SHORT FILM PROGRAMME: “Identity”:
*All films are shown in their original language with English subtitles.
*This screening is followed by a Q&A with attending filmmakers.
Programme description:
Sometimes all it takes is a little vacation to find yourself or in some cases a trip to a remote monastery in the Bach Ma mountains of Vietnam is needed. Disillusioned, half-asleep or grief-struck, these strong protagonists fight their way through life in the never-ending search of their true identity and something we all need more of these days: hope.
“How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something, but to be someone.” Coco Chanel
FILMS- OVERVIEW:
Vegas - Anna Wheeler (Canada) - 10min
A disillusioned artist- turned taxi driver picks up an unassuming stranger and things take a dramatic turn when it is revealed not everything is as it appears. Vegas is a coming of age dramedy, wrapped inside a neon-noir urban mystery.
You never talk about your dreams - Sarah Foulkes (Canada) - 11:58min
After falling asleep during a therapy session, Helen struggles to compose herself as she prepares for Cate, her next patient, who despite her affability proves to be more challenging than Helen expected.
Fifty-Four Days - Cat White, Phoebe Torrance (UK) - 17:20 min
When tragedy strikes, a spirited young woman turns to wild swimming in search of answers. By swimming each day at dawn and forming an unlikely friendship, she learns to accept her grief and the grief of those around her.
Bach Ma - Darlene Huynh (Canada) - 19:55min
A woman decides to step out of her modern life and journeys to a remote monastery in the Bach Ma mountains of Vietnam, where she lives alongside a group of stoic monks. Her silent struggle to adapt to the peculiar setting leads her to a wholehearted search for something worth believing in.
Remember Me - Aila Stefansdotter-Franck, Linnéa Duran, Elin Örneholm (Sweden) - 14:21min
Isabelle is suffering from a severe eating disorder and has a history of anorexia. One morning she sneaks out for her usual compulsory training and runs further and further into the forest. The destructive thoughts consume her and she trains harder and harder until there is nothing left. When she lies down, all the emotions come. She moves through the mossy area, processing everything through dance until childhood memories consume her.
A little vacation - Eva Tavares (Canada) - 17:07min
After a suicide attempt, a young woman is admitted to a psych ward where she finds reprieve from the real world only to be released without a tangible way to move forward.
Now I’m old and do not need the moon - Dasha Bough (USA) - 11:35min
In a small Roma village deep in Moldova, an old woman named Daria lives in fear of the Russian-Ukrainian war at her doorstep. Mischievous kids, watchful babushki, and stray dogs surround her. Alone in her hut, she contemplates love, the Soviet Union, and the tragedy that derailed her life as a young woman. Her television set fills the silence.