DIR. KEVIN NIKKEL | 2009 | CANADA | 41 MIN.

Through Our Neon City, Winnipeg filmmaker Kevin Nikkel has created portraits of five Winnipeg institutions based on the neon signs which marked their existence: Winnipeg’s Turkish Baths was a luxury spa that disappeared when the Royal Alexandra Hotel was torn down in 1971, and which had served travelers who wanted a steam and a soak for 60 years; Dojack’s Winnipeg Musical Supply which began with a horse-drawn cart on Main Street and closed in 1982; The legendary Blue Note Café where accomplished performers would commonly drop in for guest sets; Cliffords, which kept women stylish for 70 years; and The Bell Hotel, which offered beds to rail roaders and bar hoppers down on their luck. Our Neon City features interviews and rare archival photographs.

Plays with the shorts: 

• SAVE THE ALPHABET HOUSE (Dirs. Ed and Brandon Ackerman, 2009, Canada, 3 min.) - An assembly of stop motion animation that was used at a recent Committee meeting at City Hall.

• THE MCINTYRE BLOCK (Dir. Bob Lower, 1977, Canada, 20 min.) - A portrait of the tenants of a once great Main Street building (built in 1898) which lost out to the wrecker’s ball.