World Premiere
In Tbilisi, Georgia, an apartment tower sits in a liminal state, its construction halted at a critical juncture by the global pandemic. In its shadowy alcoves, Viktor (Matt Shally), a legendary drag queen, and Tarzan (Maqzime Rauch), a teenage drifter, have embraced their collective purgatorial languor, subsisting on brief instances of intimacy. While intermittent television reports apprise them of developments from the outside world, it’s increasingly unclear whether they’re still inhabiting this plane of existence.
The first solo directorial effort from multihyphenate Felix Kalmenson (of the acclaimed Pejvak artist collective), Gamodi employs stunning chiaroscuro, exacting compositions, and intriguing sound design to conjure a legitimately dreamlike milieu. Practically every pristine shot in Kalmenson’s poetic fable invites admiration and rewards careful examination. Equally informed by the material and spiritual, Gamodi casts an enthralling spell as it unfurls, and lingers in the subconscious long after it draws to its haunting close.
October 3 & 5: Q&A with director Felix Kalmenson
Media Partner
Matt Shally, Maqsime Rauch, Luka Chachxiani
Canada/Georgia
2023
Panorama
In English and Georgian with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Executive Producer
Felix Kalmenson
Producer
Felix Kalmenson, Ketevan Kipiani, Alexandre Jordania
Screenwriter
Felix Kalmenson, Ana Gzirishvili
Cinematography
Zarina Kodzati
Editor
Sasha Putsyato
Original Music
Manana Menabde
Art Director
Polina Zhurovkova
Director
Felix Kalmenson
Felix Kalmenson (b. Saint Petersburg, Russia, 1987) is a non-binary Canadian artist and filmmaker. Their films have screened in numerous international film festivals including at São Paulo International Film Festival, Doclisboa, Sharjah Film Platform, and Kasseler Dokfest , winning awards including the Prix George at Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, 2020. Many of their works are made in collaboration with artist and filmmaker Rouzbeh Akhbari under the collective name ‘Pejvak’.
Filmography: Threshold (2020)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Magnolia
This deeply personal 1999 California opus is ripe for rediscovery. Mapping the emotional traumas of half-a-dozen major characters as they crisscross the San Fernando Valley in search of either recognition or reconciliation, it's PTA's riskiest gamble.
But I'm a Cheerleader
Megan (Natasha Lyonne) is the perfect All-American Girl, or so she thinks. That is until she’s shipped off to conversion therapy. This pitch black comedy is wrapped in a saccharine bow, featuring the icon herself, RuPaul, as a conversion counsellor.
Franz
Veteran Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland takes the bull by the horns to craft a Kafka biopic that's Kafkaesque and then some, artfully layering scenes from Kafka's life and works along with ironic present-day footage for a truly surreal counterpoint.