Determined to escape perpetually post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, Levi (Justin Benson) instead falls in with John (Aaron Moorhead), a kindred conspiracy theorist. After witnessing an inexplicable event in Levi’s apartment, the neighbours become intent on monetizing the paranormal activity by shooting a Netflix-style docuseries. Convincing themselves that they’re piecing together a grand puzzle consisting of (but hardly limited to) numerology, symbology, energy fields, and mass simulations, they plunge through the looking glass and tumble down a succession of rabbit holes.
Serving as directors, producers, editors, stars, writer (Benson) and cinematographer (Moorhead), this dynamic duo, last seen at VIFF with 2017’s The Endless, remain the standard bearers for DIY speculative cinema. Their on-screen chemistry and adroitness with cinematic sleights of hand anchor their latest film even as Levi and John spiral further into delusion. Ultimately, it’s Benson and Moorhead’s infectious enthusiasm for mining mystery and endless possibility from the mundane that makes this lo-fi sci-fi spectacle so captivating.
Media Partner
Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead
Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead
USA
2022
English
Book Tickets
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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.
Seeds
Shot over nine years, Brittany Shyne’s Sundance-winning documentary is a tender portrait of Black farming families in the American South. A moving meditation on land, legacy, and the strength it takes to hold on.
Mr. Nobody Against Putin
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Cutting Through Rocks
Winner of Sundance's World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize, Cutting Through Rocks follows Sara Shahverdi — motorcyclist, midwife, and first-ever councilwoman elected in her Iranian village. A vérité triumph by Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni.
A Poet
When embittered poet Oscar Restrepo takes a job at a local high school, he meets Yurlady, a talented student from a poor background. Seeking to help her cultivate her art, he draws her into the poetry world — to disastrous and comedic results.
Credits
Producer
David Lawson, Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson
Screenwriter
Justin Benson
Editor
Michael Felker, Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead
Production Design
Ariel Vida
Original Music
Jimmy LaValle
Art Director
Catherine Simon