VTIFF Program-Guide 2024 - Flipbook - Page 13
Stay connected with VTIFF @VERMONTFILM | Support and become a member VTIFF.ORG/MEMBERSHIP
FILMS A TO Z
EEPHUS
DYING (STERBEN)
Directed by Matthias Glasner
Germany | 2024 | Fiction | 180 min | German w/subtitles
Sponsored by: Arnie Malina
SHOWTIMES
MONDAY, OCTOBER 21 | 3 PM | FH
Matthias Glasner’s epic thanatopsis, his first cinematic effort since 2012’s Mercy, is
sweeping in its scope but finely textured in its telling. Dying was this year’s Best Picture
at the 2024 German Film Awards and was awarded the Silver Bear for best screenplay at
the Berlin International Film Festival. Lars Eidinger (Everyone Else, White Noise) leads a
collection of high-caliber dramatic performances in this story about the estranged Lunies
family. Father Gerd is suffering from dementia and Mother Lissy’s health is starting to
rapidly decline as well. Meanwhile, son Tom, a classical composer, is desperately trying
to realize his orchestral masterpiece—titled “Dying”—and daughter Ellen is dealing with
addiction and her own personal crises. Told in five overlapping chapters, Glasner’s
depiction of the indignities of aging, the fallout for those close to the infirmed, and the
ways that family dynamics suddenly invert is intensely relatable and harrowing. Dying is a
film that is unflinching in its depiction of grief and regret, but also imbued with humor,
heart, and undeniable humanity. It’s also not afraid to indulge its operatic emotional
peaks and major-key reflexivity, making this movie about the inevitable feel very much
alive. ~OO
Directed by Carson Lund
USA | 2024 | Fiction | 98 min | English
Sponsored by: Kevin Meehan; The Vermont Senior Baseball League and members of The
Burlington Cardinals
SHOWTIMES
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19 | 4 PM | FH
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22 | 1:45 PM | FH
A new cult classic indie sports movie in the making, EEPHUS is an elegy for America’s
pastime and an affectionate depiction of beer league camaraderie. It’s also just flat-out
funny, with a hell of a comedic batting average and a lovable Massachusetts-brand of
brininess. It’s the end of an era for a recreational baseball league as a bunch of long-inthe-tooth hangers on—including an appearance by local hero hurler Bill “Spaceman”
Lee—gather together for one final game before their hallowed diamond is demolished.
As the game stretches into extra innings, and daylight fades, this group of salty
underdogs reflects on their years of friendship and their shared love of the game as they
make peace with the end. EEPHUS is positively dripping with nostalgia, capturing the
unreal golden glow of a New England autumn that only exists in the mind. Lived-in,
ribald, and a blast of a hangout movie, EEPHUS is so full of wonderful non-sequiturs and
chin-music zingers that the movie’s poetry and melancholy will catch you flat-footed.
~OO
After the film, there is a Q&A with former Boston Red Sox and current Burlington
Cardinals pitcher Bill Lee, who plays a part in the film.
ENO
Directed by Gary Hustwit
UK | 2024 | Documentary | 85 min | English
Sponsored by: Todd Lockwood; Burlington Records
SHOWTIMES
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27 | 7 PM | FH
Brian Eno has stuffed several careers into his own—band member, solo artist, studio
innovator, producer to both oddballs and superstars—so it’s only fitting that a biopic
bearing his name would be just a little…different. Compiling hundreds of hours of
archival footage and new interviews, director Gary Hustwit uses an AI program to
rearrange and re-edit the film for each screening, creating a unique viewing experience
every time, with millions of variations. In other words, the Eno that you see on the closing
night of VTIFF is the one and only time that particular version of the film will be seen.
Ever. Crazy, right? It suits the subject. Eno got his start in Roxy Music, but quit pretty
early to make a series of highly influential solo albums. He actually coined the term
“ambient music” with his seminal Ambient 1: Music for Airports. His work with
overlapping tape loops had a huge impact in the world of experimental music. As a
producer, he’s put his indelible mark on the best work by Devo, Talking Heads, Ultravox,
U2, David Bowie, and many others. This one-of-a-kind experience closes out this year’s
festival. ~SM
VTIFF.ORG | VERMONT INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2024
13
