In 2018, American missionary John Chau, age 26, traveled illegally to one of the most difficult-to-reach places on Earth– North Sentinel Island, in the Bay of Bengal– with the single-minded goal of converting one of the world’s most isolated populations to Christianity, despite knowing that trespassers risk being shot at with arrows. This misguided mission would quickly see him killed. Through voice-over readings of John’s journal entries and heart-wrenching observations from his grieving father, The Mission provides unique insight into the persistent dangers of religious fanaticism. Bolstered by beautifully imagined, animated reenactments and thoughtful selections of archival film footage, this intriguing documentary explores the troubling legacy of the romanticized colonial-era exploration narratives that inspired John’s mission. Highlights include interviews with historian Adam Goodheart and anthropologist T.N. Pandit– some of the few people to have seen North Sentinel Island up close– as well as darkly amusing anecdotes from linguist and former missionary Daniel Everett, who recounts losing his Christian faith to the Amazonian Pirahã tribe.
Series Media Partner
Media Partner
USA/India
2023
Insights
In English, Latin, Piraha, Hindi, Sarikoli and Onge with English subtitles
Nudity; violence; sexual language
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Credits
Executive Producer
Carolyn Bernstein, Doug Bock Clark
Producer
Jonathan Chinn, Simon Chinn, Jesse Moss, Amanda McBaine, Will Cohen
Cinematography
Thorsten Thielow
ANIM
Jason Carpenter
Editor
Aaron Wickenden
Directors
Jesse Moss & Amanda McBaine
Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss have been filmmaking partners for 20 years. They directed Boys State, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was released by Apple Original Films and A24. The film won the 2021 Primetime Emmy Award for Best Nonfiction Film and received DGA and Emmy nominations for Outstanding Directorial Achievement. Their previous film, The Overnighters, won the Special Jury Prize for Intuitive Filmmaking at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and was distributed by Drafthouse Films and Netflix.
Jesse also directed The Family, a five-part series for Netflix, as well as the Payday episode of the Netflix series Dirty Money. Their recent film about Pete Buttigieg’s campaign for president, Mayor Pete, was released by Amazon Studios.
Filmography: The Overnighters (2014); Boys State (2020); Mayor Pete (2021)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Teacher
In this potent thriller, English teacher Basem witnesses the murder of a teenager by a Israeli settler. While the subsequent investigation rolls slowly towards a foregone conclusion, the teacher is caught up in a parallel kidnapping case...
Bob Trevino Likes It
When her toxic, narcissistic dad cuts her out of his life, Lily Trevino looks him up on Facebook and happens across his namesake, Bob (John Leguizamo), a gentle, genial contractor who lives nearby, and who proves an altogether better dad...
The Encampments
When pro-Palestine protests took hold of Columbia last year, the filmmakers were there from the beginning. This documentary charts the mounting tensions between students and the administration, as the protests were picked up across North America.
Shepherds
Mathyas quits his marketing job in Montreal and goes to France with the romantic notion of becoming a shepherd. He's in for a rude awakening... Based on a true story, Deraspe's stirring film plays spiritual uplift off against some 3000 sheep and a donkey.
Our Lady of the Nile
Veronica and Virginia are inseparable friends at an elite Catholic boarding school, Our Lady of the Nile, but what binds them together is the very thing that separates them forever. We are in Rwanda, 1973, and tribal tensions are simmering ominously.
Faces
Ten years after his landmark debut, Shadows, John Cassavetes returned to the indie model, self-financing this wrenching portrait of the sexual mores and miseries of American middle class. Gena Rowlands is luminous as Jeannie, the film's emotional barometer.