Travel the world with these movies at the Vermont International Film Festival
The longest-running film festival in Vermont is back for a 10-day run featuring nearly 60 feature films produced as close to home as Burlington and as far-flung as India and South Korea.
The Vermont International Film Festival kicks off its 37th year with opening night Friday, Oct. 21. The festival presents in-person screenings in Burlington and Montpelier through Sunday, Oct. 30, with online presentations offered through Wednesday, Nov. 2.
With 57 feature films and more than a dozen short films on the agenda, there’s a lot to take in. Here we’ve boiled that list down to a select few that might just give you a great place to start. (All of the films below will be screened at the Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center unless otherwise indicated.)
‘Broker’
7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, the opening-night film is "Broker," a dark comedic drama about child trafficking set in South Korea and directed by Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda.
‘Decision to Leave’
6:45 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, another South Korea-set film, Park Chan-wook’s "Decision to Leave" is a Hitchcockian tale of a detective investigating a suspicious death who falls in love with the prime suspect.
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‘Kintsugi Angel’
7:30 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, the short film "Kintsugi Angel" was made by Vermont artists Erika Senft Miller and Lukas Huffman, and the two screenings will be an immersive art experience featuring live dancers.
‘Experiments in Queer Cinema’
9:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, "Experiments in Queer Cinema," a compilation of short films, includes movies from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Germany.
‘A Night of Knowing Nothing’
4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, the Payal Kapadia documentary "A Night of Knowing Nothing" follows student uprisings in response to edicts by India’s far-right government.
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‘Costa Brava, Lebanon’
6:45 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, Mounia Akl’s "Costa Brava, Lebanon" is a feature film from Lebanon following two former political activists confronted by their past as they live their current family life in the seemingly pastoral countryside. (The film will be screened virtually all day Sunday, Oct. 30-Tuesday, Nov. 1.)
‘Corsage’
6:45 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25, 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, the Austrian film "Corsage" is a biopic detailing the life of the 19th-century empress of the Austro-Hungarian regime known to her subjects as Sissi.
‘Killer of Sheep’/’To Sleep with Anger’
7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26 ("Killer of Sheep"), 3:45 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27 ("To Sleep with Anger"), these two films set in south Los Angeles were made by Charles Burnett, who is the recipient of the VTIFF Award for Outstanding Contribution in American Cinema and will take part in question-and-answer sessions following each screening.
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‘Alma’s Rainbow’
6:45 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, the 1994 coming-of-age film "Alma’s Rainbow" by Ayoka Chenzira is one of the first produced, written and directed by an African-American woman. (The film will also be shown virtually all day Friday, Oct. 28-Sunday, Oct. 30.)
‘EO’
7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, veteran Polish director Jerzi Skolimowski’s latest looks at life through the eyes of a donkey named EO.
‘Breathless’
11:15 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 30, a restored version of the classic 1960 crime film "Breathless" highlights the work of French director Jean-Luc Godard, who died last month.
‘Dead Ringer’
7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30, the late singer Meat Loaf is the subject of a rarely-screened fact/fiction hybrid film called "Dead Ringer" by part-time Vermont resident Allan Nicholls, who will be on hand for a question-and-answer session following the closing-night showing.
If you go
WHAT: Vermont International Film Festival
WHEN: Friday, Oct. 21-Wednesday, Nov. 2
WHERE: Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington; Savoy Theater, Montpelier; and online.
INFORMATION: $6-$12 general admission; $12 per virtual screening; $15-$30 for opening night; $95 for 10-pack of films; $150 for individual festival pass, $250 for two people at the same address. www.vtiff.org
Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com. Follow Brent on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BrentHallenbeck.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont International Film Festival schedule in Burlington
