Canadian Premiere
A little goes a long way in this ingeniously conceived series of wry conversation pieces by writer-director Andrew Bujalski (Support the Girls; Computer Chess). Faced with the challenge of making movies under quarantine conditions, Bujalski came up with six two-handers, and then shot each actor separately—a technical feat he carries off with such casual elan you probably won’t notice it (though you might also infer a subtext about solipsism and the difficulty of making genuine connection). In the first sequence, Lennie James and 90s indie queen Lili Taylor wake up together after an apparently blissful one night stand. He immediately avows that he’s smitten. She’s more cautious. Somehow serial killers come up. Later that day, Taylor’s character checks in with her AA sponsor for guidance, and we learn much more about where she’s at. Scene three finds the sponsor at a parent-teacher conference, fuming because of what she’s found on her son’s cellphone. And so it goes, the baton being passed from one character to another in a kind of dramatic relay. Snappy writing, sharp performances, neat trick.
Q&A Oct 7 & Oct 9
Andrew Bujalski
Jason Schwartzman, Lili Taylor, Molly Gordon, Lennie James, Avi Nash, Annie LaGanga
USA
2022
English
At International Village
At The Rio
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Women in Blues: LJ Mounteney
Canadian blues vocalist pays LJ Mounteney pays tribute to the pioneering women of the blues and R&B (including Tina Turner and Irma Thomas). After LJ's set, enjoy the Canadian premiere of a new doc on Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton.
The Last Class
Economist and former US Secretary of Labor Robert Reich embarks on what will be his last year teaching at Berkeley. What can he impart to the latest generation to inspire and empower them for the grievous challenges ahead?
Raging Bull
In the throes of a near-fatal drug problem Martin Scorsese made what he believed could be his last movie. Its subject: the Bronx Bull, Jake La Motta, a graceless but indomitable boxer who never quits beating himself up. De Niro has never dug deeper.
Credits
Executive Producer
Greg Stewart, Jackie Kelman Bisbee, Cody Ryder, Lance Acord, Sam Slater
Producer
Houston King, Dia Sokol Savage, Sam Bisbee
Screenwriter
Andrew Bujalski
Cinematography
Matthias Grunsky
Editor
Andrew Bujalski
Original Music
Jon Natchez