Among the massive concrete block towers of Toronto’s Thorncliffe Park neighborhood, a Syrian doctor struggles to hold on to his cultural identity as his family begins to grow roots in their new community. Working as an unlicensed physician for his neighbors in an attempt to cling to his old identity, tensions rise and begin to threaten his fragile marriage.
Understated cinematography and a patient camera disguise the fraught drama at the heart of Antoine Bourges’ (Fail to Appear) sophomore feature. Bressonian in its approach, employing minimalism, non-professional actors, and a deceptively simple plot, the film blends fact and fiction into a quietly gripping drama with an unshakeable sense of realism. Anchored by the lead performances and a pair of unforgettable scenes in an English as a Second Language class, Bourges crafts a tender portrait that asks if adjusting to a new culture always costs one a piece of their identity.
Q&A Oct 3 & Oct 5
Presented by
Media Partner
Hussam Douhna, Amani Ibrahim, Abdullah Nadaf, Lynn Nantume
Canada
2022
In English and Arabic with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
MODES 3
Interior worlds reveal wisdom, intuitive connections, the esoteric, and death. Or is it liberation? A bid to commune with the feminine, other realms, and ghosts.
Freaks Part II
Freaks Part II follows Mary and her daughter Chloe as they flee the Abnormal Defence Force through a country where those with powers are hunted and identified through telltale blood-red tears. A tense, emotionally grounded second chapter.
Image: © Kailey Schwerman - Elevation Pictures
In the Heart of the South
In the Heart of the South, from the director of Slash/Back, brings North of North co-stars Anna Lambe and Zorga Qaunaq together for a propulsive, psychological meta-thriller about an Inuk multimedia writer possessed by her own narrative.
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother
When his wife passes suddenly, a devout assassin (Mahershala Ali) is thrust into single parenthood and set on a collision course with a far-right faith leader (John Cho) and his militia. A dizzyingly choreographed, deeply soulful action thriller.
Image: © Jaclyn Martinez
I Play Rocky
In 1975, a broke, unknown actor named Sylvester Stallone bet everything on the screenplay he wrote — with himself attached to star. I Play Rocky tells the improbable story behind one of Hollywood's greatest underdog stories.
Image: © Courtesy of Elevation Pictures
Yellow Letters
Derya and Aziz, a theatre couple based in Ankara, are celebrating the premiere of their latest play when they find themselves targeted by state investigations. Their lives change practically overnight, they find their political convictions put to the test.
Image: © EllaKnorz ifProductions Alamode Film
Credits
Producer
Shehrezade Mian
Screenwriter
Antoine Bourges, Teyama Alkamli
Cinematography
Nikolay Michaylov
Editor
Lindsay Allikas
Production Design
Amir Kiani
Director
Antoine Bourges
Antoine Bourges is a Paris-born filmmaker currently based between Toronto and Vancouver. He is an alumnus of Berlinale Talents, TIFF Filmmaker lab, and the New York Film Festival’s Artist Academy. His shorts, Woman Waiting (2010) and William in White Shirt (2015), along with his mid-length film East Hastings Pharmacy (2012), have screened at the Berlinale, TIFF, Viennale, Ann Arbor Film Festival, and NY Museum of Moving Images. His first feature, Fail to Appear (2017), was presented at Art of the Real, Cinéma du Réel, and BAFICI, among other festivals. It was released theatrically in Canada in 2018.
Filmography: East Hastings Pharmacy (2012); Fail to Appear (2017)