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
The Road to Patagonia
A travelogue, an eco doc, an adventure movie and a love story, The Road to Patagonia chronicles filmmaker and ecologist Mayy Hannon's 50,000 km expedition from Alaska to the tip of Chile (via Vancouver Island), on motorbike, horse, and surfboard.
Sex
Two chimney sweeps living in heterosexual marriages find their views on sexuality and gender challenged by a series of unexpected events. In a set of sharply scripted conversations, both men confront heretofore unexplored aspects of their identity.
Love
This warm, thoughtful piece offers shrewd comic observations on modern dating as it trains a quizzical eye on the trysts of a female doctor, Marianne (Andrea Bræin Hovig), and her colleague, a gay male nurse, Tor (Tayo Cittadella Jacobsen).
3 Faces
Iranian filmmaker Panahi and actress Behnaz Jafari, both playing themselves, receive a video in which a distraught teenaged girl, whose acting dreams have been quashed appears to kill herself. Panahi and Jafari decide to investigate...
Dreams
The third installment in the Sex/Dreams/Love trilogy is another rich, absorbing tale. 17-year-old Johanne writes a confessional about her flirtation with a (female) teacher. But the writing is too good to stay private...