Amir Zavosh, Maziyar Khatam, James Choy, Sina Djamshidiat
Canada
2022
In Farsi and English with English subtitles
Coarse language; violence
Featured in:
VIFF Short Forum: Program 6
Cinematic form is given to life’s big mysteries: luck and fate, love and loss, and the spiritual supernatural.
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
Producer
Anya Chirkova, Maziyar Khatam
Screenwriter
Maziyar Khatam
Editor
Maziyar Khatam
Directors
Anya Chirkova
Anya Chirkova is a Ukrainian-Russian film director/producer. In her work, she’s always looking to tell painful, yet cathartic stories that feel strikingly personal. She is the co-founder of Toronto-based production company Funny Bone Pictures and is a Humber College alumna. Chirkova is currently in pre-production for her first feature film.
Meran Ismailsoy
Meran Ismailsoy is a Toronto-based Azerbaijani filmmaker with a directing and acting background. Ismailsoy approaches film as the art side of philosophy.


