Canadian Premiere
Sam can’t sleep. His bedroom is surrounded on all sides by chirping smoke alarms, the sign of a low battery. So he does what any bleary-eyed problem solver would do: sets out on an odyssey to find the annoying beeps and in the process learns about himself, his neighbors, and his place in the world.
Supported by
Community Partner
Samuel Smith, Robert Vilalta
USA
2024
In English and Spanish with English subtitles
Coarse language
Open to youth!
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Sam Smith, Robert Vilalta
Producer
Kirk Johnson
Cinematography
Nathan Smith
Editor
Jack Price, Kirk Johnson
Original Music
Robert Amjärv, Bennett Barbakow
Kirk Johnson
Kirk Johnson specializes in character-based documentaries that weave together true life, drama and comedy. He was a producer on The Amazing Johnathan Documentary (2019) which premiered and was acquired by Hulu at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. He also co-directed the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary series The American Gladiators Documentary (2023) which recently premiered on the ESPN Network worldwide.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Late Fame
Based on a novella by Arthur Schnitzler (Eyes Wide Shut) this is a sly, poignant comedy about vanity and art from director Kent Jones, starring Willem Dafoe as a mailman belatedly acclaimed for a book of poetry he wrote in his youth.
Memory of Princess Mumbi
In 2093, a filmmaker arrives in the African village of Umata, where he meets Princess Mumbi, a woman torn between love, legacy, and the future of storytelling. It's a fabulous genre-blending fable about memory, invention and cinematic resistance.
Lessons of Darkness
Werner Herzog's unforgettable documentary reveals the unfolding disaster of the Kuwaitian oil fields in flames in 1991 as a sweeping inferno of mesmerizing power.
Beau Travail
Inspired by Herman Melville's Billy Budd, Claire Denis' transfixing Beau Travail is set in East Africa. Sgt Galoup (Denis Lavant) reflects on his time in the French Foreign Legion, and the impact of the handsome Sentain (Gregoire Colin).


