Skip to main content
Grandmamauntsistercat film image; bubbles floating in front of young girl

Grandmamauntsistercat

MODES

Canadian Premiere

A dazzling array of materials compiled from the educational archive in Łódź, reveals the often sexist images that were first used as a didactic means of power in Communist era Poland. The footage is repurposed to form a new portrait of the female condition through the lens of a fictional non-binary child.

 

Community Partner

Director
Credits
Country of Origin

Poland

Year

2024

Language

In Polish with English subtitles

Film Contact
Links
18+
23 min
Art, Music & Photography Documentary Experimental & Avant Garde Shorts Women Directors

Credits & Director

Producer

Zuza Banasińska

Screenwriter

Zuza Banasińska

Editor

Zuza Banasińska

Original Music

Martyna Basta, Julek Tarasuik

Zuza Banasinska headshot; Grandmamauntsistercat director

Zuza Banasinska

Zuza Banasińska is an artist and filmmaker from Warsaw, currently based in Amsterdam. In their essay films and installations, they use archives to examine how the reproduction of images enables the reproduction of systems, subjects and bodies. They studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, at the University of the Arts in Berlin, and at the Sandberg Instituut in Amsterdam. Their works have been shown in spaces such as the U-Jazdowski CCA in Warsaw, Dům Umění Mesta Brna in Brno, and Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam, among others. Their work is currently supported by the Mondriaan Fund, Netherlands Film Fund, and Stimuleringsfonds, and is distributed by Video Power and EYE Filmmuseum. Their newest film premiered at International Film Festival Rotterdam 2024 and the 74th Berlinale, where it received the Teddy Award for best short film.

 

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

2026 Oscar® Shorts (Animated)

Dir. Various
83 min

The nominees for Best Animated Short Film include The Girl Who Cried Pearls, a fable from Canadian filmmakers Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, narrated by Colm Feore.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Round Midnight: Ardeshir Plays Dexter Gordon

Dir. Bertrand Tavernier
131 min

Loosely based on Bud Powell's time in Paris, Round Midnight (131 mins) is maybe the greatest of all films about jazz thanks to the towering performance of real-life jazz great Dexter Gordon. Saxophonist Ardeshir channels Gordon's vibe in his live set.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Montreal, ma belle

Dir. Xiaodan He
118 min

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.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

2026 Oscar® Shorts (Live Action)

Dir. Various
119 min

This year's contenders in the Live Action category include comedies, drama, an experimental musical, and a dystopian fantasy; films from the UK and the US, France and Israel.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Sirât

Dir. Óliver Laxe
115 min

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.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Mr. Nobody Against Putin

Dir. David Borenstein & Pavel Talankin
90 min

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary, and Special Jury Prize Winner, Sundance, 2025, this exposé shot by a Russian primary teacher shows how the Putin propaganda machine works to militarize children.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema