When her adult daughter Sumi has a nasty fall and winds up comatose in the hospital, Sara (Kim Ho-jung) flies from her home in South Korea to Winnipeg. Though stymied by the language, appalled at the weather, and baffled by the local customs, this excitable matriarch is not about to shirk her duties: while Sumi lies prone in the hospital, Sara proceeds to organize her child’s apartment, takes control of her smartphone, creates a Tinder profile for her, and zeroes in on a potential Korean husband.
A change of pace for Old Stone director Johnny Ma, this lively crowd-pleaser plays up cultural differences to hilarious effect. But as it becomes evident how little Sumi has shared of her Canadian life with Sara, the film finds its emotional centre in a touching, empathetic take on mother-daughter angst. Kim is terrific in the lead role, and there are lovely turns by Lee Won-Jae as a middle-aged restaurant owner and Jonathan Kim as his dashing son, whom Sara views as perfect marriage material.
Sept 30 & Oct 2: Q&A with director Johnny Ma
Community Partner
Kim Ho-Jung, Won-Jae Lee, Jonathan Kim, Susan Hanson, Samantha Kendrick, Amara Pedroso Saquel
Canada/Chile
2024
In English and Korean with English subtitles
At International Village
At Fifth Avenue
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Fraser Ash, Kevin Krikst, Andrew Hevia, Pablo Larraín, Adrian Love, Omar Chalabi, Joe Simpson, Simon Williams, Andy Wang, Matthew Chausse, Jonathan Bross, Joe Jenckes, Constanza Muñoz, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson
Producer
Juan de Dios Larraín, Niv Fichman
Screenwriter
Johnny Ma
Cinematography
Inti Briones
Editor
Valeria Hernández
Production Design
Craig Sandells
Original Music
Marie-Hélène L. Delorme
Johnny Ma
Johnny Ma, born in Shanghai and raised in Toronto, is a DGA award-winning director and Columbia University MFA graduate. His short film A Grand Canal premiered at TIFF 2013. Ma, a 2014 Sundance Institute Labs alum, made his feature debut with Old Stone (2016), which won Best Canadian First Feature at TIFF and the Canadian Screen Awards. His second film, To Live to Sing (2019), premiered at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. His third feature, The Mother and the Bear, is his first film produced outside China.
Filmography: Olds Stone (2016); To Live to Sing (2019)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Time and Water
Sara Dosa (Fire of Love) turns her attentions from volcanoes to glaciers in this singular, personal collaboration with the Icelandic writer Andri Snær Magnason, who ruminates on the loss of ties to family and to landscape.
Mistura
This foodie film from Peru tells the story of a newly single socialite reinventing herself — and the local cuisine — after her husband has left her for a younger woman. Along the way, she finds support from unexpected places...
Hanami
On the volcanic island Cape Verde, young Nana is on the cusp of self-discovery. When her long-absent mother returns, the lyricism and magic of Nana's childhood take a different shape. Winner of the Best Emerging Director Award, Locarno Film Festival.
Everybody to Kenmure Street
This rousing documentary (100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) never puts a foot wrong as it recreates a tense, prolonged stand-off between the police and the citizens of Glasgow when an Immigration Enforcement squad attempt to arrest two men from their homes.
Another World
This hit anime from Hong Kong gives us an unpredictable, sometimes darkly karmic tale taking place on either side of the afterlife involving a headstrong princess with bad karma and the spirit guide who tries to help her get on a better path.