Schedule for VTIFF october 23rd-24th

 

Thursday, October 23

 

1:15 PM Yes! at Film House

Israel, in the aftermath of October 7. Y., a jazz musician struggling to make ends meet, and his wife Jasmine, a dancer, sell their art, souls, and bodies to the elite and bring pleasure and consolation to a bleeding nation. Soon, Y. is given a mission of the highest importance: setting to music a new national anthem. 

 

1:45 PM Cutting through Rocks at Black Box

As a biker, feminist, and the first elected councilwoman, Sara Shahverdi defies traditions in a conservative Iranian village. A hopeful documentary that captures Sara as she fights to dismantle the patriarchy from within while empowering young girls.

 

4:00 PM The Things You Kill at Black Box

A college professor suspects his estranged father of his mother’s death and spirals into a brutal cycle of vengeance. Gritty and gripping, this thriller uses horror tropes to peel back layers of personal and cultural trauma.

 

4:15 PM Young Mothers at Film House

Jessica, Perla, Julie, Ariane, and Naïma are housed in a shelter for young mothers. Five teenagers are hoping for a better life for themselves and their babies. 

 

7:00 PM Timestamp at Black Box

Following teachers and students across Ukraine over the course of a school year, Kateryna Gornostai captures their evolving relationships with the current conflict. 

 

7:15 PM Blue Moon at Film House

In the bar next door to St. James’ Theatre on the opening night of Oklahoma, Lorenz Hart is consumed by desperation.  

 

8:00 PM Made Here: Festival Favorites at The Screening Room

This showcase of the six favorite films from VTIFF’s spring festival celebrates its other festivals and focuses on Vermont and Quebec. The six films are Chantal Caron’s Somber Tides, Alexandre Isabelle’s À toi les oreilles, Meredith Holch’s Brother Bird, Samuel LaPointe’s We Could Be Nemeses, Virgil Ratelle’s Summer Love, and Alexia Roc’s Three Screaming Vaginas.

 

9:30 PM Fucktoys at Film House

Set in the Deep South, AP, a sex worker, and her best friend, Danni, set out on a spiritual and monetary quest after the realization that AP has been hexed.

 

 

Friday, October 24

 

12:00 PM Kontinental ’25 at Film House

Before being thrown out of the maintenance room he’s squatting in, a body is found by the bailiff assigned to his case.

 

1:45 PM The Librarians at Black Box

The film follows the resistance of librarians against extremist-fueled book bans that have targeted them for stocking books on race, gender, and sexuality. 

 

2:15 PM By Design at Film House

Architects, designers, and thinkers rethink how we shape our spaces and communities. Through incisive interviews and visuals, the film connects design to power, identity, and social justice. 

 

4:15 PM Reedland at Film House

When reed cutter Johan discovers the lifeless body of a girl on his land, he is overcome by an ambiguous sense of guilt. While taking care of his granddaughter, he sets out on a quest to track down evil.  But darkness can thrive in unexpected places. 

 

4:30 PM Heads or Fails at Black Box

A scrappy hustler named Armande Pigeon wins a high-stakes card game while on the brink of eviction and, fueled by this luck, continues to chase larger scores.

 

7:00 PM Dogfight at Film House

In 1963, a U.S. Marine meets Rose, an aspiring folk singer, and over the course of a single night, the two begin to fall in love, despite their outlook on the imminent war. 

 

7:15 PM Living the Land at Black Box

Following Chaung, the ten-year-old protagonist, the film shows a hardworking farming community in rural China and their reactions to the seasons, each other, and multiple tragedies.

 

8:00 PM Shorts Program I at The Screening Room

Celebrating international short films, VTIFF is screening Jason Adam Maselle’s Punter, Chheangkea’s Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites, Jason Adam Maselle’s Punter, Lucia G. Romero’s Cura Sana, Bill Morrison’s Ghost of the Past,and Aditya Joshi’s A West Side Story Story.  

 

9:30 PM Dead Lover at Film House

When a gravedigger longing for companionship meets a man suffering from the grief of his dead sister, who’s strangely attracted to her, they share a love affair that can’t last forever.