Canadian Premiere
A teen girl and her two friends and are off for an afternoon in the largest park in Teheran to photograph a rare total solar eclipse. This is a slice-of-life teen adventure where something as dark as the eclipse is revealed. The film shows us that, perhaps not surprisingly, rebellious teen behaviours and attitudes in Iran and the West share striking similarities, and that some of their actions would be considered morally questionable in both societies. The film is beautifully shot and directed with simplicity and precision, complemented by superb acting. The eclipse becomes a metaphor for something that should have stayed hidden, and that unsettled feeling of something being fundamentally changed forever.
Community Partner
Featured in:
International Shorts: Morality Plays
Morals are being challenged on many fronts. The protagonists in this program of short films are all faced with difficult moral choices and they don’t always make the right decisions.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
American photographer Nan Goldin is famous for her empathetic pictures of intimate, exuberant, anguished urban bohemia. Today Goldin is using her celebrity to denounce the Sackler family's art-washing tactics and their role in the opioid crisis.
Part of the Pack
The wolf has always been a haunting symbol of the wild. This beautifully shot BC-made film looks at the complex and evolving relationship between wolf and human, including a focus on world famous southern Vancouver island celebrity, Takaya.
Revival 69: The Concert that Rocked the World
Incorporating live performance footage shot by the legendary DA Pennebaker, Revival 69 details the incredible behind-the-scenes story of Toronto's Woodstock, featuring John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Alice Cooper and The Doors.
Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On
Cree singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie has inspired generations with her commitment to Indigenous and women's rights, as well as her famous anti-war hit, Universal Soldier. In 2015, in her mid-70s, she won the Polaris Music Prize. This is her story.
Credits
Executive Producer
Raha Amirfazli, Aria Ghavamian, Mani Nilchiani
Producer
Hassan Nadjarian Dariani, Alireza Ghasemi, Adrien Barouillet
Screenwriter
Alireza Ghasemi, Raha Amirfazli
Cinematography
Soheil Goharipour
Editor
Pooyan Sholevar
Production Design
Faraz Modiri
Directors
Raha Amirfazli
Raha Amirfazli is an Iranian filmmaker who graduated from the Art University of Tehran in Film Directing. She has made several short films that have earned her national and international screenings, including Nausea (2017). In addition to serving as a referee in the Danish journal Short Film Studies, she is also the editor-in-chief of the 24 Frames website. Amirfazli is currently pursuing an MFA in Film Production at New York University.
Alireza Ghasemi
Alireza Ghasemi is an Iranian filmmaker. He received his Master’s degree in Film Directing from the Art University of Tehran. His short Lunch Time (2017) earned him a Palme d’Or nomination in Cannes’ short film category. He is now the international manager of the Iranian Short Film Association. He participated in Cannes’ residency program with his first feature-length film script, The Ceremony.