
North American Premiere
An astonishing documentary about the elusive and provocative African-American artist David Hammons, The Melt Goes On Forever chronicles the legendary artist’s incredible body of work, from his body prints in the 1960s, to found object sculptures, to cheeky installations in upper crust galleries, which overtly mock the elite art world and critique the capitalist and arbitrary notions of value in art.
Hammons’ work is often blistering, firmly rooted in questioning the dominant culture and exposing racial injustice, and exploring the space that Black people hold in America. Hammons is notoriously private, and this conflict between his personal reticence and worldwide attention is fascinating to watch. The film reveals the tension between insiders and outsiders in art, and explores the fickleness and push-pull antics of the established art world. Using archival footage, interviews with artists, curators, and critics, alongside animation, this film is a remarkable record of the work of an artist who constantly defies the establishment and remains subversive at every turn.
Q&A Sept 30 & Oct 2
Presented by
Series Media Partner
Media Partner
USA/Canada
2022
English
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
There's Still Tomorrow
A critical and box office sensation in Italy, Paola Cortellesi's triumphant directorial debut is the tale of a Roman housewife in 1946, who stands up against the routine sexist abuse she suffers. Funny, heartbreaking and inspiring.
The Way, My Way
All manner of pilgrims flock to France and Spain to walk the 800 km Camino de Santiago. One such is Bill, a stroppy sexagenarian Australian filmmaker who's determined to do the Camino with minimal prep, a dickey leg, and no firm idea why.
The Stand
This rousing doc explores a 1985 dispute over logging in the Haida Gwaii. Taking us from canny retrospective commentary to the thick of the action, director Chris Auchter employs animation and a wealth of archival footage to riveting effect.
Resident Orca
Captured in Puget Sound in 1970, killer whale Lolita spent the next half century in a cramped tank in Seaquarium, Miami. The film follows a coalition of Lummi elders, animal lovers and philanthropists on a rescue mission to return her to the ocean.
No Other Land
Deemed by many critics one of the essential films of 2024, a multiple festival award winner and Academy Award winner for Best Documentary, No Other Land is a reminder that mass expulsion is by no means a new reality for Palestinians.
Misericordia
Edgy, eccentric, and unapologetically queer, this film goes from drama to comedy without putting a foot wrong. Sex and murder are the subjects, and writer-director Alain Guiraudie (Stranger by the Lake) mines them for suspense and outrageous laughs.
Credits
Executive Producer
Lisa Cortés, Rea David Tully
Producer
Judd Tully
Screenwriter
Harold Crooks
Cinematography
John Russell Foster, Christina Wairegi
ANIM
Tynesha Foreman
Editor
Louis-Martin Paradis
Original Music
Ramachandra Borcar
Directors

Photo by Anthony Sherin
Judd Tully
Judd Tully’s career in journalism began with the 1970s underground paper The Berkeley Barb, where he covered the politically-charged trials of the Soledad Brothers, George Jackson, and Angela Davis in San Francisco and Marin County. For over two decades, he was Editor-at-Large of Art & Auction Magazine. His journalism and art criticism has appeared in Flash Art, ARTnews, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Art Newspaper, as well as his blog juddtully.net.

Photo by Medrie Macphee
Harold Crooks
Harold Crooks’ The Price We Pay premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, was voted Best Canadian Documentary in 2014 by the Vancouver Film Critics Circle, and was a New York Times Critic’s Pick. He co-directed Surviving Progress (2011), which premiered at TIFF and was screened at Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival (CPH:DOX) and International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. His film writing credits include The Gig Is Up (2021), and Sundance and TIFF Audience Award winner The Corporation (2003), whose narration he co-wrote with director Mark Achbar.
Filmography: Surviving Progress (2011); The Price We Pay (2014)