Worlds collide in Ajitpal Singh’s bold family drama, Fire in the Mountains.

Vinamrata Rai stars as Chandra, a hard-working wife, mother, and businesswoman, keeping it all together for the sake of her family. In another time and place, Chandra could be the CEO of a thriving company, but her business savvy means little in rural North India, where she must accommodate the conservative patriarchy. Chandra upends the status quo when she fights to build a new road to accommodate her wheelchair-bound son Prakash (Mayank Singh).

Fire in the Mountains is a captivating character study detailing what happens when modern-day values crash up against traditional beliefs. The film examines religion, gender inequity, and industrialization to paint a vivid portrait of a village on the precipice of social upheaval. Singh’s affecting debut film is also a feast for the eyes, featuring immersive production design set against breathtaking Himalayan backdrops.

SCREENING WITH: TERROR FERVOR
Phoebe Parsons / Canada / English / 6 mins
Seven monsters embody reflections of malaise and violence in a world of psychedelic terror.

Keywords: Gender inequality | Labour | Motherhood | Sexism | Trauma

As a result of tireless advocacy by Autistic activists and their allies, the very meaning of Autism is shifting from a highly pathologized and misunderstood medical diagnosis to an identity that celebrates natural brain differences and embraces diverse ways of being. For the first time in this festival’s history we are
pleased to present a program of films about Autism directed entirely by Autistic individuals. These vibrant, multifaceted autobiographical narratives address the myths and stereotypes associated with Autism, illuminate the barriers Autistic individuals encounter in day-to-day life, and highlight their astounding resilience in the face of these challenges.

LISTEN (Communication First | 2021 | USA | English with described audio | 5 min) This short film was produced by a multinational, nearly 100% Autistic team in response to Sia’s controversial film Music.

THE RED HOT INSIDE (WHAT IT’S LIKE TO GROW UP WITH AUTISM)
(Jennifer Msumba | 2018 | USA | English | 4 min) Jennifer Msumba tells the story of growing up with autism and OCD and what it was like being placed in psychiatric hospitals, group homes and residential schools.

S/PACE (Estée Klar & Adam Wolfond | 2019 | Canada | English with described audio | 16 min)
A poetic exploration of autistic movement as expression, created by Adam Wolfond, a non-speaking writer/poet/artist, in collaboration with his neurodivergent artist/researcher, doctor of Critical Disability Studies, mom Estée Klar.

HOLE (Gil Goletski | 2018 | Canada | English | 6 min) HOLE is a film depicting the artist’s experiences as a transgender person on the autism spectrum.

FEARS & DREAMS (Chris Gerry | 2020 | Canada | English | 3 min) In Fears & Dreams, an Autistic man shares his anxieties and hopes about parenthood.

UNTITLED (Raya Shields | Canada | 2021 | English | 3 min) This rich multimedia narrative uses art, poetry, vocalization and movement to convey the filmmaker’s experiences of school as a child and as a university student.

GASOLINE RAINBOWS (V Vallieres | 2021 | Canada | English | 5 min) This experimental animation represents the creator’s experience of Autism, and how it is connected to their non-binary/trans gender identity, maladaptive coping strategies and mental health.

WE ARE HERE (Rowan Duncan | 2020 | Canada | English | 6 min) This poetic manifesto explores what it means to fit in or stand apart, and honours Autistic resistance and resilience.

UNSPOKEN (Emma Zurcher-Long | 2019 | USA | English with described audio | 28 min)
14-year-old Emma Zurcher-Long sees and hears the world, as she puts it, in ‘Hi-res, technicolor and surround sound’. As a chronicle of a teenager coming into her own, and as a work advocating for the rights of all peoples, UNSPOKEN is a lesson on, and celebration of, living an authentic life.

Keywords: #ActuallyAutistic | Advocacy | Autism | Non-speaking | Family

JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
CHANGING THE NARRATIVE

Join Moderator Kat Singer and a line-up Autistic creators in conversation about the ups and downs of being different, self-advocacy through art and envisioning a more inclusive future.

Please note: choice of identity first language (e.g. Autistic) over person-first language (person with Autism) reflects the preference of the majority of the Autistic community. We respect the agency of people to self identify however they wish

Winner of the Cinema Fan Award at the 2020 PIA Film Festival at the National Film Archive of Japan, Luginsky is an incredibly unique animated film replete with early and modern computer graphics, still photography and a collage of cut-outs, which are dizzyingly utilized to maximum effect to tell a story which seems as delirious as the protagonist. The main character of the film is named Deerman, whose head is a deer and who recently endured an accident resulting in chronic hallucinations. Deerman has recently lost his job, and in a series of events that led him to become reliant on alcohol, frequently is beaten up as a result of his drunken behaviours. His addiction takes an even worse turn when he stumbles upon a panther-barmanpriest who creates a forbidden cocktail for Deerman designed by an ex-boxer named Luginsky that alters his life even further with so-called reality and fantasy dancing in unprecedented ways. A most unique film of fantastical visions you won’t soon forget.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: Q&A WITH DIRECTOR HAIENA
Please join film artist Haiena for a virtual Q&A to discuss his experience creating the unique
animated reality of Luginsky. The discussion will be moderated by animator animator Jeff Chiba
Stearns with Japanese to English interpretation, ASL interpretation and captioning.

Keywords: Addictions | Alcoholism | Animation | Class | Surrealism

In warm hues of colour, 1960s Lyon is explored by a preteen boy who idolizes his
unhinged father and his multiple professions. Emile is twelve years old. His father
is a hero. He says he is a judo champ, a parachutist, a soccer player and even a
personal advisor to General de Gaulle. Now he wants to save French Algeria!
Fascinated and proud, Emile willingly follows his father in missions of utmost
danger: tailing, spying, delivering top-secret letters. Emile carries out his orders in
all seriousness. He even recruits Luca, a new classmate, into his secret combat. But
what if the father’s exploits were all phony, and far too dangerous for children?

Keywords: Anger | Collonialism | Mania | Rebellion | Sons & Fathers

زمانيكه مارى (باران كوثري) خواهر جالل (حبيب رضائي) كه دچار بيماري دو قطبي است مخفيانه با قمارباز قهار و
معتاد (پارسا پيروزفر) ازدواج ميكند،به پيچيدگي روابط خواهر و برادر كه همخانه بودند بسيار ميفزايد. جالل اهل كار
نيست و ترجيح ميدهد كه از اندوخته مالي پدرش روزگار خود را بگذاراند، او مايل است كه زمان آزادش را صرف سر
در آوردن از زندگي خواهرش كند. جالل كه از ازدواج مخفيانه مارى عصبانى است، وسائلش را جمع و شبانه خانه را
.ترك ميكند. حوادث پيش رويش هر يك عجيب تر از ديگرى
است

درام “بى حسى موضعى” حسين ماهكامى مطالعه شخصيت هايى را كه با اعتياد، ، وابستگي چندگانه، و بيماري دو قطبى
دست بگريبانند به تصوير ميكشد. فيلم همچنين عالقه تماشاگر را به تعقيب اين شخصيت هاى قابل مطالعه در طول فيلم بر
مى انگيزاند. نقش بازيگران كه همگى فضاهاى بازيگري خود را ماهرانه ارائه ميكنند ناشى از تصاوير پر رنگ آنها در
فيلمنامه ايست كه با مهارت و بصورت بسيار ملموسي جايگاه هر يك را با طرافت و دقت تنظيم نموده است

When Jalal’s (Habib Rezaei) sister with bipolar disorder Mary (Baran Kosari) secretly marries a dashing gambling addict (Parsa Pirouzfar), it complicates the sibling’s uneasy living arrangement. Jalal refuses to work, preferring to live off his father’s savings, and uses his free time to pry into Mary’s relationships. Upset by Mary’s secret marriage, Jalal packs up and heads out into the night, where he finds himself in one strange encounter after the next.

Hossein Mahkam’s dramedy Numbness is a vibrant character study tackling addiction, co-dependence, and bipolar disorder with levity. It’s also a lively movie allowing you to savour each and every moment with these dynamic characters. The entire cast delivers strong performances, thanks to an incisive script that grounds its larger-than-life characters in all-too-relatable feelings.

SCREENING WITH CLENCH MY FISTS
Sarah Trad | 2020 | USA | 6 min | Arabic with English subtitles
Clench My Fists is a found-footage collage video that explores the process of growing up in an Iranian family deeply affected by death and grief.

Keywords: Bipolar Disorder | Contemporary | Existentialism | Night walks | Siblings

We’re thrilled to be presenting a special 25th-ish anniversary screening of the seminal film Safe by
Todd Haynes which was presented at the third Rendezvous With Madness in 1995. This retrospective
could not be more timely given the current coronavirus pandemic we’ve all been living through since
spring 2020; nor can the serendipitous timing of Halloween; this is a quintessential horror film as seen
through the character of Carol White (played magnificently by Julianne Moore).

Set in 1987, the film follows White, a well-to-do California housewife who suddenly finds herself struggling to breathe while doctors continually insist that nothing is amiss with her health. Before long, Carol self diagnoses herself to be reacting to the toxic chemicals around her stating emphatically that she’s “allergic to the 20th century.” When Safe was originally released many viewers viewed Carol’s
plight as a metaphor for the HIV/AIDS epidemic; in 2021 it’s both that pandemic and the current one
that will leave their marks on you long after the film’s credits roll.

SCREENING WITH FORM 1
Jubal Brown | 2021 | Canada | English | 13 min
Commissioned by the non-profit organization Asylum From Psychiatry and Marta McKenzie, this
film is largely based on patient experiences in the mental health care systems in Canada. Found
footage sourced from movies and television are used to create an abstract narrative illustrating the
traumas experienced by patients in psychiatric institutions.

Keywords: Chemical Sensitivity | Environmental Illness| Family | Trauma | Virus

“I wanted to bring up the behaviour that we
all exhibit around illness, particularly in the
way we try to attach meaning and personal responsibility to illness and how much illness
and identity are mixed up with each other,
… Safe feels like this allegory about all kinds
of indeterminate and imprecise notions of
health, well-being and immunity in peril.”
—Todd Haynes

முதல்முறையாக படம் இயக்கி உள்ள அருன் கார்த்திக் திலிப் குமாரின் கதை ஒன்றினை மூலமாக கொண்டு உணர்வுபூர்வமான படம் எடுத்துள்ளார். தமிழகத்திலுள்ள கோயம்புத்தூரில் வாழும் நாசிர் என்னும் இஸ்லாத்தை பேணும் குடும்பஸ்த்தரின் கதைதான் இந்த படம். கோவை மாவட்டத்தில் பரவி வரும் இந்து மத அடிப்படை வாதத்தின் கோர குரல் ஒளிபெருக்கிகளில் தொடர்ந்து ஒளிக்கின்றன. நாசிர் வேலை செய்யும் துணிக்கடையின் முதலாளி முஸ்லீம்களின் மேல் கொண்ட வெறுப்பினை தொடர்ந்து வேளிப்படுத்துகிறார். கடைக்கு வரும் வாடிக்கையாளர்கள் நாசிரை துச்சமாய் எண்ணி மதிப்பின்றி நடத்துகின்றனர். இதில் நாசிருக்கு வீட்டு கவலைகள் எழும்பி அவர் அபு தாபி சென்று உழைத்துச் சம்பாதிப்பதை பற்றி யோசிக்கிறார். நகரத்தின் பரபரப்பினூடே அமைதியான சாதாரனமான நாசிரின் தின்சரி யதார்த்தங்ககளை இயக்குனர் கார்த்திக் உயிரோட்டத்துடன் நம்முன் கொண்டு வருகிறார். அதே சமயம் நாசிரை சுற்றி புறளும் செய்திகளும் ஆங்காங்கே நடக்கும் உரையாடல்கள் இவ்யதார்த்ததின் ஓரங்களில் பதுங்கியிருக்கும் வன்முறையை நினைவுபடுத்துகிறது.

This gentle portrait from sophomore feature filmmaker Arun Karthick is based on a short story by Dilip Kumar. It follows Nasir, a Muslim family man in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, where Hindu nationalism has taken on more dangerous forms in recent years.  Propaganda constantly booms from loudspeakers everywhere in public spaces. The owner at the textile store where he works makes little effort to hide his contempt for Muslims while customers treat Nasir as a doormat. In the meantime, Nasir starts worrying about his wife and wonders whether he would be better off as a migrant labourer in Abu Dhabi. With equanimous, stunning images of everyday life, Director Karthick brings us fully into Nasir’s prosaic world  Still, off-screen news reports and casual conversations remind us of the violence that hangs in the peripheries.

TAMIL WORLD INITIATIVE

Panelists for this film, in conversation with Director Arun Karthick, will address issues of art-making during the context of Right wing Hindu fundamentalism, Islamophobia and casteism in the Tamil speaking world. Panel in Tamil and English with translation.

நாசிர், கலந்துரையாடலில் சேருங்கள்
கருத்து முன்வைக்கும் நபர்கள் இயக்குனர் அருன் கார்த்திகுடன் கலந்துரையாடுவர். இதில், இந்து மதவாதம், சாதி வெரி, இஸ்லாத்தை வெறுத்தல் அகிய உண்மைகள் நம்மை சூழ்ந்துள்ள இக்காலத்தில், தமிழ்ச் சூழளில் கலை உருவாக்கம் பற்றி பேசுவர். கலந்துரையாடல் தமிழ் ஆங்கிலம் இரண்டிலும் மொழிபேயர்ப்புடன் நடைபேரும்.    

Set in the stunning landscape of the Lesotho mountains, this unique film follows the story of an 80-year-old widow, Mantoa. Mantoa eagerly awaits her son’s return from work in the mines; instead, she learns of his death. Her immense grief is framed within the Provincial decree to relocate her village in order for development of a dam and reservoir, threatening to flood and erase everything that she holds dear. Mantoa takes up a spiritual mantle and fights for the land, community and her desire to bury her child on the land they were raised on. A colourful, heartfelt and personal story full of the strength, history and the power of this lone matriarch in the face of great change. Taking her last stand, Mantoa asserts her way of life, where the living and the dead stand together to bear witness to the changing landscape, making us question the price of progress.

Veins of the World is a wondrous coming of age tale that describes living in harmony with nature and the financial instabilities of maintaining the traditions of nomadic people. Amra is 11 years old — and suffers from an eye condition that will blind him in the near future. Growing up in the Mongolian steppe (itself a co-star of this gorgeous landscape film), Amra’s father Erdene is the local leader opposing global companies’ mining and gold extraction. Without intervention, his father’s workshop will soon close, yet despite these challenges Amra still dreams of someday singing on television in Mongolia’s Got Talent. However, the fight against resource exploitation in an unstable environment quickly challenges the young boy’s electric talents. Director Byambasuren Davaa’s (The Story of the Weeping Camel) first fiction feature premiered at the Berlin Film Festival then screened at the Marché du Film Online in Cannes and is a captivating story about family and community challenging the constant march of capitalism and environmental exploitation.

Screening with 

Blues Side on the Blue Sky
Rachmat Hidayat Mustamin | 2018 | Indonesia | Indonesian with English subtitles | 15 minutes

In a manifestation of visual poetry, Blues Side on The Blue Sky tells the story of a mother who tries to save her daughter.

Join us for a virtual panel with Leah Gardner from JCAP, Jamie Kneen from Mining Watch Canada and Rachel Small from Mining Injustice Solidarity Network.