When Audrey Benac (Deragh Campbell) discovers a personal connection to legendary Canadian violinist Kathleen Parlow, she is compelled to dig deeper. Emotionally adrift, Audrey soon finds herself retracing Parlow’s steps, embarking on a journey from Toronto to London, Oslo, and finally Montreal. At the heart of it all is an elusive concerto, Opus 28, dedicated to Parlow and seemingly lost for over a century, but which Audrey is determined to bring to light—no matter the cost to her personal life. As Parlow herself once remarked, “Music begins where love leaves off.”
In Measures for a Funeral, the latest collaboration between actress Campbell and filmmaker Sofia Bohdanowicz, a real-life piece of music history comes thrillingly alive. Expanding the documentary-fiction elements of Veslemøy’s Song (2018) and MS Slavic 7 (2019) to a far greater emotional and narrative scale, this is a plangent exploration of time and memory. At once a ghost story, detective yarn, and archival investigation, it is a film about the mysterious power of music to move us.
Sept 30 & Oct 1: Q&A with director Sofia Bohdanowicz
Deragh Campbell, Melanie Scheiner, María Dueñas, Maxim Gaudette, Eileen Davies
Canada/Norway/UK
2024
English
At International Village
At Fifth Avenue
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Ryan Krisvoshey, Simone Urdl, Mustafa Uzuner
Producer
Aonan Yang, Andreas Mendritzki, Sofia Bohdanowicz
Screenwriter
Sofia Bohdanowicz, Deragh Campbell
Cinematography
Nikolay Michaylov
Editor
Pablo Alvarez-Mesa, Sofia Bohdanowicz
Production Design
Jessica Hart
Original Music
Olivier Alary
Sofia Bohdanowicz
Sofia Bohdanowicz is a Toronto-based, award-winning filmmaker. Her films have been showcased at prestigious festivals such as BFI, NYFF, Locarno, Berlinale, and TIFF. She received the 2017 Jay Scott Prize from the Toronto Film Critics Association, and her documentary Maison du bonheur was nominated for the Rogers Prize in 2018. Bohdanowicz is an alumna of Berlinale Talents and the TIFF Talent Accelerator. Her films are currently available on the Criterion Channel.
Filmography: Never Eat Alone (2016); Maison du bonheur (2017); MS Slavic 7 (2019); A Woman Escapes (2022)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Laura Crema + Jazz on a Summer's Day
Laura Crema celebrates the enduring influence of Anita O'Day with a performance that captures the wit, swing, and rhythmic daring that made O'Day a standout in jazz history — followed by one of the all-time great jazz concert films.
Cookie Queens
A documentary about the annual Girl Scouts' cookie sale is probably not high on your list of must-sees, but don't be too sure — this movie is a delight, a rare celebration of girlhood, supportive family relations, and the art of salesmanship.
Gummo
Harmony Korine was just 24 when he made Gummo. It's become a cult favourite as much for its singularity as anything else: it's a strange, misshapen beast, a slice of beat poetry translated into experimental film.
A Simple Machine
Cutting costs, swapping four wheels for two, Nick is downsizing to pay off his student debt. It's a path which leads to savings he had not anticipated, even if his girlfriend thinks he's losing it (and she may be right). A lean, low budget gem.
Princess Mononoke
A mystical fight between humans and the Animal Gods of the forest. Ashitaka, the last prince of a dying race, struggles to find a way for both sides to co-exist. But the fighting only becomes more and more bloody and all hope seems to be lost…