ending of the film then serves as a rude awakening and points to the fact that our interpretation of the story is a result of the boy's insecurities, and that no one is to blame.