North American Premiere
The act of artistic creation can feel inadequate when trying to convey the tragedy of war, but for clarinettist and composer Kinan Azmeh, music is a way to bear that grief and break down the boundaries of emotional and cultural expression. A witness to lives lost and displaced in his home country of Syria, Azmeh questions what role he can play as an artist and musician in a face of global conflicts and violence.
Frank Scheffer’s introspective documentary follows Azmeh on his travels to New York, Amsterdam, and Palestine, where the artist’s soulful music and collaborative performances enrapture audiences through outpourings of emotional urgency. Half Moon: Kinan Azmeh is a profound and celebratory meditation on art’s ability to inspire different cultures and reshape solidarity, community, and hope in the world, even in dark times.
Presented by
Media Partner
Community Partner
Kinan Azmeh, Dima Orsho, Basilius Arawad, Yo-Yo Ma, Eric Vloeimans
Netherlands
2025
In English and Arabic with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Credits & Director
Producer
Niek Koppen, Jan de Ruiter, Jia Zhao
Screenwriter
Frank Scheffer, Lies Janssen
Cinematography
Benito Strangio, Talal Khoury, Melle van Essen, Roel van ‘t Hoff, Frank Scheffer
Editor
Ruben van der Hammen, Frank Scheffer
Frank Scheffer
Frank Scheffer has directed over 40 music documentaries and experimental films, for which he has received numerous awards and recognitions. Image and sound combine in Scheffer’s films to offer the audience a unique sensory experience, and his films have featured prominent postwar composers like Luciano Berio, Pierre Boulez, John Cage, Elliott Carter, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Frank Zappa. A retrospective of Scheffer’s work was featured at the MoMA.
Filmography: Zoetrope People (1982); A Labyrinth of Time (2004); Gozaran – Time Passing (2011); Inner Landscape (2019); Gustav Mahler – Singer for the Earth (2022); Intensely Soulful (2023)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Schindler Space Architect
RM Schindler is now recognized as one of the most important modernist architects of the era, the man who laid the groundwork for what is now considered the epitome of California indoor-outdoor living. This doc sheds light on a previously unsung genius.
VIFF+ Members' Early Bird Day Screening: Late Fame
Join us at the VIFF Centre on August 6 for a free VIFF+ members-only screening of Late Fame! Catch up with your fellow cinema fans and hear from VIFF's Director of Programming. Not a member? You can join now!
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World
Sasha Waters' documentary takes us through the life of America's best-selling late twentieth century poet, a private woman who shared her innermost thoughts and made them indispensable.
Crash
Sex drive, David Cronenberg-style. The car-crash fetishists who orbit Cronenberg's metrosexual Toronto (they include James Spader, Holly Hunter, and Deborah Unger) obsessively seek a fusion of metal and flesh... Fender bender as the ultimate orgasm.