Skip to main content
The Heirloom film image; smiling man and woman pose next to each other

The Heirloom

Northern Lights

This event has passed

Canadian Premiere

Eric (Ben Petrie) is a filmmaker struggling to finish his screenplay during the COVID lockdown. His girlfriend Allie (Grace Glowicki) wants to get a dog and he reluctantly agrees. After extensive research and planning, they adopt Milly, a traumatized rescue from the Dominican Republic. Complete opposites, the pair clash over pet-raising ideals. Feeling conflicted between work and family, Eric refocuses his creative energy and neuroses towards making a film about Allie, Milly, and himself.

Following in the footsteps of their 2016 cringe-comedy short Her Friend Adam, real-life partners Petrie and Glowicki return with another hilarious piece about a couple in disarray. As Milly suffers from gastrointestinal issues and cracks show in their relationship, The Heirloom evolves from a domestic comedy to a clever, metatextual piece of autofiction. Harkening back to the days of quarantine, Petrie’s debut feature asks you to slow down and appreciate the profound serenity of walking through the snowy streets, glasses fogged over, and cleaning up after your dog.

 

Sept 28 & 29: Q&A with director Ben Petrie and actor Grace Glowicki

 

Presented by

Media Partner

   

Director
Cast

Grace Glowicki, Ben Petrie

Credits
Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2024

Language

English

Film Contact
Links
18+
87 min
Comedy Q&As at VIFF Talent to Watch
Cheekdance Spectacular

Book Tickets

This event has passed.

Credits & Director

Producer

Ben Petrie, Grace Glowicki, Justin Elchakieh

Screenwriter

Ben Petrie

Cinematography

Kelly Jeffrey

Editor

Michael Harmon, Brendan Mills, Ben Petrie

Production Design

Chareese McLaughlin

Original Music

Casey Manierka-Quaile

Ben Petrie headshot; The Heirloom director

Ben Petrie

Ben Petrie is a Canadian filmmaker who has been featured in Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film.” His film Her Friend Adam (2016) won the Sundance Short Film Special Jury Award for Outstanding Performance for Grace Glowicki, and was named Best Comedy of the Year by Vimeo. Ben’s recent acting credits include Blackberry (Dir. Matt Johnson, Berlinale 2023); The All Golden (Dir. Nate Wilson; Fantastic Fest 2023); and Tito (Dir. Grace Glowicki, SXSW 2019).

 

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

Tata

Dir. Lina Vdovîi & Radu Ciorniciuc
82 min

In this gripping documentary, filmmaker Lina Vdovii responds to her abusive father's plea for help -- a migrant worker in Italy who is being exploited by his employer.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Put Your Soul On Your Hand and Walk

Dir. Sepideh Farsi
113 min

A joyous and heartrending introduction to 25-year-old Palestinian photographer and artist Fatma Hassona, living under siege in Gaza.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Orwell: 2+2=5

Dir. Raoul Peck
119 min

Oscar-nominated director Raoul Peck reimagines 1984 in this urgent essay on power, language, and control. With narration by Damian Lewis, it’s a chilling portrait of how Orwell’s warnings became our reality.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Jay Kelly

Dir. Noah Baumbach
130 min

In Noah Baumbach's wise and witty comedy, George Clooney plays Jay Kelly, a world-famous movie star touring Europe with his friend and manager, Ron (Adam Sandler). Faced with nagging dissatisfaction, Jay starts to ask himself some tough questions.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

The Librarians

Dir. Kim A Snyder
92 min

Dispatches from the front line of America's culture wars (and ours too): librarians speak out about the war against ideas, history, freedom of expression and sexual identity, a campaign in which an open mind is the ultimate enemy.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Mistress Dispeller

Dir. Elizabeth Lo
94 min

Sensing her husband has strayed, a Chinese woman hires a mistress dispeller to insinuate herself between the lovers and sow enough doubt to break up the liaison. A documentary.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre