North American Premiere
Can technology take the place of real human connection? Chris Stokes is in a relationship with a life-size, realistic love doll named Mimi, with whom he communicates using an AI chatbot. Lonely and grieving for an old flame (also “Mimi”), he confides in Mimi and her thoughtful questions inspire him to grow and pull himself out of depression. A diehard anime and sci-fi nerd, Chris is guileless and sweet-natured, but he has trouble relating with people. It’s through his synthetic girlfriend he finds self-confidence and purpose.
Finders Keepers documentarian Bryan Carberry returns to similarly quirky territory but manages to uncover something more profound and relatable. Chris finds solace and meaning with Mimi, but we can’t help but share his mother’s concern that this can’t end well. *smiles and kisses you* is documentary as sci-fi parable, haunting and romantic. It forces us to consider our relationship with technology in the fast-evolving era of machine learning and asks what will happen to the machines once we have moved on.
Sept 27 & 29: Q&A with director Bryan Carberry
Chris Stokes
USA
2024
English
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Adam Bhala Lough, Greg Stewart, Danny McBridge, David Gordon Green, Jody Hill, Brandon James
Producer
Adam Gibbs, Michael Klein, Bryan Carberry
Cinematography
Bryan Carberry
Editor
Bryan Carberry
Bryan Carberry
Bryan Carberry directed, produced, and edited 2015’s Finders Keepers which premiered at Sundance and screened at SXSW, Hot Docs, and True/False Film Festival. Purchased by The Orchard at its premiere, the film played theatres nationwide and via streaming platforms. Bryan attended the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, where he was awarded scholarships for filmmaking and writing. He hails from Valparaiso, Indiana, and resides in Los Angeles.
Filmography: Finders Keepers (2015)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Omaha
Cole Webley's road movie about a single dad taking off with his two young kids is really just a fragment of a story, yet it unfolds with such authentic lyricism it lands with a heartbreaking emotional wallop.
The Last One for the Road
Two middle-aged drunkards drive across the Veneto region on a freewheeling bender, taking a young college student along for the ride. A celebration of the spirit of drink and the kinds of stories told around a table of old friends and too much wine.
Blue Heron
In the late 1990s, eight-year-old Sasha and her Hungarian immigrant family relocate to a new home on Vancouver Island. Their fresh start is interrupted by increasingly dangerous behaviour from Jeremy, the family’s oldest child.
How Deep Is Your Love
Filmmaker Eleanor Mortimer tags along with a team of oceanographers and marine biologists as they survey the Clarion-Clipperton fracture, one of the most remote spots on Earth, home to a dazzling array of unknown creatures.
The Mother and the Bear
Johnny Ma’s film stars Kim Ho-jung as a Korean woman who flies to Winnipeg when her immigrant daughter is hospitalized there. This crowd-pleaser plays up cultural differences to hilarious effect and offers a touching take on mother-daughter tension.
