North American Premiere
A meditative, hybrid documentary centered on the resilient Afrin, a nomadic orphan living on rapidly eroding mud islands in the Brahmaputra River, who decides to embark on a quest to find her father. Director Angelos Rallis spent five years living with Afrin, collaborating with her on the film, abandoning the assumptions of objectivity for an unscripted, semi-fictionalized story, as she makes the onerous journey to Bangladesh’s capital city of Dhaka. Its ingenious style and structure allows for an immersive, empowering epic one moment, and a sobering vision of the effects of climate change and poverty across the landscape of Bangladesh the next. From the floodplains of the Brahmaputra River to the harsh city streets of Dhaka, this stunning hybrid-documentary captures the catastrophic effects of climate change upon the country’s people and landscape. The tale of twelve-year-old orphan Afrin and her personal odyssey becomes an allegory for the plight of millions of climate refugees across Bangladesh. A profound blend between intimate, verité documentary and the power of epic mythmaking.
WFF Award for Best Environmental Film, Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival
September 29 & 30: Q&A with director Angelos Rallis & crew
Greece/France/Germany
2023
Spectrum
In Bengali with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Executive Producer
David Piperni, Daniel Cantagallos, Hafiz Uddin Munna, Giorgos Rallis
Producer
Maria del Mar Rodriguez, Angelos Rallis
Screenwriter
Angelos Rallis
Cinematography
Angelos Rallis
Editor
Nadia Ben Rachid, Angelos Rallis
Original Music
Alexis Rault
Director
Angelos Rallis
Angelos Rallis started his career in TV and theatre in Greece before moving to Sweden and the UK to complete his graduate and post-graduate studies in Film, Anthropology and Photography. In 2006 he became an elected member of the International Federation of Journalists (UK). His early work in video and photography has been published in international newspapers such as Ethnos and The Guardian and has been used by press agencies and NGOs around the world. Angelos has also worked as a director for the Greek National Television (ERT).
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Last One for the Road
Two middle-aged drunkards drive across the Veneto region on a freewheeling bender, taking a young college student along for the ride. A celebration of the spirit of drink and the kinds of stories told around a table of old friends and too much wine.
The Art of Adventure
The unbelievable adventure story of how painter Robert Bateman and ecologist Bristol Foster drove a Land Rover from Africa to Australia in 1957, developing a love of nature to last a lifetime. An inspirational love letter to the adventure of life itself.
Blue Heron
In the late 1990s, eight-year-old Sasha and her Hungarian immigrant family relocate to a new home on Vancouver Island. Their fresh start is interrupted by increasingly dangerous behaviour from Jeremy, the family’s oldest child.
Holy Days
After his mom passes, Brian (Elijah Tamati) is comforted by Sisters Agnes, Luke and Mary Clare (Judy Davis, Miriam Margolyes and Jacki Weaver, respectively). The quirky quartet hit the road to save their convent from being sold to a property developer.
The Grapes of Wrath
In this Film Studies workshop, Devan Scott explores the purposes of three-point lighting and the influence of German Expressionism on Hollywood studio filmmaking. Followed by a screening of The Grapes of Wrath, photographed by Gregg Toland.
How Deep Is Your Love
Filmmaker Eleanor Mortimer tags along with a team of oceanographers and marine biologists as they survey the Clarion-Clipperton fracture, one of the most remote spots on Earth, home to a dazzling array of unknown creatures.