Skip to main content
Hills and Mountains film image, director Salar Pashtoonyar

Hills and Mountains

Filmed on location in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, an Afghan woman recalls how the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan led to her forced displacement and marriage.

 

Supported by

Community Broadcast Partner

Community Partner

Director
Cast

Fereshta Afshar

Credits
Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2022

Language

In Dari with English subtitles

Film Contact
Content Warning

Gender or Sexual Discrimination

G
8 min

Featured in:

Horse Brothers film image

VIFF Short Forum: Program 3

The camera eye knows no bounds in these stories that push the limits of gravity and grace.

 

MORE INFO

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

Caught by the Tides

Dir. Jia Zhangke
111 min

Over two decades, across China’s rapidly changing landscape, two lovers meet and part and meet again. In this magisterial film, Jia Zhangke refracts the 21st century through a reflexive, retrospective look at his era-defining filmography.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Sabbath Queen

Dir. Sandi Dubowski
105 min

The dynastic heir of 38 generations of Orthodox rabbis, including the Chief Rabbis of Israel, Amichai Lau-Lavie is what you might call the black sheep of the family. His sexuality led him down a different path, but its destination is surprising...

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Tehran: City of Love

Dir. Ali Jaberansari
102 min

Three lovesick individuals struggle to find romance as this tragicomic triptych plays out across the weddings, funerals, beauty parlours, and gyms of Tehran. This is the opening of our Queering Cinema series and will be followed by a DJ set from DJ Afrooz.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Marcella

Dir. Peter Miller
98 min

Marcella Hazan taught North Americans that there was more to Italian food than pizza and meatballs. She wrote what remains the definitive book on the subject (Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking). This is her story.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Magic Farm

Dir. Amalia Ulman
93 min

In Amalia Ulman's playful slow burner, a Vice-like camera crew wash up in a sleepy South American village and cook up a story that isn't there with the help of cynical locals eager to take the gringos for every cent.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Vulcanizadora

Dir. Joel Potrykus
85 min

In Joel Potrykus's singular, edgy comedy, two old friends venture into the woods to let off some fireworks and... other things.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Credits

Producer

Salar Pashtoonyar

Screenwriter

Salar Pashtoonyar

Cinematography

Parwiz Arify

Editor

Jalal Shams

Director

Salar Pashtoonyar headshot, Hills and Mountains director

Salar Pashtoonyar

Salar Pashtoonyar is originally from Afghanistan and now based in Canada. As a director, his films have screened at festivals worldwide, including Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, and Palm Springs International ShortFest. After growing up as a refugee due to the wars in Afghanistan, he now explores the lives of ordinary people that deal with abnormal situations. Pashtoonyar holds degrees in Film Production from Toronto Film School and York University. His film Bad Omen (2020) was nominated for Best Canadian Short at the Canadian Screen Awards, and won the Bronze Medal at the 2021 Student Academy Awards.