International Premiere
A film student and her family drive to the desert to shoot a scene for her latest film, but things quickly deteriorate and nothing goes as planned. In this dry comedy, family dynamics and prickly relationships foster a tense situation where it’s unclear whether they will ever manage to cooperate and become a team. Starring Maya Yadlin’s real family, this is a simple film that works thanks to excellent direction, a smart script, and fine performances that create great chemistry between the actors, especially the hilariously deadpan father. Convincing from the first scene and a wonderful surprise.
Community Partner
Israel Yadlin, Stella Yadlin, Dana Yadlin, Maya Yadlin
Israel
2021
In Hebrew with English subtitles
Featured in:
International Shorts: Family Ties
The bonds of family form the basis of this program of short films. Bonds with history and responsibility—sometimes close, sometimes strained—now and for the future.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Other
Filmed from 2017-2024, including post October 7 and during the subsequent war, Joy Sela's documentary is an inspiring testament to how human beings -- even in the worst circumstances -- can transcend difference to forge connection and understanding.
Familiar Touch
A loving portrait of an octogenarian transitioning into an assisted living facility, this award-winning first feature by choreographer Sarah Friedland has a simplicity and warmth that's exceptionally poignant.
Stories of Our Lives
Stories of Our Lives (62 mins) documents personal stories of lovers, fighters and rebels and the community histories that characterize the queer experience in Kenya. This is preceded by the touching and resonant 38-minute Nigerian love story, Ìfé.
Romeo and Juliet
Franco Zeffirelli directed one of the most successful and beloved of Shakespeare films, casting teenagers Leonard Whiting and Oliva Hussey as his star-crossed lovers. This month's Premium Pick by Sandy Dowling.
Super Happy Forever
This beguiling film depicts a man’s return to the Japanese seaside town where he met his now-deceased wife five years earlier. He tries to relive the past, and in the film's final section -- a flashback to 2018 -- the audience is afforded that privilege.
Credits
Producer
Encore Films
Screenwriter
Maya Yadlin
Cinematography
Omer Weiss
Editor
Maya Yadlin
Art Director
Lital Gerzy, Ella Harrison
Director
Maya Yadlin
Maya Yadlin studied at the Minshar School of Art in Tel Aviv and has been working as a freelance editor since 2014. Most of her films are about her family, in which she acts along with her real family members. Her first short film Fine (2018) screened at the Warsaw Film Festival and Filmschoolfest Munich. Her second short film As You Like (2020) premiered at the Show Me Shorts Film Festival in New Zealand. In 2022, her short film Killing Ourselves premiered at the Jerusalem Film Festival, where it won Best Live Action Film.