Vanguard

I have a hand dis gured by snakebite. I have a couple of things Rising international talents bring that I really like and I am heading our way all the time. their singular visions to the screen.

Presented by

Harvest Moon

AMARSAIKHAN BALJINNYAM, MONGOLIA, 2022, 90 MIN.

FRI OCT 7 6:15 PM VCT SAT OCT 8 3:30 PM CINE

World Premiere. A delightfully tender drama following a man returning to his native village to tie up loose family ends, where he strikes up an unlikely friendship with a 10-year-old orphan boy determined to claim his place in the vast Mongolian grasslands. Amarsaikhan Baljinnyam deftly plays on both sides of the camera in this heartfelt feature debut that astutely captures the shifting sands of a culture in transition.

Cast Amarsaikhan Baljinnyam, Tenuun-Erdene Garamkhand Prod Uran Sainbileg

Know Your Place

ZIA MOHAJERJASBI, USA, 2022, 118 MIN.

TUE OCT 4 5:45 PM VCT WED OCT 5 3:15 PM CINE

Canadian Premiere. Running an important errand across south Seattle, teenagers Robel and Fahmi nd their trek growing increasingly labyrinthine. As they pass abandoned houses and encounter members of the working class, they become aware of how their rapidly gentrifying, constant redeveloping city is slowly forcing out people of colour such as themselves. Clear-eyed and tender in turns, Zia Moharjerjasbi’s Emerald City odyssey investigates themes of personal identity, family responsibility, and community.

Cast Joseph Smith, Natnael Mebrahtu, Selamawit Gebresus, Esther Kibreab, Haileselassie Kidane Prod Ty Walker, Zia Mohajerjasbi

The Locust

FAEZE AZIZKHANI, IRAN/GERMANY, 2022, 79 MIN.

WED OCT 5 6:15 PM VCT SAT OCT 8 1:15 PM IN08

Canadian Premiere. Facing eviction, Hanieh (Hanieh Tavassoli) sells her semi-autobiographical screenplay to a friend who’s rushing it into production. However, rehearsals prove dispiriting, with the cast lambasting the material and taking issue with the character modelled after Hanieh. In depicting a dizzying, tragicomic descent into the living nightmare of a female lmmaker striving for creative freedom, Faeze Azizkhani infuses her lm with anarchic energy, rapid- re dialogue, palpable anxiety, and biting humour.

Cast Hanieh Tavassoli, Pegah Ahangarani Farahani, Ali Mosa a, Pedram Shari , Ramin Sadighi, Amaneh Agharezakashi Prod Manijeh Hekmat, Mahshid Ahangarani Farahani

Moja Vesna

SARA KERN, AUSTRALIA/SLOVENIA, 2022, 77 MIN.

THU SEP 29 6:30 PM VCT FRI SEP 30 4:00 PM IN08 FROM FRI SEP 30 CONN

North American Premiere. Ten-year-old Moja has her hands full taking care of her pregnant sister Vesna and their grief-stricken father, all reeling from the sudden loss of their mother. Astutely homing in on the sense of family void, the understated drama gently probes the mundane moments that reveal the array of emotional wavelengths grief operates on. Newcomer Sara Kern impresses with her ability to distill situational lightness, tapping into cultural duality, and the ingrained sense of pragmatism that kicks in when tragedy hits.

Cast Loti Kovačič, Mackenzie Mazur, Gregor Baković, Claudia Karvan Prod Gal Greenspan, Rok Bicek, Sharlene George

Nightsiren

Světlonoc TEREZA NVOTOVÁ, SLOVAKIA/CZECH REPUBLIC, 2022, 109 MIN.

SAT OCT 1 6:15 PM VCT SAT OCT 8 4:00 PM RIO

Canadian Premiere. A visual feast and a thrill ride, Nightsiren follows a young woman as she returns to her native mountain village, trying to nd out what happened to her mother and sister after she ran away as a child. But her arrival causes quite a stir in the remote community, sparking vicious rumours and resurrecting old superstitions that reveal a troubled family history. Nvotová skillfully supplements the spectacle with richly textured character dynamics and nuanced cultural take on the witch myth.

Other Cannibals

Altri Cannibali FRANCESCO SOSSAI, GERMANY, 2021, 95 MIN.

MON OCT 3 6:00 PM VCT WED OCT 5 6:30 PM CINE

North American Premiere. Fausto and Ivan are making important preparations. Both are careful to maintain boundaries and honour their side of the arrangement. Except they keep postponing the main event. That’s understandable, as it involves taking a life. Francesco Sossai enters the scene as a true dark horse with this morbidly engaging existentialist comedy that leans brilliantly into the Italian food culture in its meditation on mortality.

Cast Diego Pagotto, Walter Giroldini, Luisa Mondin, Barbara Turrin, Giovanni Tomassetti, Diego de Francesco Prod Cecilia Trautvetter

Tortoise Under the Earth

SHISHIR JHA, INDIA, 2021, 95 MIN.

SUN OCT 2 6:00 PM VCT TUE OCT 4 12:30 PM VCT

International Premiere. Set in India’s state of Jharkhand, Shishir Jha crafts an exquisitely nuanced observational docu-drama that positions an intimate story of loss against the backdrop of cultural and environmental devastation caused by the pro t-driven uranium mining. The lmmaker delivers a gentle, contemplative piece that honours a dying way of life, revealing in the process a singular new voice with a distinctly humanist touch.

Cast Jagarnath Baskey, Mugli Baskey Prod Vinay Mishra, Pallavi Rohatgi, Preety Ali, Raghavan Bharadwaj, Shishir Jha, Mritunjay Jha

The Uncle

Stric DAVID KAPAC, ANDRIJA MARDEŠIĆ, CROATIA/SERBIA, 2022, 104 MIN.

FRI OCT 7 9:00 PM VCT SUN OCT 9 3:45 PM IN08

North American Premiere. Somewhere in the 1980s Balkan countryside, a family of three nervously prepares for the arrival of their uncle from Germany. Everything has to be perfect, as the uncle will carefully inspect every detail of the Christmas presentation. They eat turkey, sing, watch family videos, and open presents. But something is amiss, and with each failed attempt, the stakes rise. An impressive debut that draws from familiar genre prompts and regional socio-political tensions to craft a terrifying psychological thriller.