Canada
2022
English
Featured in:
VIFF Short Forum: Program 2
Fear, doubt, and loneliness give way to pleasure, empowerment, and reclamation—or, is it the other way around?
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NAZA
NAZA is a codeword euphemistically used by Israeli intelligence to indicate the number of civilians it expects will be killed in an airstrike. This chilling documentary exposes the policy and process of state-sanctioned mass killings.
The History of Concrete
After attending a workshop on pitching saccharine Hallmark movies, John Wilson tries to apply all the same best practices to his documentary about concrete. Frequently absurd and endlessly entertaining detours, asides, and digressions ensue.
La Bola Negra
A big, old-school historical melodrama gets a thrillingly modern, queer makeover from Spanish duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, who artfully juggle three gay protagonists across stories set in 1932, 1937, and 2017. Winner: Best Director, Cannes. Screening on 35mm.
Shadow of a Doubt
In our latest film studies series, FRAMEWORK, Michael van den Bos explores the work of Alfred Hitchcock across four monochrome masterworks. This week: smalltown US thriller Shadow of a Doubt (1943), one of the director's personal favourites.
The Best Years of Our Lives
One of the finest films to come out of WWII, The Best Years of Our Lives sympathetically conveys the difficulties returning veterans faced in readjusting to life at home. It won 7 of the top Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director and Actor.
Ray Gunn (Special Advance Screening with Brad Bird)
In an alternate future as seen from 1939, a private eye (Sam Rockwell) is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder, and a multimedia star (Scarlett Johansson). Followed by a moderated discussion with director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille).
Credits
Producer
Kate Fraser, Chris Strikes, Maya Annik Bedward
Screenwriter
Chris Strikes
Cinematography
Ashley Iris Gill
Editor
Maria Todorov-Topouzov
Production Design
Melissa Dawn Bessey
Original Music
Solitair
Director
Chris Strikes
Chris Strikes is an award-winning director and alumnus of both the HotDocs Accelerator Fellowship and the Reelworld E20 program. In 2021, Strikes’ first feature documentary Becoming a Queen screened in five festivals worldwide, winning Best Feature Film at the 2021 CaribbeanTales International Film Festival, the Audience Choice Award for Best International Feature Film at the 2021 Baltimore International Black Film Festival, and was nominated for Best Picture Editing for Documentary at the 2021 Directors Guild of Canada Awards.
Filmography: Becoming a Queen (2021)


