Two strangers walking alone at night in the same direction notice each other. While one becomes increasingly afraid, the other tries—unsuccessfully—to appear less threatening.
Supported by
Community Broadcast Partner
Community Partner
Izaiah Dockery, Kavita Musty, Dashawn Blackwood
Canada
2022
English
Sexual Violence; coarse language
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?
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Sirât
A desperate father (Sergi Lopez) searchers for his missing daughter through the spiritual wasteland of the Moroccan desert. An unforgettable sensory powerhouse, Sîrat will have you riveted and rattled for hours after the end credits have rolled.
2026 Oscar® Shorts (Documentary)
Don't come to the program of Oscar®-nominated documentary shorts for escapism. But let's talk about the Canadian contender, Perfectly a Strangeness, featuring an abandoned observatory and three donkeys. More of this, please.
Emergence: Women in the Storm
Stories of resistance and recovery, courage, creativity and community in the face of the climate emergency gleaned from women first responders and those impacted in Western Canada, particularly Lytton and the Fraser Valley.
Credits
Executive Producer
Shant Joshi
Producer
Lindsay Blair Goeldner, Rosalind Goodwin
Screenwriter
Ace Clamber
Cinematography
Ashley Iris Gill
Editor
Nicole Sison
Production Design
Chelsy Althea
Art Director
Krista Barleta
Director
Karimah Zakia Issa
Karimah Zakia Issa is a Montreal native and London and Toronto-based filmmaker whose work is centred around crafting stories that dive into themes of overcoming and succumbing to social expectations, how self-worth is built and broken, and the dark truths that live within us all. Her project Lanes (2020) is an educational narrative dance piece that explores responsibility and participation in present-day social justice movements. Alongside her co-writer Ace Clamber, she’s developing a feature that explores a son’s journey of reconnecting with his estranged father online.