When Robert Kirbyson was casting his time-traveling short "Ctrl Z," he found the perfect female lead in Emy Coligado after seeing her play a patient on "Grey's Anatomy."

After discovering her home phone number, Kirbyson summoned up his nerve and left a message on Coligado's answering machine.

"Fortunately she called me back," says Kirbyson with a laugh. "I don't think her number is listed anymore."

"Ctrl Z" tells the story of a man who can change his life by entering a simple shortcut on his keyboard. The short makes its Canadian premiere at the 2008 Worldwide Short Film Festival on Saturday, June 14 at 8:30 p.m. at the Cumberland cinema in Toronto.

"Ctrl Z" has already won the Delta short film competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival this past January.

Landing Coligado wasn't Kirbyson's only break when making the short -- through personal connections he was able to secure popular comedic actors Tony Hale ("Arrested Development") and Zachary Levi ("Chuck").

Levi plays Ben, an immature office manager who whips a football around the workplace in the name of "team spirit." When Ben's football smashes a keyboard, his employee, Stuart (Hale), discovers he has the power to turn back time, if only for a moment.

"Zak hadn't landed his role on 'Chuck' yet, and he wanted to work with Tony. But shortly after we shot 'Ctrl Z,' he got the pilot for Chuck and his career skyrocketed," says Kirbyson. "That's what I love about Los Angeles -- there are so many people out there eager to show what they can do."

Kirbyson shot the film in one day with the help of a crew made up of friends, and had the entire production finished in under the week.

He was on a tight deadline because he had been asked to submit a short for last year's reality series, "On the Lot," which was produced by Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett. Unfortunately for Kirbyson, who was born in Edmonton and raised in Winnipeg, he was taken out of the running due to visa issues.

Despite being turned down, Kirbyson's disappointment didn't last long.

"Within one hour of getting the phone call from Burnett's office, I got the call from Stephen McEveety, the producer of 'Braveheart,' and he told me he loved my script 'Snowmen' and wanted to make it," says Kirbyson.

"It was the briefest moment of grief I've ever had in my career."

"Snowmen" is described by the director as "Stand by Me" set in the winter, telling the story of kids looking to set a world record. No release date has been set for the film.