World Premiere
In February 2020, Angels’ Atlas premiered onstage to rapturous reviews, but it soon became the National Ballet of Canada’s final show before the pandemic shutdown; fittingly, when the company returned in November 2021, this ballet was the first that was performed. Crystal Pite: Angels’ Atlas brilliantly captures crucial moments of the ballet’s rebirth, from tentative disbelief, to the joy of reunion, to intense rehearsal and refinement. The documentary is a remarkable record of the creative process; in the retrospective context of global loss, the project acquires a ghostly, prophetic quality. What occurs on stage is nothing short of extraordinary—the unearthly lighting, the evocative music, and especially the bodies of the dancers, straining and stricken in sorrow. In a bold decision, the performance of Angels’ Atlas is shown in its entirety in the second half of the film. Sublime, moving, cathartic in its pulsing grief and meditation on mortality and transience, this documentary is one of the most moving pieces of art to ever be captured on film.
Q&A Oct 2
Community Partner
Canada
2022
English
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check Out What's Playing at the VIFF Centre
La Bola Negra
A big, old-school historical melodrama gets a thrillingly modern, queer makeover from Spanish duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, who artfully juggle three gay protagonists across stories set in 1932, 1937, and 2017. Winner: Best Director, Cannes. Screening on 35mm.
The History of Concrete
After attending a workshop on pitching saccharine Hallmark movies, John Wilson tries to apply all the same best practices to his documentary about concrete. Frequently absurd and endlessly entertaining detours, asides, and digressions ensue.
The Mad Dog of Europe
The story of an unmade screenplay from the writer of Citizen Kane. In 1932, Herman Mankiewicz wrote a film that foretold the persecution of the Jews and the war in Europe. But Hollywood wouldn't take the risk and The Mad Dog of Europe was never made.
The Mortal Storm
In this explicitly anti-Nazi melodrama directed by Frank Borzage (Three Comrades) a year before the US entered the war, Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart fall in love as their friends and family fall prey to the rise of Hitler's Nazi party in Germany.
NAZA
NAZA is a codeword euphemistically used by Israeli intelligence to indicate the number of civilians it expects will be killed in an airstrike. This chilling documentary exposes the policy and process of state-sanctioned mass killings.
Three Comrades
Scripted by F Scott Fitzgerald, Three Comrades (1938) was the first US studio film to chronicle the rise of European fascism in the 30s. Three German veterans open up a repair shop and try to regain a normal life, but political extremists have other ideas.
Credits
Executive Producer
Barry Hughson, Karen Kain, Hope Muir
Producer
Sean O’Neill
Cinematography
Maya Bankovic
Editor
Lindsay Allikas
Director
Photo by Luis Mora
Chelsea McMullan
Chelsea McMullan (they/their) is one of Canada’s leading filmmakers. They make documentary, experimental narrative, and hybrid films that explore the work of leading international artists. McMullan’s features, including My Prairie Home (2013), a musical documentary about the pioneering transgender musician Rae Spoon, have premiered at Sundance, Toronto, True/False, and other leading international festivals. They have directed episodes of the documentary series This is Pop (Netflix/Crave) and In the Making (CBC). McMullan has also made numerous short films about and in collaboration with international artists such as Eileen Myles, Zhang Huan, Isabelle Marant, and Ken Lum.
Filmography: My Prairie Home (2013); Michael Shannon Michael Shannon John (2015)