Canadian Premiere
When his mother receives a late-night plea for help, Robel (Joseph Smith), an Eritrean-American teenager, must transport a suitcase of cash and medicine to a family friend in desperate need. Accompanied by Fahmi (Natnael Mebrahtu), his Ethiopian-American best friend, Robel sees their trek through south Seattle grow increasingly labyrinthine. As they pass abandoned houses and encounter cab drivers, shopkeepers, and other members of the working class, they grow aware of how their rapidly gentrifying, constantly redeveloping city is slowly forcing out people of colour such as themselves. As Robel and Fahmi race against the clock to complete their errand, they must likewise consider that the only way of life they’ve ever known may now be on borrowed time.
Zia Mohajerjasbi’s Emerald City odyssey is clear-eyed and tender in turns. As he investigates themes of personal identity, family responsibility, and community, he does so through nuanced interactions rather than didactic proclamations. Employing Nicholas Wiesnet’s cinematography to tremendous effect, Mohajerjasbi ensures that his striking depiction of Seattle reflects issues running rampant in countless other North American cities.
Best Film, Seattle 2022
Q&A Oct 4 & Oct 5
Presented by
Joseph Smith, Natnael Mebrahtu, Selamawit Gebresus, Esther Kibreab, Haileselassie Kidane
USA
2022
In English and Tigrinya with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Richest Woman in the World
Isabelle Huppert plays cosmetics CEO Marianne in this teasingly ambivalent satire inspired by the Bettancourt Affair, when L'Oreal heir Francoise Bettancourt scandalized France by frittering away her fortune on a notorious celebrity photographer.
The Python Hunt
Strange but true: the Florida Everglades are overrun with unwanted visitors. Not tourists, but invasive Burmese pythons decimating the local critters. The state's solution: an annual contest: $10 000 to whomever bags the most snakes in ten days.
Holy Days
After his mom passes, Brian (Elijah Tamati) is comforted by Sisters Agnes, Luke and Mary Clare (Judy Davis, Miriam Margolyes and Jacki Weaver, respectively). The quirky quartet hit the road to save their convent from being sold to a property developer.
Mārama
Set in North Yorkshire, 1859, this creepy gothic horror plays like The Piano in reverse: a young Maori woman takes up a position as a governess to a wealthy whaler's child, but finds colonial skeletons in his closets.
Credits
Executive Producer
Zia Mohajerjasbi, Josh Peters, Harry Calbom, Samira Gagné Ludwin, Adam Ludwin
Producer
Ty Walker, Zia Mohajerjasbi
Screenwriter
Zia Mohajerjasbi
Editor
Marty Martin, Zia Mohajerjasbi
Production Design
Karleigh Engelbrecht
Original Music
Richard Skelton
Art Director
Michelle Patterson
Director
Zia Mohajerjasbi
Zia Mohajerjasbi is an Iranian-American filmmaker hailing from Seattle, a city that has served as the primary focus of his work. In 2015, he wrote and directed the award-winning narrative short film, Hagereseb, and is the cinematographer and director of an ongoing storytelling series, The Charcoal Sky. Know Your Place, which Mohajerjasbi wrote and directed, is his debut feature film.