FILM PROGRAM
DAY THREE - JULY 20th
*Premiere Status*
World Premiere (WP), North American Premiere (NAP), Canadian Premiere (CP),
Ontario Premiere (OP, Toronto Premiere (TP).
The Sun That
Flew Away
Directed by Ania Jamila
Lidiia and her young daughter Solomiia seek a ray of hope to send back to Kyiv, their Ukrainian homeland, which they fled during the war, leaving behind Lidiia’s husband/ Solomiia’s father and Solomiia's beloved toys. Portrayed by real life characters, Lidiia and Solomiia arrived in Ontario, Canada as Ukrainian refugees.
(04:53, Drama, 2023, ON, Canada, CP)
Piecht
Directed by Luka Lara Steffen
For 17-year-old Johanna, a vacation in the idyllic countryside of Piecht is anything but relaxing. While her mother dreams of an ecological alternative to city life, a real nightmare unfolds for Johanna when she confronts the far-right, close-knitted community and encounters brutal resistance.
(29:57, LGBTQIA+ drama, 2023, Germany, TP)
Swim and Float
Directed by Janina Lutter
When Mila learns that her best friend is going to have sex for the first time, she panics and organizes a sleepover with a former childhood schoolmate, Jonas. As the two become closer, Mila realizes that she is not ready for this kind of intimacy.
(16:45, Drama, 2024, Germany, NAP)
First Last Month
Directed by Elena Vatamanu-Mărgineanu
Doina, a 12-year-old girl, has her first period on the day that her grandmother has a stroke. When Doina’s dad considers taking her grandmother to a nursing home, Diona has to prove to him that she is woman enough to take care of her.
(21:18, Drama, 2024, Poland, WP)
We'll See Each other In the Distance/A la distancia nos vemos
Directed by Jocelyn Lopez Cárdenas
Seven year old Jimena lives with her mother, who is confined under lock and key. The girl, fed up with her virtual monotony, discovers an unexpected friendship from her window.
(14:38, Drama, 2023, Mexico, NAP)
Les Lavandières
Directed by Laura Kamugisha
In this visual essay, strung along a clothesline, a narrator named Lavender tells the story of her mother, Jeanne, a Rwandese immigrant filled with hope.
(04:06, Experimental, 2023, Montréal, Québec, OP)
4:00 PM
BEST IN THE BIZ
MAVERICK TRIBUTE
Mother's Skin
Directed by Leah Johnstton
Newfoundland, 1971. A neglected six-year-old girl struggles to cope with her mother's depression and her father's alcoholic rage. She spends her days alone, fending for herself, as her father works and her mother sleeps. At night, violence erupts around her, threatening to tear her family apart. But when the girl discovers a secret hidden within their home, her dysfunctional world takes on a strange new meaning.
(19:30, Drama, 2022, Halifax, NS, OP)
Feature Presentation
The Dogs
Directed by Valerie Buhagiar
Cameron Weaver and his mother Katherine settle in an old farmhouse in a small rural town to escape an abuser. There, Cameron meets Jacky - a boy who appears to be from the 1960s - and discovers the farmhouse has a dark past, including the death of its former owners. Is it all in his head? Cameron, unable to shake the visions, attempts to solve the mystery and a murder – ultimately, uncovering the truth about his own disturbing past.
The Dogs is a complex hybrid drama/suspense/ ghost story. Woven throughout is the horror of intimate partner abuse that parallels the lives of two young boys whose friendship evolves from their shared trauma. Based on the novel by Allan Stratton, adapted by Sheila Rogerson and Anthony Artibello. Distributed by Wild Media Entertainment.
(01:36:00, Suspense Drama, 2023, ON, Canada, WP)
Leaving Yellowstone
Directed by Kayla Arend
Tessa is excited to visit her new boyfriend Mark’s cabin in Yellowstone, but what starts as a romantic winter weekend away quickly takes a turn as Mark’s behaviour begins to change. As he becomes increasingly frightening and violent, Tessa realises she doesn’t really know him at all. Unfortunately inspired by a true story and the lack of assistance available to survivors of violence in a society that frequently protects dangerous men, Leaving Yellowstone uses Nature as an accomplice to rewrite justice into a narrative that too often goes unpunished in real life.
(22:44, Horror/Thriller, 2022, United States, CP)
Somnium
Directed by Racheal Cain
When Gemma moves to LA to chase her dreams of acting, she takes a survival job at an experimental sleep clinic where all is not as it seems. As she begins to unravel the mysteries of the clinic, she becomes increasingly unsure of which horrors are real and which are in her mind. With dreamy, nostalgic cinematography and art direction, Somnium is an unnerving yet ultimately uplifting film about facing your fears and finding the strength to believe in yourself when others do not.
(01:32:20, Horror/Thriller Sci Fi, 2023, United States, CP)
