Stefan Habel
AnneDay two in Vancouver and found out an old friend has a short film in VIFF (Vancouver International Film Festival) just in time to catch the viewing. Was nice to get out to an art thing. It’s been ages. #vancouver #viff #film
🍃Carkner🥺the last one of the 10 for now— though I may change a bit between now and then:
"Her longing to sing becomes more than personal; it symbolizes the collective fight for freedom. A story of courage, resilience, and hope, this is a must-see film about the power of one voice to stand against silence."
https://viff.org/whats-on/viff25-bidad/
it came out in 1996, but I haven't seen it. caught my fancy:
"Makhmalbaf — now a celebrated film director — receives an unexpected visit from the very same policeman, leading to a collaboration in which the two decide to film a reenactment of the incident that first brought them together. However, the young actors cast to play the roles of the erstwhile enemies have their own ideas of what that incident means and how the story should be told."
https://viff.org/whats-on/viff25-a-moment-of-innocence/
A Moment of Innocence | VIFF 2025
Iranian master filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf stages a filmed reenactment of a political skirmish from his youth. Equal parts autobiographical comedy, Brechtian behind-the-scenes documentary, and metaphysical poem, A Moment of Innocence shines.
"Despite his aptitude for obedience, Colin grows tired of sleeping on the floor and begins to wish for more."
heehee... this is one I could learn something from
https://viff.org/whats-on/viff25-pillion/
when i showed my friend in Montreal the list of 20 I was thinking about this was the one she zeroed in on.
"The film opens with the purchase of a vacuum cleaner revealed to contain a dead man’s spirit; soon, a repair man is explaining its backstory, which unfolds in flashbacks recalling worker exploitation, subversive ghosts, and a government program devised to investigate citizens’ minds while they sleep."
A Useful Ghost | VIFF 2025
Wacky, whimsical, and always engaging, this tale about Thailand's bloody modern history starts with a ghost in a vacuum cleaner and ends with a guerilla attack on an orgy. In between there's romance, deadpan comedy, and subversive historical excavation.
hmm, this one might have been one of my top choices at #VIFF
"At the peak of Stalin’s purges, gulags were being filled with political prisoners — their letters burned, their due process denied. When a letter from a prisoner claiming innocence miraculously slips through the censors and reaches the desk of the naïve, freshly graduated prosecutor Alexander Kornev, the legal representative sets out to investigate, unaware of the labyrinthine bureaucracy awaiting him."
https://viff.org/whats-on/viff25-two-prosecutors/
Two Prosecutors | VIFF 2025
In the midst of Stalin's purges, a naïve prosecutor sets out to investigate a prisoner's innocence, unaware of the labyrinthine bureaucracy awaiting him. A Kafkaesque procedural thriller about the pursuit of justice in the face of corruption.
this one looks sweet and poignant..
"An escapee from North Korea, Cheol-jun (Cho Youhyun) is having trouble adjusting to life in Seoul. Shy, socially awkward, and deep in the closet, Cheol-jun is advised to join a social group for young gay men, but venturing into the subculture of open homosexuality, he finds its customs and codes hard to understand."
https://viff.org/whats-on/viff25-3670/
3670 | VIFF 2025
Park Joon Ho's fascinating, deeply poignant film tells the story of a gay North Korean defector adjusting to life in Seoul. The writer-director walks a fine line: his film is humane enough to avoid cynicism and honest enough to reject false uplift.
this one also looks suitably brainless... honestly, so much at #VIFF looked like a tragic sweeping epic that I needed stuff like this 🤞
https://viff.org/whats-on/viff25-nirvanna-band-show-movie/
https://viff.org/whats-on/viff25-nirvanna-band-show-movie/
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie | VIFF 2025
Two deranged dreamers are caught in a freak accident that sends them hurtling back to 2008. As they inadvertently wreak havoc with the timeline, a barrage of pop culture references, copyright violations, wild gags, and inspired set pieces is unleashed.
here's the trailer for above..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q8kkeJ-pjQ&ab_channel=TIFFTrailers
