Narrative Competition (Features)

Director Peter Strickland returns with his highly-anticipated follow-up to THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY with this comedic homage to classic European horror films. IN FABRIC tells the spine-tingling tale of a department store in Southern England where the salesclerks speak in riddles, the mannequins look just a little too lifelike, and the gorgeous red dress for sale fits perfectly on anyone unfortunate enough to wear it.

This part 2-D, part-3-D, part noir, part surrealist dreamscape, two-part narrative that is entirely unique follows a lone man in the Guizhou province of southwest who discovers clues of a mysterious woman and conjures the summer he spent with her twenty years prior.

Marin Ireland and Jim Gaffigan star in this understated study of normal people navigating rather abnormal circumstances. Gaffigan plays Richard, a widower whose house may or may not be haunted by his late wife. Marin plays Sheila, a single mom who moonlights as a ghost hunter. Richard and Sheila begin unpacking the haunting at hand, and begin to haunt each other in a much more tangible way.

Award-winning director Samantha Buck (BEST KEPT SECRET, THE MINK CATCHER) takes us back to 1926 when the most prominent evangelist in America is a woman who wants nothing to do with it anymore, and embarks on a road-trip to the southern border. Based on true events, SISTER AIMEE presents an indelible portrait of a woman who quite literally blazed her own trail in a time when all odds were against her and left a lasting impact on American religious philosophy.

Chilean director, Dominga Sotomayor Castillo, became the first woman in history to win the Leopard for Best Direction at Locarno for this subtly gilded and astutely observed coming of age story. Set in the summer of 1990, following the fall of the Chilean dictatorship, TOO LATE TO DIE YOUNG, follows Sofia as she navigates the precipice of womanhood in the waning light of the final summer of her girlhood.

Director Ash Mayfair has established herself as a force to be reckoned with with her debut feature, THE THIRD WIFE, winner of the coveted NETPAC and Gold Hugo Awards at Toronto and Chicago, respectively (not to mention 2 additional wins and 9 nominations at festivals across the globe). This is the story of a 14 year-old in late 19th century rural Vietnam, who is given away to an arranged marriage and must choose between her safety and her freedom after discovering forbidden love.

In a small village nestled amongst the mountains of land-locked Lesotho, an 80 year old widow awaits the return of her only surviving family member: her son, a migrant worker labouring in a South African coal mine. It is Christmas and he is due home. Sombre messengers deliver the news: her son has died in a mining accident. Distraught by the sudden news of his untimely death, Mantoa struggles to find meaning in her existence.

An invisible wall of bewilderment arises and stands between Mantoa and the outside world. God, the village, and reality too, appear further and further away. Consumed by grief, her yearning for death and reuniting with her family steadily grows. She yearns to be laid to rest in the local cemetery with her loved ones.

Mantoa winds up her affairs early and makes arrangements for her own burial. Her plans are punctuated when she learns that the village is to be forcibly resettled due to the construction of a dam reservoir. The land will be flooded and the cemetery desecrated. Mantoa’s resolve is unwavering; igniting a collective spirit of defiance within the community. In the final dramatic moments of her life, Mantoa’s legend is forged and made eternal.

Mara and Jo, in their twenties, have been close friends since middle school. Jo, the more outgoing figure, is a social worker who runs through a series of brief but intense relationships. Mara, a less splashy personality than Jo, bounces among teacher aide jobs while trying to land a position in elementary education, and writes fiction in her spare time. She too has a transient romantic life, though she seems to settle down after meeting Adam, a mild-mannered software developer. It soon becomes apparent that Jo, despite her intellectual gifts, is unreliable in her professional life, losing and acquiring jobs at a troubling rate. Substance abuse may be responsible for Jo’s instability… but some observers suspect a deeper problem. Over the course of a decade, the more stable Mara sometimes tries to help, sometimes backs away to preserve herself, but never leaves behind her powerful childhood connection with Jo.

Abla runs a modest local bakery from her home in Casablanca where she lives alone with her 8-year-old daughter, Warda. When Samia, a young pregnant woman knocks on their door, Abla is far from imagining that her life will change forever.

Anne hasn’t been the same since the jump. While skydiving for her best friend Sara’s bachelorette party, the 27-year-old felt focused, free, above it all. Back on the ground, the pressures of her daily life threaten to overwhelm her. Her coworkers at the daycare center are constantly questioning the way she connects with the children. At Sara’s wedding, she meets a nice guy named Matt, but she can’t help bringing him into ever-more-awkward social situations. As the stressful circumstances mount, Anne prepares for another jump.

An electrifying pairing of two of the brightest young stars in cinema in director Kazik Radwanski (Tower, How Heavy This Hammer) and rising talent Deragh Campbell (I Used to Be Darker), Anne at 13,000 ft reveals a director and star in perfect synch. From a rip-roaring skydive to moments of quiet reverie, Radwanski captures Anne’s experience with an unflinching directness, a volatile mix of Dardenne brothers immediacy and Cassavetes naturalism. And yet even from this privileged vantage point, it’s impossible to predict what Anne will do next.

Devi has been breeding legendary pot strains for decades, farming by day and getting stoned by night, fully expecting to live out her days on the remote homestead she built herself. But when cannabis is legalized, the fragile balance of her whole idyllic life is

thrown into disarray. Forced to confront the rapidly changing realities of the weed industry, she fights to go legal in an increasingly hostile landscape that is threatening her whole livelihood. In tour-de-force performance, Krisha Fairchild (Devi) brings the timely, real-world story of black-market growers battling to survive to the screen. Featuring a heart-breaking turn by John Craven as an old flame from Devi’s commune days, and Frank Mosley and Lily Gladstone as young workers adrift and bringing in the harvest, the film is full of standout performances that bring this very real community of fiercely independent characters to life. Set against the lush backdrop of the redwood forests of Northern California, Mario Furloni’s breathtaking cinematography pulls us into this isolated community in Humboldt County, the mythical birthplace of weed. Shot on off-the-grid pot farms during the actual harvest, directors Mario Furloni and Kate McLean masterfully bring their skills as documentarians to the forefront in making their first fictional feature, imbuing this quiet and emotional thriller with a deep and empathetic authenticity, layered throughout with a ravishing score by William Ryan Fritch and captivating sound design by Peter Albrechtsen. Deftly edited by Chris Donlon and Sara Newens.