Visions of dark impulses are given the spotlight and invite an opportunity to reflect on the personal in relation to the political, examining structural inequity and its impact on the individual, as well as individual acts and their impacts on our structures. From Congo to China, and the Philippines to Poland, the end is nigh.
This short film program includes the following films:
Lake of Fire
NEOZOON, Germany (11 min)
Fear of death and interpretations of hell filter through online social bubbles to distill a singular divine message.
The Stopover
Collectif Faire-part, Belgium/DR Congo (14 min)
Travelling from Kinshasa to Frankfurt, filmmakers Paul Shemisi and Nizar Saleh find themselves unjustly relegated to airport purgatory.
Very, Very, Tremendously
Guangli Liu, China/France (12 min)
Virtual currency and digital junk, along with virtual acts of production and consumption, interact with systems in our lived reality, highlighting their coexistence in geopolitical conflicts.
It’s Raining Frogs Outside
Maria Estela Paiso, Philippines (14 min)
Forced to return to the Philippines as the world abruptly closes, Maya recedes into a terrorizing solitude and a fever dream of mixed animation ensues.
The Earth Will Swallow it All
Dominik Ritszel, Poland (9 min)
A period of rapid modernization in Poland in the 1990s brought with it anxiety and fears inflicted by hegemonic order and a complete disregard for the social costs or traumatic after-effects.
Watch the Fire or Burn Inside it
Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel, France (19 min)
In Corsica, a woman chooses to care for the earth by burning it.
Various
Various
2021-2022
Various with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Cover-Up
Oscar-winner Laura Poitras and Emmy-winner Mark Obenhaus turn their lens on legendary journalist Seymour Hersh in a riveting film that unpacks how one reporter exposed the truths behind My Lai and Abu Ghraib — and what it takes to hold power to account.
Image: © The New York Times
The Librarians
Dispatches from the front line of America's culture wars (and ours too): librarians speak out about the war against ideas, history, freedom of expression and sexual identity, a campaign in which an open mind is the ultimate enemy.
You Got Gold: A Celebration of John Prine
A remarkable line up of artists come together to share their love for the great American singer-songwriter John Prine, including Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Bonnie Raitt, Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, Kurt Vile and Kasey Musgraves.