World Premiere
The howling of wild dogs through the windows of a summer evening… In the middle of the night, a man talks to his dead wife on a disconnected telephone… Airplanes are swallowed up in the sky.
In rural Canada in the 1990s, a Korean family – a widower, his teenage son, and young daughter – attempts to find footing in a new land while navigating the dark forests of grief. Sonny has been hired to eradicate the feral canines plaguing the town, while sensitive Hajoon figures out what it means to be a man. Finally, young Hana, missing her mother, dreams up ways to make her return.
Gorgeous and brilliantly structured, Jerome Yoo’s first feature film is a lyrical and gut-wrenching tale of immigrant survival and resilience in Canada. Dreamlike, surreal, and filled with raw emotion, Mongrels is a remarkable study of family, loss, and hope in the midst of profound uprooting.
Sept 28: Q&A with director Jerome Yoo; producers Nach Dudsdeemaytha & Tesh Guttikonda; DOP Jaryl Lim; and actors Da-Nu Nam & Sein Jin
Sept 30: Q&A with director Jerome Yoo; producer Nach Dudsdeemaytha; editor Lawrence Le Lam; and Derek Kwan
Presented by
Media Partner
Community Partner
Sein Jin, Jae-Hyun Kim, Da-Nu Nam, Candyce Weir, Jedd Sharp, Morgan Derera
Canada
2024
In English and Korean with English subtitles
Animal cruelty
At International Village
At The Rio
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Jerome Yoo, Nach Dudsdeemaytha, Matt Drake, David Tomiak, Martin Glegg
Producer
Nach Dudsdeemaytha, Tesh Guttikonda
Screenwriter
Jerome Yoo
Cinematography
Jaryl Lim
Editor
Lawrence Le Lam
Production Design
Adriana Marchand
Original Music
Jude Shih, Tae-Young Yu
Jerome Yoo
Jerome Yoo is a Seoul-born filmmaker based in Vancouver. Drawing from his diverse upbringing in Canada, his work often explores the complexities of cultural identity and relationships with surreal elements. His short films, Gong Ju (2018) and Idols Never Die (2019), have garnered critical acclaim and been featured at festivals globally, including the Cannes Short Film Corner and TIFF’s Summer of Seoul program. Mongrels is Jerome’s debut feature and was funded by Telefilm’s Talent to Watch initiative.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Vancouver Mysteries Presents... Murder at the Movies
This summer, enter the world of film noir with a new immersive murder mystery blending elements of film with live performance and audience participation. This show turns the VIFF Centre into a crime scene and you, the audience, into detectives.
Bonnie Northgraves Quintet: To Louis with Love
Join us for To Louis with Love, a joyful celebration of the legendary Louis Armstrong by Bonnie Northgraves and her band, followed by Bert Stern's legendary concert film Jazz on a Summer's Day, featuring Monk, Gerry Mulligan, and of course Satchmo.
Husbands
Men behaving badly: reeling from the death of a friend, three middle-aged buddies go on an epic drinking binge. It's not enough. They roll home, collect their passports, and take off for a weekend of gambling, women and booze in London.
Nashville
With 26 actors getting more-or-less equal screen time and half of them singing their own tunes, Robert Altman's state-of-the-nation satire on bicentennial USA is a movie that repays multiple views.
Samia
Despite growing up in Mogadishu, Somalia, during the civil war, Samia Yusuf Omar persists in her dream of becoming an Olympic athlete and competes in Beijing, 2008 -- with London, 2012 next on her agenda. Based on a true story.