''Life Times Nine'' is a Canadian short film, which was released in 1973. Produced by

Insight Productions Insight Productions is a Canadian television production company based in Toronto, Ontario. It was established in 1970. Insight is led by CEO John Brunton. History Insight Productions was established in 1970 by Penray "Pen" Densham and John ...

in conjunction with a group of nine students from

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

's SEED Alternative School, the film's concept was for each student to produce and direct their own short film on the concept of

life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

."13 minutes on theme of life: Film by 9 Toronto youngsters in Oscar race". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', February 21, 1974. The filmmakers were Paul Shapiro,

Melissa Franklin Melissa Eve Bronwen Franklin (born September 30, 1956) is a Canadian experimental particle physicist and the Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics at Harvard University. In 1992, Franklin became the first woman to receive tenure in the physics depart ...

, Robi Blumenstein, Jordon Hale, Ricky Clark, Celia Merkur, Kimmie Jensen, Andy File and Marilyn Becker. The film received an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nomination for the

Best Live Action Short Film The Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film is an award presented at the annual Academy Awards ceremony. The award has existed, under numerous names, since 1957. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate awards, ''Best Short Subject, On ...

in 1974. The federal government of Canada provided the company with a $5,000 grant to ensure that all nine of the student directors were able to travel to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to attend the ceremony."For Toronto youngsters it was still great fun". ''

'', April 3, 1974. Their trip included an invitation from

Mel Brooks Melvin James Brooks (né Kaminsky; born June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and songwriter. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodie ...

to visit the set of ''

Young Frankenstein ''Young Frankenstein'' is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Victor Fra ...

''. A journalist also mistook producer John Watson for

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

and begged him for an interview."Letdown, relief after it's over". ''

'', April 4, 1974.

References

External links

* 1973 films Canadian anthology films Canadian drama short films Films shot in Toronto Canadian student films English-language Canadian films 1970s English-language films 1970s Canadian films 1973 short films {{1970s-Canada-film-stub