International Premiere
Paula González-Nasser’s directorial debut rings with authenticity. Casually — albeit with an undercurrent of mounting stress — the film portrays slightly more than one day in the working life of an NYC location scout. Sofia (Mimi Davila) arrives to work late then proceeds through leafleting, awkward interviews, traffic jams, and unwanted male flirtation, always with an air of stoicism, although Davila’s performance shows the anxiety ratcheting slowly up. There are moments when Sofia is told how cool her job is, and there is indeed something appealing about the home visits, the idiosyncratic residents, and the showbiz backdrop. Very often, though, her work is a drag…
Graced with gentle, naturalistic performances, and a humour that springs from recognizability, The Scout is a film one inhabits. Sofia’s job gives the film its format: brief social interactions linked by precious time spent multitasking in transit. Each property-owner registers as a unique, fully inhabited character, and the encounters — which range from cozy to creepy — have the feel of real conversations in all their unsteadiness.
Mimi Davila, Rutanya Alda, Max Rosen, Ikechukwu Ufomadu, Sarah Herrman, Alex Goldberg
USA
2025
English
Book Tickets
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Sarah Herrman, Hannah D. Kettering, Roger Mancusi, Jess Zeidman
Producer
Ryan Martin Brown, Matthew Romanski, Paula González-Nasser
Screenwriter
Paula González-Nasser
Cinematography
Nicola Newton
Editor
Ryan Martin Brown, Byron Leon
Production Design
Alexandra Añez
Original Music
Dan Arnés
Paula González-Nasser
Paula González-Nasser is a Colombian-born, New York-based director and producer. She is the co-founder of 5th Floor Pictures, a production collective through which she has produced short and feature films including Melina Valdez’s Weapons And Their Names (Sundance 2023) and Ryan Martin Brown’s Free Time (2024). González-Nasser is a two-time Gotham Film Week participant and a 2023 Sundance Producer’s Intensive Fellow. Her directorial debut feature, The Scout, was selected as part of the American Film Festival’s US in Progress showcase in 2024.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Secret in Their Eyes
This month's Talking Pictures screening is a multi-layered, poignant thriller interweaving the personal lives of a prosecution investigator (Ricardo Darin) and a judge, with a manhunt spanning twenty-five years. Stay for cookies, coffee and a chat after!
American Doctor
One of the most powerful documentaries of the year, this puts us smack in the open wound that is Gaza, filtered through the eyes of three American surgeons (of Palestinian, Jewish and Zoroastrian backgrounds) compelled to do their utmost to alleviate harm.
