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
Round Midnight: Ardeshir Plays Dexter Gordon
Loosely based on Bud Powell's time in Paris, Round Midnight (131 mins) is maybe the greatest of all films about jazz thanks to the towering performance of real-life jazz great Dexter Gordon. Saxophonist Ardeshir channels Gordon's vibe in his live set.
Montreal, ma belle
In this Valentine to discovering love later in life, the ever-elegant Joan Chen plays Feng Xia, a 53-year-old Chinese immigrant and mother in Montreal whose world is turned upside down when she meets and falls in love with a young Quebecoise.
Sirât
A desperate father (Sergi Lopez) searchers for his missing daughter through the spiritual wasteland of the Moroccan desert. An unforgettable sensory powerhouse, Sîrat will have you riveted and rattled for hours after the end credits have rolled.
Mr. Nobody Against Putin
Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary, and Special Jury Prize Winner, Sundance, 2025, this exposé shot by a Russian primary teacher shows how the Putin propaganda machine works to militarize children.
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.


