Canadian Premiere
Set in an abandoned Arctic research station, Creature follows a ballet in which a mysterious creature is found and captured by a military operation, becoming the subject of intense research and experimentation. Despite the physical and mental torture inflicted upon him, the creature falls in love with a cleaning woman and dreams of escape. Director Asif Kapadia captures this incredible contemporary ballet choreographed by Akram Khan and performed by the English National Ballet using agile camera movement, dramatic lighting, masterful editing, and powerful music.
Leading an outstanding cast, Jeffrey Cirio is a physical and emotional powerhouse, moving his body with pulsing precision, portraying the Creature with poignancy and wide-eyed purity. The story is mysterious, echoing Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and hinting at a near dystopia, exploring the ills and triumphs of human nature within the yearning to belong. The film sets an uncompromising, singular vision that astonishes with kinetic movement, high energy, and unfettered emotion. Creature sets the bar for a cinematic treatment of dance.
Jeffrey Cirio, Erina Takahashi, Stina Quagebeur, Ken Saruhashi, Andy Serkis
UK
2022
Showcase
No Dialogue
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Executive Producer
Asif Kapadia, Heather Clark Charrington, Daniel Alicandro, Louise Shand-Brown
Producer
Uzma Hasan
Cinematography
Daniel Landin
Editor
Sylvie Landra
Original Music
Vincenzo Lamagna
Director
Photo by Andrew Leo
Asif Kapadia
Asif Kapadia is an Academy Award, four-time BAFTA Award, Grammy Award & European Film Award winning director, writer, and producer. He is best known for his documentary trilogy, Senna (2010), Amy (2015), and Diego Maradona (2019), which collectively amassed three BAFTA awards alongside the Best Documentary Oscar for Amy (2015). Kapadia’s debut film The Warrior (2001) won BAFTAs both for Outstanding British Film and Outstanding Debut by a Director, Writer or Producer.
Filmography: The Warrior (2001); Senna (2010); Amy (2015); Diego Maradona (2019)
Missing VIFF? Check Out What's Playing at the VIFF Centre
The Secret in Their Eyes
This month's Talking Pictures screening is a multi-layered, poignant thriller interweaving the personal lives of a prosecution investigator (Ricardo Darin) and a judge, with a manhunt spanning twenty-five years. Stay for cookies, coffee and a chat after!
The Haunting
Directed by Robert Wise in 1963, The Haunting is a classic exercise in the suggestive power of cinema, adapted from Shirley Jackson's 1959 best-seller, The Haunting of Hill House, a provocative blend of supernatural and psychological horror.
Once Upon a Time in Harlem
Once Upon a Time in Harlem splices together footage shot by William Greaves in 1972 of a group of Harlem Renaissance luminaries in conversation at Duke Ellington’s townhouse. The film is a living archive of memory, disagreement, style, and Black genius.
Possible Love
Lee Chang-dong’s first film since Burning (2018) is a sardonic, slow-burning satire about two couples: a documentary filmmaker married to a wealthy businessman, and a working-class family struggling to make ends meet after the husband has been laid off.
