The Linda Joy Media Arts Society is pleased to announce the winner of the 2014 902 Post Joy Award. The LJMAS extends heartfelt congratulations to Nelson and Jeff.

Winner: Nelson MacDonald & Jeff Wheaton
For: Safe
Award partner: 902 Post Inc. ($10,000).

Safe is an unconventional documentary film, a poetic essay that reflects on the tens of thousands of surveillance cameras in Halifax and by association, the larger question of surveillance and privacy in our society.
Halifax is tirelessly observed by security cameras which gaze at us from grocery store aisles to secure naval facilities. Some however watch from odd vantages in trees and kiddie-themed boat rides. These electronic watchers unblinkingly watch hour after hour of, mostly, nothing happening. Theirs is an absurdist perspective, unintentionally ridiculous to the point of comedy.
Safe takes a look at the lookers and the both ominous and equally funny nature of their existence.

Nelson MacDonald is one of Atlantic Canada’s top emerging film producers. His credits include producing the award winning short film Rhonda’s Party, which premiered at the Montreal World Film Festival, won CBC’s Short Film Faceoff, and was named one of the Toronto International Film Festivals Top Ten Canadian Short Films. In 2012 Nelson produced the short film When You Sleep and associate produced the feature film Blackbird. Both films opened at TIFF. His latest short film Stray is now on the festival circuit with screenings at Montrealʼs Festival du Nouveau Cinema and Atlantic Film Festival.

Jeff Wheaton is a prolific cinematographer and emerging director based in Halifax. His work on short films and music videos for directors including Jason Eisener and Cory Bowles has earned screenings at dozens of festivals including Sundance and TIFF. In 2012, Jeff was awarded Best Cinematography at the Atlantic Film Festival for his work on Sol Naglerʼs experimental feature Gravity and Grace. Most recently Jeff was the 2013 Filmmaker in Residence at the Atlantic Filmmakers Cooperative where he created the experimental short film Hive, which the Chronicle-Herald described as “delving into the mythology of bees, the history of bees and beekeeping, and a look at where bees are now.”