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
Agatha's Almanac
Shot over six years on vibrant 16mm film, Agatha’s Almanac is an artful documentary portrait of filmmaker Amalie Atkin’s octogenarian aunt, who has fashioned herself an endearingly simple and self-sustaining lifestyle on her Manitoba farm.
Modern Whore
In director Nicole Bazuin's cheeky, stylized documentary, Modern Whore-memoirist Andrea Werhun (Paying for It) recounts her experiences as an escort and stripper in Toronto, debunking misconceptions about the world’s oldest profession.
The Art of Adventure
The unbelievable adventure story of how painter Robert Bateman and ecologist Bristol Foster drove a Land Rover from Africa to Australia in 1957, developing a love of nature to last a lifetime. An inspirational love letter to the adventure of life itself.
4 or 5 Things I Want You to Know About Me (An Essay)
Carl Bessai's playful Godardian riff on actors and acting gives us a portfolio of dramatic portraits and monologues focused on half a dozen female performers at different points in their journey. It's a grab-bag of a film, sparky and specific.
