''Below the Belt'' is a Canadian short drama film, directed by Dominique Cardona and Laurie Colbert and released in 1999.Lisa Daniel and Claire Jackson, ''The Bent Lens: A World Guide to Gay and Lesbian Film''. Allen & Unwin, 2003. . p. 63. The film stars Nathalie Toriel and

Cara Pifko Cara Pifko (born March 15, 1976) is a Canadian actress known primarily for her work on television shows produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Life and career Pifko was born in Toronto, Ontario. A graduate of the National Theatre Sch ...

as Oona and Jill, two young lesbian amateur boxers who fall in love, and then discover that one of their mothers (

Tanja Jacobs Tanja Jacobs is a Belgian-born Canadian actress and theatre director. She originated the role of Constance Ledbelly in Anne-Marie MacDonald's '' Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet).'' Early life Jacobs was born in Belgium to German paren ...

) is also having an extramarital affair with another woman. The film premiered in the Panorama program at the 1999 Berlin International Film Festival, as the opening film to Anne Wheeler's lesbian romantic comedy feature ''

Better Than Chocolate ''Better Than Chocolate'' is a 1999 Canadian romantic comedy film shot in Vancouver and directed by Anne Wheeler. Plot Maggie ( Karyn Dwyer) has moved out on her own and has started a relationship with Kim (Christina Cox). Maggie's mother Lila ...

''. It was subsequently screened at the

Inside Out Film and Video Festival Inside may refer to: * Insider, a member of any group of people of limited number and generally restricted access Film * ''Inside'' (1996 film), an American television film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Eric Stoltz * ''Inside'' (2002 f ...

in 1999, where it was co-winner of the Audience Award for Best Short Film, and at the

1999 Toronto International Film Festival The 24th Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 9 to September 18, 1999. The festival opened with Atom Egoyan's '' Felicia's Journey'' and closed with '' Onegin'' by Martha Fiennes. A total of 318 films were screened in the 13 progr ...

. The film was a Genie Award nominee for Best Live Action Short Drama at the

21st Genie Awards The 21st Genie Awards were held in 2001 to honour films released in 2000. The ceremony was hosted by Brian Linehan. Nominees and winners The Genie Award winner in each category is shown in bold along with nominees. References {{Canadian Scree ...

in 2000."Maelstrom leads Genie nominations with 10 including best picture". ''

Moose Jaw Times-Herald The ''Moose Jaw Times-Herald'' was a daily newspaper serving the city of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada, and the surrounding area. It was printed Tuesdays through Saturdays (Monday editions ended in 2016). J.N. McDonald founded the ''Times'' as ...

'', December 13, 2000.

References

External links

* 1999 films 1999 short films 1999 LGBT-related films Canadian LGBT-related short films LGBT-related sports drama films Lesbian-related films Films directed by Dominique Cardona and Laurie Colbert 1990s English-language films Canadian drama short films 1990s Canadian films Canadian sports drama films Canadian boxing films {{1990s-Canada-film-stub