
Canadian Premiere
Angine, a rich housewife, and Malaise, a shop girl, begin to form a bond in a repressive society where kissing is punishable by death.
Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Luàna Bajrami, Aurélie Boquien, Vicky Krieps, Nicolas Bouchaud, Mitchell Jean, Mustapha Abourachid
France/USA
2024
In French with English subtitles
Mild violence
This short is featured in:

8: Love and despair
Indigenous & Community Access
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Credits & Director
Producer
Violeta Kreimer, Valentina Merli, Natalie Musteata, Carol Cohen
Screenwriter
Natalie Musteata, Alexandre Singh
Cinematography
Alexandra de Saint Blanquat
Editor
Hanna Park
Production Design
Anna Brun
Original Music
Bobak Lotfipour

Alexandre Singh
Alexandre Singh is a Brooklyn-based visual artist who was born in Bordeaux, France, to Indian and French parents, and raised in Manchester, UK. Singh’s work is inspired by a love of imaginative storytelling and encompasses diverse practices such as writing, collage, installation, and performance. His works are represented in numerous collections that include the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; and Centre national des arts plastiques, Paris. In 2019, Singh made his debut short film, The Appointment, which premiered at the Legion of Honor Museum, San Francisco. Two People Exchanging Saliva is his second film.

Natalie Musteata
Natalie Musteata is a writer, curator, and filmmaker. She holds a doctorate in art history and a master’s in film from The Graduate Center, CUNY, and has curated of several exhibitions including if I can’t dance to it, it’s not my revolution (Haverford College) and UNREST: Revolt against Reason (apexart). In 2018, she began collaborating with contemporary artist Alexandre Singh, and she produced Singh’s richly imaginative short film The Appointment (2019), which played in over 40 film festivals and won several awards. Their second film, Two People Exchanging Saliva, premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in 2024.
VIFF Short Forum
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1: Call your mother
Shorts from: Canada, China, UK.
2: Memory & mediation
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3: The peripheral core
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4: Um, womanhood
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5: The absurd & spiritual
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6: City slickin’
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7: All day I dream about
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8: Love and despair
Shorts from: China, France, Germany, Portugal, USA.
9: The scary one
Shorts from: Canada, Korea, Romania, USA.
10: The new socialism; ceasefire now!
Shorts from: Belgium, Canada, China, India, Myanmar, UK.
Short Fuse
An eye-opening collection of shorts exploring memories, experiences and relationships between friends, family, and across generations. From powwows in North America, to the rivers of Ethiopia and beyond, these shorts offer memorable stories on screen.