All guests attending screenings of the Toronto Arthouse Film Festival are required to have a ticket for entry due to the assigned seating model in place to regulate social distancing in the theatre. Tickets and seats can be reserved online ahead of time, or can be reserved at the box office upon arrival to the screening(s). A ticket must be reserved for each event if attending more than one screening. Groups of individuals wishing to sit together must book all tickets/seats in one transaction in order to be seated together.
Due to the vaccine passport mandate coming into effect on September 22nd, all guests attending will be required to show their proof of vaccination and photo ID upon arrival.
This screening session will be hosted by Thom Ernst and features 9 films. All films are English spoken and/or English subtitled.
Quantum Clouds (Greece)
By Dimitris Giouzepas
Unsettling visuals for an unsettling tune, an ever-evolving Rorschach inkblot, an ungrasped idea. Running time: 00:03:43
I Want to Be the Ocean (Germany)
By Raman Djafari
A small community in the woods experiences a flooding. The people of the city recite a poem, admitting to their doubts. A meandering film about identity, uncertainty and the hope to escape it. Running time: 00:01:07
Syncope (Iran)
By Toraj Heybati
A 19-year-old boy is married to a 12-year-old girl. At the wedding night the young girl suffers a seizure. The boy does not know how to solve this problem and asks his older brother for help and … Running time: 00:13:49
Bellydance Vogue (Lebanon)
By Hadi Moussally
"My birthday was on the 3rd of April 2020 during lockdown, and for the first time, I celebrated it all by myself. But even if I was alone, I decided to celebrate it as if it’s the last one." A film made during quarantine. Running time: 00:05:00
Among the Almond Trees (Belgium)
By Marie Le floc'h
Today, Maysan has a very important administrative appointment for her family. But Iyad, her husband, has a question she is not ready to hear. Running time: 00:21:18
Equinox (Canada)
By Jonah Haber
*No VFX were done for this video. All animations were created practically with projection mapping*
Equinox is inspired by the concept of the two faces: the face you show the world and the face of who you truly are. We constantly wear this first face as a mask to deceive the world so we can get places. We want to be likeable and approachable to climb social and professional ladders. We can’t be honest and truthful about the thoughts that go through our minds as there is a constant fear of judgement that haunts us.
Oftentimes this gets exhausting. You feel like you are losing a sense of your identity, a sense of self. The fear that you won’t be accepted if you reveal that second face to the world. So it lies in the shadows, wanting to get out but never quite breaking free.
It is this duality of self that this film aims to capture through body movement and light. In Equinox, the contrast between the naturalism and simplicity of the day with the surrealism and intensity of the night is synonymous with these two faces. Running time: 00:02:43
The Monkey King (United States)
By Yingqi Ren
Bao, a 40-year-old divorcé and small-time Chinese Opera amateur performer finally gets a chance to perform to the city’s VIPs. However, his son’s departure to America forces him to make a decision between their relationship and his potential big break. Running time: 00:24:20
The Mad One (Canada)
By Taye Alvis
Short subject documentary about The Mad One. An underground barber shop located in Toronto's Queen West neighbourhood. Running time: 00:01:48
Ala Kachuu - Take and Run (Switzerland)
By Maria Brendle
Sezim (19) wants to fulfill her dream of studying in the Kyrgyz capital when she gets kidnapped by a group of young men and taken to the hinterland. There she’s forced to marry a stranger. If she refuses the marriage, she is threatened with social stigmatization and exclusion. Torn between her desire for freedom and the constraints of Kyrgyz culture, Sezim desperately seeks for a way out. Running time: 00:38:26