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International Shorts: Relational Baggage

Image: Big Day, VIFF 2023

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The short films in this program illustrate some of the barriers or difficulties people run into with their personal relationships.

 

October 1 & 3: Q&A with the film teams

 

This short film program includes the following films:

Hedgehog
D. Mitry, USA (17 min)

As the war starts in Ukraine a young girl is taken to stay with her grandmother. In the shack outside, she discovers a badly wounded Russian soldier.

 


Nowhere
Garin Hovannisian, Armenia/USA (12 min)

A teacher and a young barista are too prudent to say anything about their mutual attraction, but after dark a world emerges where their shadows come alive.

 


Hide Your Crazy
Austin Kase, USA (14 min)

A young man’s surprise birthday dinner for his girlfriend is not met with the response he was expecting, which leads to the most frightful night of their lives.

 


Big Day
Chung Chieh Chiang, Taiwan (23 min)

An older couple take a walk to file their divorce papers and on the way reflect on how their lives came to this.

 


Snif & Snüf
Michael J Ruocco, USA (5 min)

Two characters discover an interesting new object that teaches them a lot about themselves and what it means to share.

 


Sushi
Iván Morales, Spain (22 min)

A young man goes out for sushi dinner with a community policeman who has never had sushi before, but the mystery of their connection takes a while to be revealed.

 


Pisko the Crab Child Is in Love
Makoto Nagahisa, Japan (17 min)

A young woman whose father was a crab takes us on a whirlwind tour of her struggle to find love and acceptance.

 

Community Partner

Director

Various

Country of Origin

Various

Year

2022-2023

Series

International Shorts

Language

Various with English subtitles

18+
110 min
Shorts

Book Tickets

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Ju Dou

Dir. Zhang Yimou
95 min

Zhang Yimou's second film as director is a carnal melodrama with stunning, saturated imagery and a star-marking performance from Gong Li. A landmark in Chinese cinema.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The Baltimorons

Dir. Jay Duplass
101 min

An early Xmas present and the rom-com of the year: a dental emergency on Christmas Eve brings together flailing comedian Chris and cynical divorcee Didi for a series of low-key urban misadventures.

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You Got Gold: A Celebration of John Prine

Dir. Michael John Warren
90 min

A remarkable line up of artists come together to share their love for the great American singer-songwriter John Prine, including Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Bonnie Raitt, Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, Kurt Vile and Kasey Musgraves.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The Secret Agent

Dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho
158 min

Having run afoul of an influential bureaucrat in Brazil’s military dictatorship circa 1977, Marcelo decamps to Recife to live under an assumed name — but he’ll soon come to understand precisely how rampant the country’s corruption has become.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
Cutting Through Rocks
Cutting Through Rocks film image; person riding a motorcycle backlit by a sunset

Cutting Through Rocks

Dir. Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni
95 min

Winner of Sundance's World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize, Cutting Through Rocks follows Sara Shahverdi — motorcyclist, midwife, and first-ever councilwoman elected in her Iranian village. A vérité triumph by Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The Tale of Silyan

Dir. Tamara Kotevska
81 min

From Oscar-nominee Tamara Kotevska (Honeyland), this is a poetic, curious and enchanting non-fiction fable about a farmer's son who turns into a stork.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema