Sheridan student films debut on CBC

A Sheridan student and a recent graduate are set to have their films aired on Toronto Reel Shorts, as part of CBC’s Absolutely Canadian series, which showcases stories and documentaries that tell unique stories from communities across Canada.

Ashley Bazalar Arroyo, a fourth-year student in Sheridan’s Honours Bachelor of Film and Television (BFTV) program, will have her short documentary film, Sottile, featured. Sottile is a heartfelt story that follows Anna Sottile as she reflects on her family’s journey from Italy to Canada and the legacy they built through their neighbourhood grocery store. The film celebrates family, resilience, heritage and the lasting power of community across generations. Sottile is the eighth BFTV student film to be featured on Absolutely Canadian. 

Benjamin Hamilton, a 2025 graduate of the Honours Bachelor of Animation program, created 5 Rules of the Wannabe Wanderer, as his fourth-year thesis film. It’s a story about a young man named Jim who finds himself torn between the guidance of a mysterious independence-seeking cowboy figure and his love for a woman named Rikki. 5 Rules of a Wannabe Wanderer is the seventh film by Honours Bachelor of Animation students to be featured on Absolutely Canadian.

Who or what inspired you to tell this story? 

Ashley: I had the opportunity to get to know Anna while working with her, and when she shared her family’s immigration story, I was instantly captivated. I wanted to honour her loved ones while creating a story that encourages audiences to reflect on the experiences and sacrifices behind many immigrant journeys. Sottile is about the immigrant experience and the importance of preserving the stories that shape who we are. Anna's journey also reminded me of my own family's experience coming to Canada and the legacy we hope to leave behind. Our lives today are different from the world our families left behind, but their sacrifices made our futures possible. Their stories deserve to be remembered and shared. 

Benjamin: I’m very interested in the emotional struggle between the desire for independence and the need for human connection. I wanted to portray that isolationist part of our minds as a character - appealing on the outside, but ultimately lonely on the inside. I have a passion for telling stories about real-life emotional struggles through the medium of animation. I love how the abstract and visually humorous nature of animation allows filmmakers to approach themes in unique ways that we often can’t in other forms of storytelling. 

What does the opportunity to be featured in Toronto Reel Shorts mean to you? 

Ashley: Having Sottile featured at Toronto Reel Shorts means so much to me because it allows Anna's story to reach a wider audience. More than that, it's an incredible milestone for our entire crew. Everyone involved poured their passion and hard work into this documentary, and being selected is a meaningful recognition of the dedication we all brought to the project. I hope the film resonates with viewers and encourages conversations about family, heritage, and the immigrant experience.  

Benjamin: It's a very exciting opportunity to have my work featured on Toronto Reel Shorts. This film took about half a year to make, so I'm so happy that more than just my friends and family will be able to watch it. My hope is that this broadcast introduces my animation and storytelling style to a wider audience and opens doors for future opportunities. 

How did Sheridan help you develop your storytelling? Was there something unique or special about your program that helped you unlock this success?

Ashley: The BFTV program gave me the opportunity to develop my storytelling through hands-on experience in every stage of the filmmaking process. The program encouraged me to take creative risks while learning the technical and collaborative skills needed to bring a story to life. One of the most valuable aspects of the program was the freedom to create my own project while working alongside talented peers who continually challenged and inspired me. That combination of creative freedom, practical learning, and collaboration gave me the confidence and skills to tell meaningful stories like Sottile. 

Benjamin: Sheridan helped more on the technical side - classes like short film workflow and the process of creating an animated short with a group in third year were essential to my understanding of the animated film pipeline that I would go on to carry out fairly independently in fourth year for my thesis. It's a challenge to plan a film with a realistic scope that I could actually execute from concept to final animation, and Sheridan helped a lot with that. 

Both films come from programs within Sheridan’s storied Faculty of Animation, Arts & Design (FAAD), which has recently seen significant international success from graduates such as Oscar-winners Maggie Kang (Animation ‘04) for her work on K-Pop Demon Hunters and Domee Shi (Bachelor of Animation ‘11), for her work on Bao and Turning Red.  

“Sheridan is proud to have two student films from our Honours Bachelor of Film and Television and Honours Bachelor of Animation programs screen on CBC’s Absolutely Canadian series. These short films highlight the exceptional talent emerging from Sheridan and will appeal to audiences looking for diverse, original Canadian stories,” said Mark Jones, Dean of FAAD. “The films also demonstrate the important role Sheridan plays in developing the next generation of storytellers who are shaping the future of Canada’s screen industries. It is an honour to have the creative work of our globally recognized graduates screened on our national stage.” 

How to watch:

• Starts streaming on demand on CBC Gem on July 10 
• CBC TV debut is Saturday, July 11 at 8 p.m. on the CBC Toronto TV station 
• You can also stream Live on the CBC Toronto station on July 11 at 8 p.m. on CBC Gem 

Discover your creative future and unlock your career in Sheridan’s Faculty of Animation, Arts & Design.

Images: (top left) Sottile filmmaker Ashley Bazalar Arroyo; (top right) 5 Rules of the Wannabe Wanderer filmmaker Benjamin Hamilton; (bottom left) Anna Sottile, photographed by Lachlan Brown-Sutherland; and (bottom right) an illustration from 5 Rules of the Wannabe Wanderer by Benjamin Hamilton.