Roaming wild in Toronto’s streets, three queer adolescents hone their survival skills and scheme to run amok in a gay club. Julien (Matteus Lunot), a brash runaway, serves as pack leader, with timid Otis (Harlow Joy) and buoyant Tony (Zion Matheson) following in his wake. When some impetuous petty crime admits them into the promised land (and ushers in exhilarating depictions of beat-driven youthful abandon), it also imperils Dawn (Miyoko Anderson), Julien’s de facto guardian. Once Dawn fails to return home, the guilt-ridden kids form a search party that ultimately uncovers darker realities.
Joseph Amenta’s first feature is an open-hearted love letter to childhood friendships and a powerful testament to the queer community’s perseverance and adaptability. Through rhythmic cutting and sublime compositions, they capture moments of revelry and repose, and coax increasingly complex performances from their young cast. Serving up a cocktail of irreverence and melancholy, Amenta lends intoxicating atmosphere and intimate understanding to these precious kids’ quest for belonging.
Q&A Sept 30 & Oct 2
Presented by
Media Partner
Community Partner
Matteus Lunot, Zion Matheson, Harlow Joy, Miyoko Anderson, Krista Morin, Trevor Hayes
Canada
2022
English and Tagalog with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Joan Crawford in... Letty Lynton
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American Doctor
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Jack Johnson: Surfilmusic
This new documentary chronicles Jack Johnson's evolution from surfer to filmmaker to world-renowned musician. The film traces how Jack's early years making surf films with close friends became a foundation for a much broader creative life.
Late Fame
Based on a novella by Arthur Schnitzler (Eyes Wide Shut) this is a sly, poignant comedy about vanity and art from director Kent Jones, starring Willem Dafoe as a mailman belatedly acclaimed for a book of poetry he wrote in his youth.
Franz
Veteran Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland takes the bull by the horns to craft a Kafka biopic that's Kafkaesque and then some, artfully layering scenes from Kafka's life and works along with ironic present-day footage for a truly surreal counterpoint.
How to Divorce During the War
Screenwriter Vytus is left reeling when on successive days his wife demands a divorce and Russia invades Ukraine. Blazevicius' masterful feature emerges as an engrossing satire about virtue signaling, nationalism, good intentions, and survival modes.
Credits
Executive Producer
James Hyslop, Alyson Richards, Alex Jordan
Producer
Alexandra Roberts, Danny Sedore
Screenwriter
Joseph Amenta
Cinematography
Liam Higgins
Editor
Alexander Farah
Production Design
Dialla Kawar
Original Music
Casey MQ & Skyshaker
Director
Joseph Amenta
Joseph Amenta is a genderqueer filmmaker based in Toronto who focuses on post-genre stories immersed in the underbelly and subcultures of the LGBTQ community. They have produced, written, and directed short films that have been screened at international festivals and broadcast across Canada, Europe, and Africa. Their short Haus (2018) was selected for the International Competition at the 2019 Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, and their next short Flood (2019) premiered at Toronto International Film Festival. They received the Toronto Screenwriting Conference Breakthrough Artist Award for their script for Soft.