VTIFF Program-Guide 2024 - Flipbook - Page 12
FILMS A TO Z
FH: FILM HOUSE | BB: BLACK BOX THEATER | SR: SCREENING ROOM • All at Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington
DAHOMEY
Directed by Mati Diop
Benin, Senegal, France | 2024 | Documentary | 68 min | French w/subtitles
Sponsored by: Rena Koopman
SHOWTIMES
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26 | 4:15 PM | FH
It’s no secret that the world’s colonial powers frequently looted the artistic treasures of
other countries, and that those treasures often wound up in very reputable museums.
So…what to do with them? Mati Diop’s Dahomey, winner of the Golden Bear (top prize)
at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, has a few things to say about that. The film is a creative
and thought-provoking exploration of the return of 26 artifacts from the Musée du Quai
Branly in Paris to their home country of Benin (formerly the kingdom of Dahomey), with
special attention paid to the final repatriated work, a statue of King Ghezo. The film
deftly blends fact and fiction, presenting the surprisingly fraught case for the repatriation
of these artworks, and the sometimes delicate dance involved in righting the wrongs of
colonialism. Diop, in only her second feature (her first was the acclaimed Atlantics in
2019), makes it clear that the treasures belong in Benin, but shows that the path to
getting them there is not always a straight line. ~SM
After the film, there is a discussion with Richard Saunders, Director of the Middlebury
College Museum, and Alex Bortolot, Deputy Director of the Hood Museum of Art at
Dartmouth College.
THE DOG THIEF
DARKEST MIRIAM
Directed by Naomi Jaye
Canada | 2024 | Fiction | 87 min | English
Sponsored by: Judy Gerber; Vida Drungilaite
SHOWTIMES
MONDAY, OCTOBER 21 | 1 PM | FH
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27 | 4:15 PM | BB
Toronto librarian Miriam is reserved, almost to a fault. She seems to enjoy her job at the
library—except for those weird letters she keeps finding, apparently addressed to the
world at large, though somehow connecting with her personally—but she seems to be at
a remove from life. That changes when she meets a cab driver named Janko. A quiet
marvel of a movie, Naomi Jaye’s second feature probes Miriam’s inner life, watching her
at work for long stretches as she deals with library regulars…and those weird letters. As
Miriam, Britt Lower is a revelation, suggesting layers of depth and feeling while playing it
cool on the surface. That could serve as a metaphor for the movie, in which even the
most mundane scenes seem to carry hidden weight and meaning. With Charlie Kaufman
serving as executive producer, Darkest Miriam is a calling card for both Jaye and Lower,
who have created an odd and wonderful misfit of a movie. ~SM
12
Directed by Vinko Tomičić Salinas
Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador, France, Italy | 2024 | Fiction | 90 min |
Spanish w/subtitles
SHOWTIMES
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20 | 12:15 PM | BB
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24 | 1:45 PM | BB
Set in the Bolivian capital of La Paz, The Dog Thief is told through the wild eyes of Martin,
a teenager scraping together a living as a shoeshiner. Martin is an orphan and a loner
with few friends and fewer opportunities, but he hatches an ill-conceived scheme to take
advantage of his best client, the lonely, fastidious tailor Mr. Novoa. Martin conspires with
another ruffian to steal Novoa’s cherished German Shepherd companion, intending to
scam a reward from the well-off man. But there’s a secret buried in this uneasy
relationship between the boy and his target that casts this melancholy, tightly
constructed narrative in a new light. As they grow closer, and Martin draws out the
endgame, the nature of this parable takes on new and surprising dimensions. Alfredo
Castro gives an astounding lead performance, portraying this troubled, reticent
adolescent as convincingly damaged but also deeply sympathetic. Between Tomičić’s
assured direction and Castro’s soulful naturalism, The Dog Thief transcends
sentimentality; instead it is urgent, thematically rich, but also enigmatic. By turns tense
and introspective, with unmistakable shades of Italian Neorealism, this beautifully shot
film pierces your heart like prime De Sica. ~OO
VTIFF.ORG | VERMONT INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2024
