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AD HOC #88: Willie Varela: Making is Choosing; A Fragmented Life; A Broken Line; A Series of ObservationsInnis College, room 222
February 24, 2026, 8PM
In 1989, Willie Varela completed a long-form diary film, described by Albert Kilchesty as “an epic document revealing the concerns, attitudes and influences of the decade of the ‘80s as manifested in the private life of a film diarist.” Making is Choosing was shot over the course of six years, recording both his public life among other artists (notably George Kuchar and Joe Gibbons) and intimate details of his private life in El Paso, including the birth of his daughter and the strains in his marriage. Kilchesty offers that “Making Is Choosing… is … nakedly honest and unflattering,” aligning Varela’s work in super 8 with the long tradition of confessional and ruthless reflection that became possible for his generation of personal filmmakers.
Ad Hoc is proud to present this screening of Willie Varela’s only feature-length film, in celebration of his life following his passing in 2024. His most recent visit to Toronto, in 2017, was facilitated by the8fest, the aluCine Latin Film + Media Arts Festival, Pix Film Gallery, LIFT, Stephen Broomer and Madi Piller. Records of that visit are available online and will be shared on our social media. Making is Choosing is presented here in the only available form, as a digital file, and the original film materials are presently being preserved by UCLA Film and Television Archive thanks to a 2025 NFPF grant.
Program:
Making is Choosing; A Fragmented Life; A Broken Line; A Series of Observations (1989, 104 mins., SD digital file, colour, sound)
AD HOC aims to rethink what an experience of cinema can be. We seek to reposition historical landmarks and buried treasures within the on-going tradition of experimental and other non- commercial modes of filmmaking, drawing on work from Toronto, throughout Canada, and internationally. Within these parameters, we aspire to diversity in programming, as well as to multimedia and interdisciplinary screening events that bring together varied communities.
AD HOC = Stephen Broomer, Madi Piller, Jim Shedden, Bart Testa.
AD HOC would like to thank Alberto Zambenedetti, Denise Ing, Charlie Keil, Eyan Logan, Rob Trevisan, Thom Chan, Jarret Sorger, and the staff of Innis College and the Cinema Studies Institute.
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