Winnipeg: Near the end of shooting on 2003’s The Saddest Music in the World, star Isabella Rossellini began speaking with director Guy Maddin about a potential short marking the 2006 centenary of the birth of her father, the late film director Roberto Rossellini. Now, the 17-minute film, My Dad Is 100 Years Old, is in post and will likely premiere on the festival circuit next year.

Maddin (Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary) directs Rossellini in the short, which speaks to her father’s career in cinema, as well as his legacy as both a filmmaker and father. Producer Phyllis Laing of Winnipeg’s Buffalo Gal Pictures says the actress, who plays seven roles in the pseudo-doc, accomplished her goals with the film, which was shot entirely at Winnipeg’s Metropolitan Theatre.

‘It’s a piece that was in her heart that she wanted to do for her father,’ says Laing. ‘It was very personal for her, but very well conceived.’

Laing produced with Jody Shapiro, Maddin and Rossellini – all of whom were involved with Saddest Music – with funding from The Documentary Channel and tax credits. The Doc Channel is also handling the film’s distribution and will be sublicensing the project, though no deals have been finalized.