An encounter with a doppelganger in Japan cracks open the edges of reality, as a return to the homeland becomes a search through memory, absence, and the ghosts of identity.
Veena Yamano
Canada
2025
In English and Japanese with English subtitles
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Producer
Thea Loo, Natalie Murao
Screenwriter
Natalie Murao
Cinematography
Kaayla Whachell
Editor
Anna Chiyeko Shannon
Production Design
Masaharu Maeda
Original Music
Veron Xio
Natalie Murao
Natalie Murao is a yonsei (fourth generation) Japanese Canadian filmmaker and educator. Her work often explores themes of identity and generational disconnect, aiming to expand the notion of Asian diasporic cinema. Her film, No More Parties (2020) played at Sundance, TIFF Next Wave, and Palm Springs Shortfest, among others, and was exhibited online through TIFF Bell Lightbox. Her documentary Blue Garden (2022) was selected for Telefilm Canada’s Not Short on Talent program at Clermont-Ferrand and is now available to watch on CBC Gem. Natalie has received mentorship through Sundance Ignite, VIFF Catalyst, and Experimental Forest Films.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Blue Caftan
Richly erotic and deeply moving, Maryam Touzani’s queer-themed film takes us to urban Morocco and into the lives of three beautiful souls. Halim is a master tailor; Mina is his loyal wife; Youssef is the man who slowly comes between them.
The Sun Never Sets
At the suggestion of her much older (divorced) boyfriend, Wendy (Dakota Fanning) takes a summer to reevaluate her life and date other people. She's reluctant at first, but then reconnects with an old flame... A gentle indie comedy from Joe Swanberg.
Hanging by a Wire
The Himalayas, Aug 22, 2023: a cable car bearing 8 passengers (six of them schoolkids) is left dangling 900 feet above the ground when two out of three cables snap. This nailbiting documentary recounts the increasingly frantic rescue attempts.