An operatic cine-poem weaving together the stories of African-Canadian singer Portia White, South African chef Phelokazi Ndlwana, and the Free Gender activist group—a Black lesbian organization based in Khayelitsha, a township on the outskirts of Cape Town.
Supported by
Community Broadcast Partner
Community Partner
Chantelle Grant, Vanya Abrahams, Ray McKenna
Canada
2022
English
Sexual Violence
Featured in:
VIFF Short Forum: Program 1
What kind of alchemy occurs to transform hardship into fortune? Here, the extraordinary burn brightly.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Holdovers
Destined to become a seasonal staple, this bittersweet comedy reunites Sideways director and star Alexander Payne and Paul Giamatti in the portrait of a surly classics teacher forced to babysit five "orphans" at boarding school over the holidays.
Who by Fire
Jeff, a 17-year-old aspiring filmmaker, goes on vacation with his friend Max and his family to an isolated lodge. Philippe Lesage’s film is a tense, mesmerizing tour de force that is both agonizing and cathartic. A Berlinale award winner.
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Aardman Animation's handcrafted mix of dad jokes, slapstick, mock dramatics and understated emotion makes this return for the claymation odd couple a constant delight. The villainous Feathers McGraw is back to no good, commandeering Norbot the robot. Rated: G
Gremlins (40th Anniversary)
The perfect last minute Xmas gift: give your special someone a cute ball of fur and don't worry about where it came from. Just don't put it under bright lights, don't get it wet, and whatever you do, please, please don't feed it after midnight... Rated: PG
Image: © 1984 WBEI
The Count of Monte Cristo
You can't beat this evergreen Alexandre Dumas tale for adventure, intrigue and romance. This lavish French blockbuster from the writers of the recent Three Musketeers movies pulls you in from the first scene and doesn't let off for the next three hours. Rated: PG
Credits
Screenwriter
John Greyson
Cinematography
John Greyson
Editor
Nick White
Original Music
Bongani Ndodana-Breen
Directors
John Greyson
John Greyson is a Toronto filmmaker whose features, shorts, and new media works include Photo Booth (2022), Lilies (1996), Zero Patience (1993), Fig Trees (2009), and International Dawn Chorus Day (2021). A pioneer of the new Queer Cinema, his films have won four Berlin Teddies, five Canadian Screen Awards, and more than 50 Best Film prizes at festivals, including TIFF, Frameline, Inside Out, Locarno, Berlin, and Torino.
Selected Filmography: The Law of Enclosures (2000); Proteus (2003); Fig Trees (2009); Photo Booth (2022)
Bongani Ndodana-Breen
Bongani Ndodana-Breen is an award-winning South African composer whose operas and symphonic work include Winnie: The Opera, Orange Clouds, and Harmonia Ubuntu. He was awarded the Standard Bank Young Artist Award in 1998, holds a PhD in Composition from Rhodes University, and currently teaches music at Yale University.