Dingman Film

		I Was Benno (2008) - Documentary 35min Philip Dingman, Writing After toiling for 15 years to build a new identity and life in Calgary, Alberta, Japanese-born designer Masanori Benno does the unthinkable - he walks away. Guided by nothing more than a favourite Japanese proverb, "a frog in a well cannot comprehend the ocean" , Benno embarks on an impossible quest to find tranquility in the unlikeliest of places - the smog-choked streets and dusky tea rooms of Pakistan. Assuming the identity of a street seller, a tea maker, market merchant, garage helper and taxi driver, he discovers the power of anonymity in a land of strangers. > watch 5 min preview >watch all Tractor and Commander - In development Ontario, 1955. Bachelor pig farmer George Phillips is as depressed about farm life as his summer help, 14-year-old nephew, Alexander. As George longs to revisit his glory years as a WW2 tail-gunner in Europe, Alex obsesses over missing a summer back home with friends. Simultaneously, they hatch secret but separate plans to escape, leaving the other behind to do the chores. After a number of failed escape attempts, our two "prisoners of war" find greater meaning and purpose through each other's seemingly different perspectives, while dealing with a myriad of local oddballs and events.
		The Green Monster - In development Nine year old Will MacDougal is ready to throw in the towel on his bizarre family. Among other mishaps, he is ridiculed daily for the public antics of his quack dad, a notorious Harvard Mythology professor on the verge of losing tenure for promoting his oddball beliefs of the fabled Green Monster, a Boston baseball myth. To rescue the family from itself, and restore his relationship with his father, Will wishes that the Green Monster return to the city. Will gets a lot more than he bargained for. audio trailer -click here
		The Juggler of Nazareth - In development Make no mistake, Jesus was a teenager too. Awkward feet, pimples, poor carpentry skills and raging hormones fuel the story of a young boy's rise from gawky early teen to less-gawky late teen. Disenchanted with every aspect of his life including his loony and demanding parents, Jesus runs away, befriends a rogue gypsy magician and becomes a starry-eyed professional juggler. Ultimately disillusioned with life as a shallow entertainer, he stumbles upon the "greater magic" and meaning for which he feels he was truly destined. audio trailer -click here
		Einstein Fever - In development Academy Awards? Never heard of it. This is a "New America" where brainy folk are the real celebrities. They win Einsteins instead of Oscars and get their stars on the walk of fame. Oh, Entertainment Tonight is still on, but welcome to the lives of the Rich and Fabulously Smart. America's best known actor Stuart Pullman gets an audition for the role of a lifetime - playing Jonas Salk, developer of the polio vaccine. With an opportunity to finally escape the squalor that is his life, Stuart's predicament worsens when this little Made For TV Movie forces Pullman to work alongside an unbearable and egotistical Jonas Salk, and his posse. Although never a member of the jet smart set, Stuart does manage to get America and Salk to think.
		Blue Nose - In development What happens when 12 year old Perry Shanahan leaves Mainland, Newfoundland (population 75) and goes looking for the other ocean in search of big time excitement - and "those people with blue zinc sunscreen on their noses". A fish out of water, and against all probable odds, he discovers one thing - no matter how far you go, you'll always find yourself.
		Mr. Independant - In development Allan Koster is Mr. Independent. So accomplished at fixing, gardening, cooking, sewing, tap dancing, money making, empire-building and even bed-time-story-reading to his kids, his wife begins to feel ignored if not utterly useless. When she leaves and takes the kids, his reality comes crashing down. Forced against his will to hire a personal assistant, Jerry spirals into a world of hopeless but happy dependence, surrounding himself with a shrink, bee keeper, driver, chef, personal shopper, trainer, colour therapist, dog walker, handy man, barber and occasional love interest. In the end, "Team Allan" shows him the meaning of love and poverty - that is, after they abandon him too.