International Premiere
Written by Iman Qureshi, The Ceremony is a searingly honest take on non-binary marriage, with a twist. The film is part of MicroPlays, a series of short digital plays made as a collaboration between Open Sky Productions and some of the UK’s most exciting writers. It’s a formal ceremony with personal touches, featuring performances that are beautiful and sensitive. In these matters sexual orientation is not relevant, love and its challenges affect everyone and anyone.
Community Partner
Amaka Okafor, Yaz Zadeh, Erika Poole
UK
2021
English
Featured in:
International Shorts: Connect/Disconnect/Reconnect
The films in this shorts program are all about connections. People connecting with one another, dealing with change, or rediscovering a part of themselves and their past.
Missing VIFF? Check Out What's Playing at the VIFF Centre
A. Rimbaud
Patrick Wang (The Bread Factory) presents the life of French poet Arthur Rimbaud in this staggeringly adventurous and deeply considered movie, a three-hour, one-man show quite unlike anything we have seen before. "Poetic, audacious and singular."
The 39 Steps
In our new film studies series, FRAMEWORK, film scholar Michael van den Bos explores the work of Alfred Hitchcock, across four monochrome masterworks. This week: The 39 Steps (1935), a witty and fast-moving spy thriller from Hitchcock's English period.
American Doctor
One of the most powerful documentaries of the year, this puts us smack in the open wound that is Gaza, filtered through the eyes of three American surgeons (of Palestinian, Jewish and Zoroastrian backgrounds) compelled to do their utmost to alleviate harm.
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.
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.
Credits
Producer
Martina Klich
Screenwriter
Iman Qureshi
Cinematography
Ahmet Husseyin
Editor
Flaura Atkinson
Production Design
Fiona Mclean
Director
Lisle Turner
Lisle Turner has written and directed two features, Here and Now (2014) and the award-winning Cold (2022). He has directed many shorts including Oxygen (2008) and Canvas (2010). Turner has been nominated at the BAFTA Awards for his work on Channel 4’s The Secret Policeman’s Ball (2006) and has written eight plays with The Idiot Colony which are currently being adapted for television. He is now preparing for his next feature, Mal.
Filmography: Here and Now (2014); Cold (2022)