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Mariposa film image, co-directors John Greyson, Bongani Ndodana-Breen

Mariposa

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

Director
Cast

Chantelle Grant, Vanya Abrahams, Ray McKenna

Credits
Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2022

Language

English

Film Contact
Content Warning

Sexual Violence

G
6 min

Featured in:

From Chile to Canada film image

VIFF Short Forum: Program 1

What kind of alchemy occurs to transform hardship into fortune? Here, the extraordinary burn brightly.

 

MORE INFO

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Charli xcx headlines this indie gem about a young English couple coming unmoored over a few days in Warsaw. Will means to propose. Beth has cold feet -- and an escape hatch she has barely admitted to herself... Think Before Sunrise 2025.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Everyone Is Lying to You for Money

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89 min

In which former OC star Ben McKenzie brushes off his economics degree and digs into the cryptocurrency conundrum. If bitcoin is truly all about transparency, how come no one can explain it?

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Suburban Fury

Dir. Robinson Devor
120 min

Sara Jane Moore was a 1970s housewife who took the unusual step of trying to assassinate the President of the United States. An action that cost her dearly. This is her story.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Credits

Screenwriter

John Greyson

Cinematography

John Greyson

Editor

Nick White

Original Music

Bongani Ndodana-Breen

Directors

John Greyson headshot, Mariposa co-director

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 headshot, Mariposa co-director

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.