The bonds of family form the basis of this program of short films. Bonds with history and responsibility—sometimes close, sometimes strained—now and for the future.
Q&A Oct 1 & Oct 3
This short film program includes the following films:
Killing Ourselves
Maya Yadlin, Israel (15 min)
A film student and her family drive to the desert to shoot a scene for her latest film, but things quickly deteriorate and nothing goes as planned.
Mumu
Mo Sha, China (25 min)
The six-year-old daughter of a deaf-mute couple frustrates her father, who believes she can hear and speak.
Baby
Cristina Sánchez Salamanca, Colombia (15 min)
The daughter from a man’s first marriage feels left out and misunderstood at a birthday celebration for her younger stepsister.
Ellie
Fernando Bonelli, Spain (20 min)
An emergency room nurse arrives late for work after being involved in a serious car accident and soon has to make life or death choices involving a loved one.
Nest
James Hunter, Australia (9 min)
An isolated father haunted by his child’s cries of hunger takes up work as a timber feller, only to find operations halted by a mysterious alarm coming from deep in the woods.
Further and Further Away
Polen Ly, Cambodia (24 min)
A young Bunong woman and her older brother spend one last day in their rural Cambodian village before a move to the city in search of a more prosperous life.
Community Partner
Various
Various
2021-2022
Various with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check Out What's Playing at the VIFF Centre
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.
The Best Years of Our Lives
One of the finest films to come out of WWII, The Best Years of Our Lives sympathetically conveys the difficulties returning veterans faced in readjusting to life at home. It won 7 of the top Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director and Actor.
Ray Gunn (Special Advance Screening with Brad Bird)
In an alternate future as seen from 1939, a private eye (Sam Rockwell) is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder, and a multimedia star (Scarlett Johansson). Followed by a moderated discussion with director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille).
The Bloodettes
In this early Afro-futurist shlocker from Cameroonian director Jean-Pierre Bekolo (made in 2005 and set in 2025), two sex workers try to dispose of the body of a high profile politician who's died on the job (theirs, not his).
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.
Akashi
In Mayumi Yoshida’s tender drama, struggling artist Kana journeys to Tokyo to attend her grandmother’s funeral. While there, she reconnects with her childhood love and stumbles across a family secret that prompts her to reconsider her place in the world.