VTIFF Program-Guide 2023 - Flipbook - Page 9
FILMS A TO Z
FAMILY FILMS –
60 MINS
Shorts | 60 min
FREE! 5 years and up
SHOWTIME
SUNDAY, OCT 23 |
11 AM | BB
THE FOX AND THE PIGEON
The Fox and the Pigeon feel the need to fit in – but
aren’t they interesting enough, just the way they are?
BLEWISH
When Ezra’s classmates are confused that he’s both
Black and Jewish (Blewish), Ezra gets frustrated, and
decides to hide his Jewish identity to avoid more
awkward conversations about it.
BALLOOM
A clown struggles to accept the inevitable demise of
his balloon animals, but with the help of those around
him, he gains a new perspective that helps him
appreciate and accept the nature of change.
T-REX
Sadly, the T-Rex is very bad at playing basketball.
MEL FELL
One day, when Mama bird is away, Mel decides it’s
time to learn to fly. She’s been in the nest long
enough. Despite the fears of her cautious siblings, Mel
takes to the sky…and plummets!
PETE
Pete is an animated short film based on a true story
about gender identity, little league baseball, the
people who inspire change by trying to be themselves,
and the superheroes who allow that change to
happen.
SPIRIT OF THE FOREST
A young girl learns to respect the land after stumbling
into a sacred grove with ancient secrets.
WINTER IN A DAY
20,000 SPECIES OF BEES
(20,000 ESPECIES DE ABEJAS)
26.2 TO LIFE
Directed by Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren
Spain | 2023 | Fiction | 125 min | Spanish, Basque, French
w/subtitles
Film Source: Film Movement
Sponsored by: Patricia Fontaine
Directed by Christine Yoo
USA | 2023 | Documentary | 88 min | English
Film Source: Sideshow
Sponsored by: Olivia Milens
SHOWTIMES
TUESDAY, OCT 24 | 7:15 PM | BB
FRIDAY, OCT 27 | 4:15 PM | FH
SHOWTIMES
SATURDAY, OCT 21 | 3:30 PM | FH
SATURDAY, OCT 28 | 4 PM | BB
Set in Basque country, this is a most wonderful, sensitive,
delicate film, portraying in a complex way relationships
among a multigenerational extended family. 20,000
Species of Bees gives each of the (mainly) women in the
family enough screen time for us to get to know them. One
of the young ones is an 8-year-old male by birth, girl by
self-identification. But the film doesn’t assert itself as an
issue drama — in large part because, as Solaguren
presents the protagonist’s gradual steps toward selfrealization, her film doesn’t see much of a problem to
begin with. Great Aunt Lourde, a solitary bee-keeper, tells
the child that there are 20,000 species of bees – all of
them good. The performances are uniformly complex and
believable. This is a remarkable, tender fiction feature
debut for the director and a fascinating portrait of a diverse
group of women. ~ OY
How do you find meaning and purpose when you’re serving
life without parole? For a group of lifers in San Quentin
Prison, you just keep running. In Christine Yoo’s awardwinning documentary 26.2 To Life, we meet the men of the
1000 Mile Club, the prison’s long-distance running group.
Every November, they run the San Quentin Prison
Marathon – 105 grueling laps through a crowded prison
yard. It’s not about winning, or running the best time – it’s
about making the most of a chance to be defined by
something more than their crimes. While the film takes
place in a grim universe – nearly all the action occurs
inside San Quentin – it’s ultimately an inspirational story
that offers a glimpse into the lives of men navigating an
impossible-to-imagine fate to find redemption and, maybe,
some kind of freedom. ~SM
*** Followed by in-person Q&A with the director (Friday
screening only) ***
Two best friends, Bear and Fox, and the adventures
they have on the last day before Bear’s hibernation.
Bear dreams of one day experiencing winter and is sad
to be missing it once again. With the help of some
friends, Fox creates winter in a day for Bear.
BATTLE OF THE CENTURY
1927. Silent
short film
starring
double act
Laurel and
Hardy. The
best piethrowing
scene you
will have
ever seen.
VTIFF.ORG | VERMONT INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2023
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