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Island of Freedom film image, director Petr Januschka

International Shorts: Connect/Disconnect/Reconnect

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The films in this shorts program are all about connections. People connecting with one another, dealing with change, or rediscovering a part of themselves and their past.

 

Q&A Oct 2 & Oct 4

 

This short film program includes the following films:

Bye Bye
Amélie Bonnin, France (25 min)

A man who left his native Normandy to build a bigger life for himself in Paris returns to his hometown, where he runs into an old flame.

 


A Different Place
Sophie Black, UK (14 min)

On a clandestine date, a 40-something woman battling with her identity embarks on a journey of rediscovery that she cannot ignore nor fully encompass.

 


Island of Freedom
Petr Januschka, Czech Republic (27 min)

It’s 1981 in Czechoslovakia, and a young man surprisingly reunites with his teen love on board a charter flight to Cuba.

 


The Ceremony
Lisle Turner, UK (10 min)

Written by Iman Qureshi, The Ceremony is a searingly honest take on non-binary marriage, with a twist.

 


The Cormorant
Lubna Playoust, France (23 min)

A mother and son live in a secluded house on an isolated island, where memory merges with the present, intertwining two moments of their lives—youth and maturity.

 


Magnified City
Isaku Kaneko, Japan (12 min)

In a ruined city, a wandering Magnifying Glass Human encounters a secret society of Projector Humans with grand plans to reconnect to the past in a surviving mountaintop theatre.

 

Community Partner

Director

Various

Country of Origin

Various

Year

2021-2022

Language

Various with English subtitles

18+
111 min
Shorts

Book Tickets

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Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

Parthenope

Dir. Paolo Sorrentino
137 min

Great beautician Paolo Sorrentino (The Young Pope) returns to the city of his birth with this languorous, love-struck chronicle of the life of a modern day siren, Parthenope (newcomer Celeste Della Porta). Stylish, philosophical, deeply Italiano.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Oscar® Shorts 2025: Animation

90 min

Magic candies, first kisses, and three brothers seeking hair transplants... the animated shorts package is a treasure trove of delights.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story

Dir. Alison Duke
98 min

Dancehall queen Sister Nancy effortlessly carries this bright and buoyant music doc. Her irresistible signature tune, "Bam Bam" enjoys the status of the most sampled reggae song of them all.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Quincy Mayes Brazilian Soul Experience

Dir. Fernando Meirelles & Kátia Lund
190 min

The Quincy Mayes Brazilian Soul Experience is thrilled to present a special performance showcasing the diverse, Afro-centric roots of samba, soul, and funk alongside a screening of the essential Brazilian film City of God. Please note there will be no Standby available for this event.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Chez Jolie Coiffure

Dir. Rosine Mbakam
70 min

Having immigrated to Belgium from Cameroon, Sabine manages Chez Jolie Coiffure. Her salon patrons, many of them undocumented immigrants, are not only be made to feel beautiful but can also escape the daily difficulties and harsh realities of their lives.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

No Other Land

Dir. Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham & Rachel Szor
96 min

Deemed by many critics one of the essential films of 2024, a multiple festival award winner and a nominee for the Academy Award for Best Documentary, No Other Land is a reminder that mass expulsion is by no means a new reality for Palestinians.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema