North American Premiere
Under Iranian law, from elementary school, boys and girls attend school separately. But in kindergarten and preschool there is no gender division. Numb follows a handful of boys and girls in their last year of pre-school as they learn to navigate gender whilst imitating the world of adults through make-believe and childhood games. Roham, the protagonist, is a six-year-old boy whose innocent love for classmate Rana and his curiosity about her shy and reluctant personality unravel dark and horrifying secrets of her life. Amir Toodehroosta beautifully depicts the innocence that exists in childhood, even in a society where religion and pain cast a constant shadow. The filmmaker does not force these issues but allows them to surface through the gaze of this six-year-old boy who tries to make sense of the world and his place in it. The film’s stunning cinematography transports us directly into the world of childhood, as we see things through their lens not only conceptually but technically.
Ayhan Shaygan, Shabnam Dadkhah, Nora Hanifeh Zadeh, Rayan Razmi
Iran
2022
Focus
In Farsi with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Executive Producer
Sina Sharbafi
Producer
Amir Toodehroosta
Screenwriter
Amir Toodehroosta
Cinematography
Soroush Alizadeh
Editor
Maysam Samadi Bahrami
Original Music
Fardin Khalatbari
Director
Amir Toodehroosta
Amir Toodehroosta, an Iranian independent artist and filmmaker, was born in 1982 in Iran. He studied filmmaking at IYCS and Theater at Sooreh University. He has made two documentaries and seventeen short films which have been selected and awarded in many festivals. His first feature film Paat was selected for various international festivals including Warsaw and Tokyo. Numb is his second feature.
Filmography: Paat (2013)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Montreal, ma belle
In this Valentine to discovering love later in life, the ever-elegant Joan Chen plays Feng Xia, a 53-year-old Chinese immigrant and mother in Montreal whose world is turned upside down when she meets and falls in love with a young Quebecoise.
The Painted Life of E.J. Hughes
A beautiful portrait of E.J. Hughes, who quietly helped reshape the artistic landscape of British Columbia in the 20th century. This extraordinary documentary explores Hughes’s legacy not only as an artist, but as a devoted, humble human being.
A Poet
When embittered poet Oscar Restrepo takes a job at a local high school, he meets Yurlady, a talented student from a poor background. Seeking to help her cultivate her art, he draws her into the poetry world — to disastrous and comedic results.
Sirât
A desperate father (Sergi Lopez) searchers for his missing daughter through the spiritual wasteland of the Moroccan desert. An unforgettable sensory powerhouse, Sîrat will have you riveted and rattled for hours after the end credits have rolled.
The Love That Remains
Anna and Magnús have separated, leaving her to raise their three children as he spends long stretches at sea, working as a fisherman. As the seasons pass, their emotions ebb and flow. A richly conceived story with unexpected delight and humour.
L'Atalante
Jean Vigo died from TB in 1934 at the age of 29. Yet he is revered as one of the great innovators of the medium, and his only feature, L'Atalante, is a seminal film, a tender, lyrical love story set on a barge on the Seine.