Canadian Premiere
Mitra Farahani, an Iranian director educated in both Tehran and Paris, has a mission: to introduce Iranian filmmaker and author Ebrahim Golestan to pioneer of the French New Wave, Jean-Luc Godard. Rather than a chat over espresso, the two men write letters back and forth like philosophic pen pals, full of poetic contemplations, cryptic riddles, and mutual reverence. Golestan, well into his nineties, wanders around his living space and rambles on as if a child, fascinated by his surroundings and the great unknown. Godard, with whom Farahani has worked with in the past, looms over the scene as a shadow, unseen until he appears wearing a simple fedora and cardigan as if he were a regular old man who didn’t revolutionize an entire art form by the age of 30.
The pair relay their inner philosophies to an intrigued Farahani, who in turn offers such inquiries as, “What use is being a poet in a time of distress?” Determined to harness their creativity and live as they did in their youth, they too are motivated by curiosity but are routinely interrupted by the mundane: a ringing phone, a vacuum, a particularly loud sneeze, all indicating the challenge of living as an artist in the modern world.
Special Jury Award (Encounter), Berlin 2022
Community Partner
Ebrahim Golestan, Jean-Luc Godard
France/Switzerland/Iran/Lebanon
2022
In Farsi, English, French, Italian, and German with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Secret Agent
Having run afoul of an influential bureaucrat in Brazil’s military dictatorship circa 1977, Marcelo decamps to Recife to live under an assumed name — but he’ll soon come to understand precisely how rampant the country’s corruption has become.
The Ice Tower
In Lucile Hadžihalilović's spellbinding fantasy drama, an orphan (Clara Pacini) becomes enthralled by a movie star (Marion Cotillard) playing the Snow Queen in a fairy tale film adaptation. Winner of the Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution.
Where to Land
Hal Hartley's first new film in a decade is a melancholy farce about mortality and what we'll call "late middle-age". Bill Sage is a semi-retired filmmaker who isn't dying faster than the rest of us but who behaves like he might be.
La Grazia
A contemplative, mournful but richly imagined movie about a retiring Italian President (Toni Servillo from The Great Beauty) facing two thorny ethical decisions that may define his legacy.
Image: © Andrea Pirrello
The Blue Star
In crisis, a popular singer quits Spain to backpack in Argentina. There he comes under the spell of a veteran musician, who teaches him the art of chacareras, zambas and vidalas. It's a journey of musical kinship and spiritual reawakening.
The Mother and the Bear
Johnny Ma’s film stars Kim Ho-jung as a Korean woman who flies to Winnipeg when her immigrant daughter is hospitalized there. This crowd-pleaser plays up cultural differences to hilarious effect and offers a touching take on mother-daughter tension.
Credits
Executive Producer
Jean-Paul Battaggia
Producer
Mitra Farahani
Editor
Yannick Kergoat, Mitra Farahani, Fabrice Aragno
Director
Mitra Farahani
Born in Tehran, Mitra Farahani is a visual artist, filmmaker, and film producer working between Rome and Paris. She pursues a dual practice, working between the still and moving image. Farahani has made several films, some of which were selected at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Filmography: Tabous / Zohre & Manouchehr (2004); Behjat Sadr: Time Suspended (2006); Fifi Howls From Happiness (2013)