REGINA — A Regina-born filmmaker is set to showcase her new short film at the upcoming 2025 Regina International Film Festival & Awards (RIFFA).
Aimee Hoffman is the writer-director behind DADDA, which follows a husband who becomes jealous of his wife as her career starts to skyrocket.
“Jealousy starts to manifest in his hands. And so from there [the film] is an absurdist real tale where he goes to his band of brothers and they help him re-enlarge his hands.”
Hoffman said she became interested in telling this story by observing subcultures and ideologies that have emerged in recent years, which prey on insecurities.
“In culture, there's an element of that where it does seem like things can be really ridiculous at first, but they can quickly actually become kind of scary.”
Her inspiration for storytelling came at a young age, when she created short videos with her siblings and got involved in theatre.
“I really loved the whole world of telling stories.”
Despite that passion, Hoffman decided to take a break and pursue business studies at the University of Calgary (U of C).
“As soon as I graduated from U of C, I quickly was pulled back into it and started making music videos and small films with my friends,” she said.
Hoffman eventually attended film school in Los Angeles and made her first short film in 2018. Since then, she has had a successful career in commercial directing, working for clients such as Nike.
DADDA marks her second short film. Filming took place in Los Angeles last year over a few days, though writing the script took several months.
“With a script, you have an empty page, so you have to decide the story you want to tell, the character, themes, how to keep the stakes, etc.”
Hoffman compared the filmmaking process to a “roller-coaster.”
“We actually had an actor drop out in the last minute, and we had to find someone new.”
Even with challenges, she said such situations are part of the process and “you’ve got to have all your ducks in order.”
As someone who grew up in Regina, Hoffman said having her film screened in the city is like a closing loop for her journey.
“This is where my journey started. And now I've gone off, had all of these experiences, and have got to learn how to make films in all of these different places.”
DADDA has already premiered at other film festivals, and Hoffman said reviews have generally been positive.
“It's very unique in how it blends genres in its satirical case on this more serious nuance issue.”
Looking ahead, Hoffman is currently developing a feature film in Regina.
