HIFF Newsletter • June 10, 2021
The 15th annual Halifax Independent Filmmakers Festival will kick off on Thursday, June 24, with our entire film lineup available to stream online from June 24–27.
Once you start a film, you'll have 24 hours to watch it. Individual tickets for each film are available for $10 ($5 for Associate, Full and Lifetime AFCOOP members), or you can see everything with a $30 pass!
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
THE CLOUD IN HER ROOM
dir. Xinyuan Zheng Lu
2020 | China | 98 mins | Mandarin with English subtitles
Available to viewers in Atlantic Canada June 24–27
In The Cloud In Her Room, the debut feature from Xinyuan Zheng Lu, a young woman named Muzi returns home to Hangzhou to find the remains of her life in a state of slow decay. Her parents have separated and are already tangled in new relationships; their old apartment is empty and deteriorating. Figures from her past come and go as the city prepares for Chinese New Year celebrations.
Packed with beautiful black-and-white images, jump cuts, and negative reversals, The Cloud in Her Room offers the clear-eyed insight of a social-realist drama, yet passes through you like an intense, acutely felt dream. It’s a dazzling introduction to an uncompromising new artist and her rare gift for finding new life in techniques as old as film.
Get your tickets for The Cloud in Her Room here.
"The film presents itself as an entire world unto itself, and Zheng Lu explores every corner." —Jonathan Romney, Film Comment
Click below to view the trailer:
THE AMERICAN SECTOR
dir. Courtney Stephens & Pacho Velez
2020 | USA | 67 mins | English
Available to viewers in Atlantic Canada June 24–27
For nearly 30 years, the Berlin Wall was a prominent physical manifestation of social and ideological conflict. It separated East from West, capitalist from communist, and entrenched two competing visions of freedom and prosperity backed by world powers far removed from the realities of those living in its shadow. Though the Wall has now been gone for as long as it stood, directors Courtney Stephens and Pacho Velez explore in their documentary The American Sector whether its fundamental divisions were not so readily demolished.
The pair travels across America, visiting segments of the Wall that were salvaged and shipped overseas to become public monuments, personal collectibles, corporate lobby decorations, and more. Through incisive editing and picturesque 16mm photography, their conversations with tourists and historians and passers-by enrich a simple travelogue conceit into a moving meditation on what we memorialize and how that can be used to bring people together or keep them apart.
Click here to get your tickets for The American Sector.
Watch the trailer below:
HIFF EVENTS
FREE!
JUNE 24 • 8–10 PM
REGISTER FOR THE GATHER LINK
Pull out your most breathable linens, wide-brimmed hats, and espadrilles to kick off summer in style at HIFF's opening night (virtual) garden party on June 24, 8–10 p.m.! Join us on Gather as we saunter around the lush pixels and think fondly of festivals past while gazing across the digital river. See old friends, meet new ones, enjoy our surprise-filled scavenger hunt, and toss back a gimlet* or two!
(Don’t have a Gather account? It’s free and you can sign up here.)
*BYOGimlet
FREE!
Saturday, June 26 • 1 PM
REGISTER FOR ZOOM LINK
In the past five years, Nova Scotia filmmakers have made waves across the country and internationally with limited resources and boundless innovation. In honour of HIFF’s 15th anniversary we’ll speak to some of the artists behind those films—and whose shorts are part of the festival’s retrospective—about the challenges and victories they’ve experienced. Solomon Nagler will lead the discussion with guests Cory Bowles (Black Cop), Seth A. Smith (The Crescent), Ashley McKenzie (Werewolf), Bretten Hannam (North Mountain) and Heather Young (Murmur).
FREE!
Saturday, June 26 • 3 PM
REGISTER FOR ZOOM LINK
Directors Courtney Stephens and Pacho Velez took a 16mm camera across America for three years, visiting more than 60 pieces of the Berlin Wall that were salvaged and shipped overseas to become public monuments, personal collectibles, and corporate lobby decoration. The film that resulted is The American Sector, “a revelatory experience...a concise and elegantly crafted road trip” (The Hollywood Reporter). Stephens and Velez will discuss the film’s making and take questions from the audience.
FREE!
Sunday, June 27 • 11 AM
REGISTER FOR ZOOM LINK
Funding a film in Nova Scotia is a unique challenge, no matter your experience level. Representatives from key organizations—Lori McCurdy (Telefilm Canada), Rohan Fernando (The National Film Board), and Mickey Quase (Communities, Culture and Heritage’s Screenwriters Development Fund)—will discuss their respective programs and funds, how local artists can access them, and what's changed since COVID.
ATLANTIC AUTEURS CLOSE-UP
Where are you from?
I'm from Kjipuktuk (Halifax)!
What was the inspiration for the film you’re presenting at HIFF?
The inspiration from this film came from looking at old childhood photos of my parents in Hong Kong! They were all collected in various photo books, in the corner of my parents' office, and I found them one day when stumbling past them. When looking through the photos, I was immediately filled with curiosity about each of them. There were shots of them with their friends, at sleepovers, or playing guitar, and I tried to fill in the blanks. It was like I was given a window into their youth, and I began to understand more about what my parents had to sacrifice, to leave most of these moments behind to come to Canada.
What films or filmmakers inspired you to make your own?
Although many films made me think, "man, it must be cool to make a movie," I was never quite inspired until I saw Sean Baker's Tangerine! This was the first film I saw that was completely shot with an iPhone, and I was blown away by how much he did with something really basic—something that almost everyone has. I didn't know what to expect, but as the movie went on I was pulled into the story nonetheless and was entertained every second of the way. After watching Tangerine, I realized that it didn't matter whether I had a phone, a Super 8, or an expensive Hollywood-grade camera. A movie can be made with anything—and that gave me the confidence to start making films with my friends without worrying about having the "right equipment."
What's the dream feature you’d pair with your short for a screening?
Oh man! I don't think I have a good answer to that, because I haven't really thought about it! But maybe something like a Wong Kar Wai film, like Chungking Express? Wong Kar Wai's a Hong Kong director that I really like, and I think it would make a cool pair to show two different generations or two different portrayals of Hong Kongers throughout time, you know?!
What’s your go-to theatre snack (or intricate theatre-snack combo)?
POCKIES!!! Preferably Strawberry. When I go to the theatres with my friends, we always get a combination of this, Red Rabbits, and milk tea!
Where are you from?
I live in Chezzetcook, Nova Scotia, which is part of Mi’kma’ki.
What was the inspiration for the film you’re presenting at HIFF?
I live on the marsh that I portray in the film. I've been here 12 years, and I never tire of the place. When the lockdown hit, I started taking long walks along the marsh; I began connecting with this natural body like I never had before. On these walks, I'd film as much as I could. I was also doing a lot of audio field recording. And I'd journal about the marsh every night. This process, along with a series of recurring dreams, lead to a sort of abstract narrative. Essentially, the film is about decomposing—physically and spiritually. It's about being absorbed by the lands and waters. A transcendent fate that awaits us all.
What films or filmmakers inspired you to make your own?
For marshlands, which is a very different film than the features I usually work on, I was inspired by Jack Chambers’ The Hart of London, Andy Goldsworthy’s Rivers and Streams, Hildegard Westerkamp’s Kit’s Beach, and other works. It was also guided by Pauline Oliveros' deep-listening philosophy.
What's the dream feature you’d pair with your short for a screening?
I think Jack Chambers' The Hart of London would make a good pairing. I came across this film when an arts organization in Greece asked me to create a live score for it. So I spent a lot of time with the piece before performing the score in Athens. Chambers, who was a painter, made the film shortly after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. There's hardly any dialogue—it's just an abstract collage of images paired with the sound of waves. I see the film as a meditation on place, nature, and the destructive impulse of our species. It's a powerful work that really stuck with me. The film is 51-years-old and seems to be nearly forgotten.
What’s your favourite, worst or weirdest memory of making this film?
The scene with my eyeballs in the mud was especially challenging. To do it, I made a standing glass tray and filled it with actual mud from the marsh. I really wanted to evoke the feeling of being swallowed up by this sludge. The mud is a nutrient-rich stew that teams with microorganisms, but it smells incredibly foul and is laced with bird feces, so sticking my face in there and opening my eyes and mouth was an intense experience. And it took me three days and a dozen attempts to get a few seconds of footage that worked (I shot it myself, which made things especially difficult). I swallowed a lot of mud and was sick for a few days after I wrapped the scene.
These films will screen along with seven others made by established and up-and-coming filmmakers from across the region in HIFF's Atlantic Auteurs shorts program, available online June 24–27. Learn more about the full program here.