Skip to main content
Uncommon Ground film image; woman scared in woods

Uncommon Ground

VIFF Short Forum

Canadian Premiere

In the year 2171, Tawni and her aunt live in the Shadowlands. While on a journey to the capital for medicine, Tawni discovers a plane crash survivor and risks her own safety to treat him.

 

Supported by

    

Media Partner

Community Partner

Director
Cast

Leenah Robinson, Malcolm Sparrow-Crawford, Quelemia Sparrow

Credits
Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2024

Language

English

Film Contact
18+
20 min
Action BC Spotlight Family Relations Horror & Thriller Indigenous Cinema Shorts Women Directors
Imoto Productions, Halo Halo Productions

Credits & Director

Executive Producer

Stephanie Rennie, Amanda J Strachan

Producer

Mik Narciso, Makenna Jow, Phil Planta, Nightingale

Screenwriter

Faith Sparrow-Crawford, Bruce Crawford

Cinematography

Kaayla Whachell

Editor

Kevin Ang

Production Design

Jane Li

Original Music

Justin Delorme

Faith Sparrow-Crawford headshot; Uncommon Ground director

Faith Sparrow-Crawford

Faith Sparrow-Crawford is an early-career writer, director, and producer from the Musqueam Nation in Vancouver, BC. She was raised in her community by generations of storytellers and artists and has always had a love for sharing the stories of her people. She has devoted herself to creating meaningful work that creates space for Indigenous peoples and people of colour in film. In 2024, Faith completed her first short film, Uncommon Ground.

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

Nino

Dir. Pauline Locquès
97 min

Québécois actor Théodore Pellerin gives a quietly devastating performance as a young man shocked to learn he has throat cancer.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Emergence: Women in the Storm

Dir. Velcrow Ripper & Nova Ami
85 min

Stories of resistance and recovery, courage, creativity and community in the face of the climate emergency gleaned from women first responders and those impacted in Western Canada, particularly Lytton and the Fraser Valley.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Dir. Eliza Hittman
101 min

In Eliza Hittman's powerful slice of social realism, 17-year-old Autum is unable to get an abortion without parental consent in Pennsylvania. She persuades her bff Skylar (Talia Ryder) to come with her to New York where she hopes it will be easier...

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Muzizi

Dir. Jamila Pomeroy
84 min

From the director of the award-winning film Union Street, Jamila Pomeroy, Muzizi embarks on a great culinary adventure through Vancouver’s African diasporic culinary scene. Muzizi explores powerful stories of immigration, resilience, and joy.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

2026 Oscar® Shorts (Documentary)

Dir. Various
157 min

Don't come to the program of Oscar®-nominated documentary shorts for escapism. But let's talk about the Canadian contender, Perfectly a Strangeness, featuring an abandoned observatory and three donkeys. More of this, please.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The Painted Life of E.J. Hughes

Dir. Jenn Strom
82 min

A beautiful portrait of E.J. Hughes, who quietly helped reshape the artistic landscape of British Columbia in the 20th century. This extraordinary documentary explores Hughes’s legacy not only as an artist, but as a devoted, humble human being.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre