Discovering an unusual, potentially invasive insect inside a peach, fruit packer Robin (Grace Glowicki) immediately reports it. When the powers that be refuse to take action, she goes public with her concerns and precipitates a widescale shutdown that threatens to devastate her Okanagan town. Branded a pariah and effectively exiled with her younger sister Laney (Alexandra Roberts), Robin must also deal with the complications of terminating an unwanted pregnancy. Meanwhile, the townsfolk are about to learn that nature won’t be denied.
Parallels and allegories abound as Sophie Jarvis’ psychological drama delves into the ills of this seemingly postcard-perfect community. Boasting a layered narrative and impeccable performances, Until Branches Bend is also suffused with the sensorial elements of an Okanagan summer: from the dusty cinematography to a sweltering atmosphere that leaves everyone on edge. What starts out as an intimate whistleblowing drama ultimately grows apocalyptic in scale, all while preserving the human story at its core.
Q&A Oct 2 & Oct 7
Presented by
Media Partner
Community Partner
Grace Glowicki, Alexandra Roberts, Quelemia Sparrow, Lochlyn Munro, Antoine DesRochers
Canada/Switzerland
2022
English
At Vancouver Playhouse
At The Rio
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Total Recall
The master of the subversive blockbuster, Paul Verhoeven concocts a film about corporate mind-control vs. revolutionary uprising by setting it on Mars and allowing for the possibility the whole thing is just an escapist fantasy...
Reservoir Dogs
Quentin Tarantino announced himself to the world with this ingeniously fractured heist movie, carved into character-centric chapters, riffing breezily on pop culture, but counterpointing all this with blood-soaked intensity.
Jacob's Ladder
Ever feel you're losing your mind? Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) comes back from the Vietnam War with a firefight in his head. Sanity is a losing battle in Adrian Lyne's terrifying psychological thriller.
True Romance
Rockabilly comic book clerk Clarence (Christian Slater) meets dream girl Alabama (Patricia Arquette) with trouble in her wake, in this seminal couple on the run thriller from Quentin Tarantino's excitable mind.
The Leopard
Lampedusa's elegiac account of a 19th century Sicilian aristocrat, Prince Salina, fading into history is one of the pinnacles of Italian cinema, an epic which influenced the tempo and gravitas of The Godfather, Age of Innocence and The Deer Hunter.
Namesake
Powell River... named for Israel Wood Powell, a 19th century politician and a man of his time, an advocate for residential schools and the Indian Act. The Tla'amin Nation asks the city to consider changing its name, a request which sparks intense debate.
Credits
Producer
Tyler Hagan, Sara Blake, Magali Gillon-Krizaj, Michela Pini, Olga Lamontanara
Screenwriter
Sophie Jarvis
Cinematography
Jeremy Cox
Editor
Kane Stewart
Production Design
Charlie Hannah
Original Music
Kieran Jarvis
Director
Sophie Jarvis
Sophie Jarvis’ first job in film was reading fan mail for The L Word. Later, she studied at Simon Fraser University and her short film, The Worst Day Ever (2012), had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Jarvis now works as a director, while living a double life as a production designer on a wide range of projects. Lately, she is immersed in the world of stop motion animation with the upcoming short film Zeb’s Spider, produced by the National Film Board of Canada.