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.
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Sina DolatiDirector
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Sina DolatiWriter
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Sina DolatiProducer
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Rio TardittiKey Cast"The Boy"
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Kayla Jo FarrisKey Cast"The Girl"
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Sean MeldrumKey Cast"Robbie The Robber"
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Michael LakeKey Cast"John"
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Chris O'brayKey Cast"The Barista"
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Daniel AbramsCo-producer
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Victor VoCo-producer
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Sina DolatiEditor
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Emmanuel TejiDirector of Photography
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Victor Vo1st Assistant Director
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Sara ElsharawyProduction Manager
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Eva KozlovaProduction Designer
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Faith LeleuScript Supervisor
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David PratoSound Recordist
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Indra AmaGaffers
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Hirokazu TakaGaffers
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Minsoo Koh1st Assistant Camera
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Minsoo KohKey Grip
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Carley ChamberlainMakeup Artists
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Miyuki MoriMakeup Artists
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Yash KiniVFX
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Arman SadrazadehStill Photographer
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Sina DolatiColourist
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Project Type:Short
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Genres:Dark Comedy, Drama, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Arthouse
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Runtime:8 minutes 45 seconds
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Completion Date:March 18, 2019
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Production Budget:5,000 USD
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Country of Origin:Canada
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Country of Filming:Canada
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:2:35
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:Yes
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SPLICE Film FestNew York
United States
June 21, 2019
Brooklyn Premiere
"Narrative" Audience Choice Award -
Hollywood North Film AwardsToronto
Canada
"Best VFX & Colour" Nomination -
NewFilmmakers New YorkNew York
United States
April 3, 2019
World Premiere
Official Selection
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.
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.