Canadian Premiere
In the summer of 2021, the United States withdrew its military forces from Afghanistan, marking an end to the so-called Forever War, while leaving behind a hamstrung government and an undersupplied Afghan National Army to fend for themselves against increasingly aggressive Taliban forces. Director Matthew Heineman (A Private War, Cartel Land) captures intimate details of American and Afghan soldiers navigating the politics and bureaucracy, focusing in on the beleaguered General Sami Sadat, who is left bearing the brunt of responsibility to fight an unwinnable war. Sadat is committed to the goal of a democratic Afghanistan, but as the remaining American personnel find their hands tied by policy decisions from their superiors, and the Afghan military’s morale declines as they suffer loss after loss, he begins to realize that victory is impossible. After 20 years, hundreds of thousands of lives lost, and trillions of dollars spent, the Taliban is back in control and the country is still mired in civil war.
Media Partner
USA
In English, Dari, and Pashto with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check Out What's Playing at the VIFF Centre
Possible Love
Lee Chang-dong’s first film since Burning (2018) is a sardonic, slow-burning satire about two couples: a documentary filmmaker married to a wealthy businessman, and a working-class family struggling to make ends meet after the husband has been laid off.
The Haunting
Directed by Robert Wise in 1963, The Haunting is a classic exercise in the suggestive power of cinema, adapted from Shirley Jackson's 1959 best-seller, The Haunting of Hill House, a provocative blend of supernatural and psychological horror.
A. Rimbaud
Patrick Wang (The Bread Factory) presents the life of French poet Arthur Rimbaud in this staggeringly adventurous and deeply considered movie, a three-hour, one-man show quite unlike anything we have seen before. "Poetic, audacious and singular."
Once Upon a Time in Harlem
Once Upon a Time in Harlem splices together footage shot by William Greaves in 1972 of a group of Harlem Renaissance luminaries in conversation at Duke Ellington’s townhouse. The film is a living archive of memory, disagreement, style, and Black genius.
The Secret in Their Eyes
This month's Talking Pictures screening is a multi-layered, poignant thriller interweaving the personal lives of a prosecution investigator (Ricardo Darin) and a judge, with a manhunt spanning twenty-five years. Stay for cookies, coffee and a chat after!
Credits
Executive Producer
Carolyn Bernstein, Baktash Ahadi, David Fialkow, Joedan Okun
Producer
Matthew Heineman, Caitlin McNally
Cinematography
Tim Grucza, Matthew Heineman, Olivier Sarbil
Editor
Pablo Garza, Matthew Heineman, Grace Zahrah
Original Music
H. Scott Salinas
Director
Photo by Michael Ori
Matthew Heineman
Matthew Heineman is an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker. The Sundance Film Festival called Heineman “one of the most talented and exciting documentary filmmakers working today,” while Anne Thompson of IndieWire wrote that Heineman is a “respected and gifted filmmaker who combines gonzo fearlessness with empathetic sensitivity.” He most recently directed National Geographic Documentary Films’ The First Wave (2021), about the harrowing first four months of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is currently available on Hulu and Disney+.
Filmography: Cartel Land (2015); City of Ghosts (2017); A Private War (2018); The First Wave (2021)