Canadian Premiere
A mother and son live in a secluded house on an isolated island, where memory merges with the present, intertwining two moments of their lives—youth and maturity. This is a quiet film about the evolution of a relationship, and how, even in a parent-child situation, that intimate bond can become fleeting. Terrific cinematography captures the rugged seascapes and helps create a melancholic tone emanating from the loss she feels. This is a deep examination of the ties of relationship, escape, and need, and the complex layers that get created over time. It is a lovely, reflective work about human bonds, at times so strong, at others so fragile.
Community Partner
Mireille Perrier, Robinson Stévenin, Lubna Playoust, Anatole Karmitz
France
2021
In French with English subtitles
Featured in:
International Shorts: Connect/Disconnect/Reconnect
The films in this shorts program are all about connections. People connecting with one another, dealing with change, or rediscovering a part of themselves and their past.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Late Fame
Based on a novella by Arthur Schnitzler (Eyes Wide Shut) this is a sly, poignant comedy about vanity and art from director Kent Jones, starring Willem Dafoe as a mailman belatedly acclaimed for a book of poetry he wrote in his youth.
Memory of Princess Mumbi
In 2093, a filmmaker arrives in the African village of Umata, where he meets Princess Mumbi, a woman torn between love, legacy, and the future of storytelling. It's a fabulous genre-blending fable about memory, invention and cinematic resistance.
Lessons of Darkness
Werner Herzog's unforgettable documentary reveals the unfolding disaster of the Kuwaitian oil fields in flames in 1991 as a sweeping inferno of mesmerizing power.
Beau Travail
Inspired by Herman Melville's Billy Budd, Claire Denis' transfixing Beau Travail is set in East Africa. Sgt Galoup (Denis Lavant) reflects on his time in the French Foreign Legion, and the impact of the handsome Sentain (Gregoire Colin).
But I'm a Cheerleader
Megan (Natasha Lyonne) is the perfect All-American Girl, or so she thinks. That is until she’s shipped off to conversion therapy. This pitch black comedy is wrapped in a saccharine bow, featuring the icon herself, RuPaul, as a conversion counsellor.
Credits
Producer
Nathanaël Karmitz, Juliette Schrameck, Jeanne Ezvan, Marthe Lamy
Screenwriter
Lubna Playoust
Cinematography
Marine Atlan
Editor
Gabriel Gonzalez, Nicolás Longinotti
Art Director
Louise Le Bouc Berger, Laura Bücher
Director
Lubna Playoust
Born in Italy and raised in Paris, Lubna Playoust is a French director and actress. Her first professional experiences in art, fashion, and marketing fed her fierce passion for every aspect of filmmaking. She trained in filmmaking with Abbas Kiarostami in Cuba, and Lucrecia Martel in Barcelona. Her short film Waltz For Three (2014) stars French New Wave actors Jean-Pierre Marielle and Agathe Natanson. She is currently developing her first feature film.