Canadian Premiere
We think of hermits as reclusive. That’s not Ken Smith. He’s lived off-the-grid for more than 40 years, in a wood cabin on Loch Treig in the Scottish Highlands, a 27 mile walk to the nearest postbox. But he’s a garrulous, personable chap if you find your way to his hearth, as filmmaker Lizzie MacKenzie did some years ago. Now in his 80s, Ken chats happily about his lifestyle (“If you want to get away from civilization, you need to learn to fish”), his love of nature, and the circumstances which brought him to this place. Beaten up by a gang of youths at 26, Ken was in a coma for several weeks. To his doctors’ surprise, he relearned to walk, talk, and write, but especially to walk. He explored the Canadian wilderness solo for two years. When he returned home, it wasn’t there; his parents had passed.
It may be one part eco documentary, but the emotional subtext is the rapport between this cheerful old man—a wonderful photographer incidentally—and young Lizzie, who befriends him and films him as his health begins to fail and hard choices are faced.
Audience Award, Glasgow 2022
Ken Smith
UK
2022
English
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Richest Woman in the World
Isabelle Huppert plays cosmetics CEO Marianne in this teasingly ambivalent satire inspired by the Bettancourt Affair, when L'Oreal heir Francoise Bettancourt scandalized France by frittering away her fortune on a notorious celebrity photographer.
Departures
Two lads meet at an airport gate and begin monthly trips to Amsterdam together. Their chemistry is off the charts, but it's Jake who's calls the shots while Benji is the one who's emotionally invested. Comparisons to Pillion and Trainspotting are on mark.
The Python Hunt
Strange but true: the Florida Everglades are overrun with unwanted visitors. Not tourists, but invasive Burmese pythons decimating the local critters. The state's solution: an annual contest: $10 000 to whomever bags the most snakes in ten days.
Mistura
This foodie film from Peru tells the story of a newly single socialite reinventing herself — and the local cuisine — after her husband has left her for a younger woman. Along the way, she finds support from unexpected places...
Credits
Executive Producer
Robbie Fraser, Amy Hardie, Benjamin Taylor, Mark Thomas, Louise Thornton, Lisa Marie Russo, Jane Ray
Producer
Naomi Spiro, Lizzie MacKenzie
Screenwriter
Ken Smith
Cinematography
Lizzie MacKenzie
Editor
Kieran Gosney, Ling Lee
Original Music
Cameron McLellan, Mischa Stevens
Director
Lizzie MacKenzie
Lizzie MacKenzie is a self-shooting director from the Scottish Highlands. Her fascination with rebellious characters living life on the edge of society led her to spend seven years developing the trust of the protagonist of her debut feature, The Hermit Of Treig, which won the prestigious Audience Award at the 2022 Glasgow Film Festival. She was part of BFI’s showcase The Camera Is Ours: Britain’s Women Documentary Makers.