Diaspora Film Festival

DFF provides Toronto audiences with an
opportunity to experience the cultural mosaic
of the present world through the medium
of cinema.

Author Archive
Program Book

Program Book

Download the Program Book 2013 Here
Crocodiles without Saddles

Crocodiles without Saddles

Britta Wandaogo, Germany/Burkina Faso, 2013, 15 min, in German with English Subtitles ‘The day you don’t know where to go – remember where you came from’ Crocodiles without Saddles is a documentary road movie about the luck of being oneself. In the cosmos of Kaddi, there are no ‘correct’ explanations – Why, how come, how!...
GLAUBER ROCHA discussion panel

GLAUBER ROCHA discussion panel

In Praise of a Legend! Cinema of Glauber Rocha “I am Cinema Novo!” said Glauber Rocha the legendary Brazilian filmmaker and one of the most influential cineastes of Latin America. Cinema Novo was created to oppose the Hollywood-style filmmaking of 1960s Brazil. Influenced by Italian Neo Realism and French New Wave, it quickly spread across...
Sathima’s Windsong

Sathima’s Windsong

Toronto Premier Daniel Yon, Canada/South Africa, 2010, 54 min, in English Saturday, 2 November 2013, 1:00 PM, Carlton Cinema A portrait of South African jazz vocalist, Sathima Bea Benjamin, shot in New York, Cape Town, St. Helena and on the Atlantic Ocean. In her Chelsea Hotel apartment, home for over thirty years, Sathima patches together...
Antonio das Mortes

Antonio das Mortes

Glauber Rocha, Brazil, 1969, 100 min, in Portuguese with English Subtitles Winner, Best Director, and nominated for Palm d’Or, Cannes FF 1969 A part of Tribute to Glauber Rocha. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion on the Cinema of Glauber Rocha. Tuesday, 5 November 2013, 7:00 PM, Innis Town Hall, FREE ADMISSION...
Entranced Earth

Entranced Earth

                                            Glauber Rocha, Brazil, 1967, 111 min, In Portuguese with English Subtitles Winner, FIPRESCI Prize, Nominates for Palm d’Or, Cannes FF 1967; Golden Leopard, Locarno FF 1967 A part of Tribute to Glauber Rocha...
The New World

The New World

North American Premiere Jaap van Heusden, The Netherlands, 2013, 83 min, in Dutch, English, and Dioula with English Subtitles Saturday, 2 November 2013, 2:00 pm, Carlton Cinema Mirte is the grumpiest cleaner in the airport immigration centre, a single mother who cannot take care of her 9-year old son, just managing to keep a grip...
AMANDA MARTINEZ MAÑANA

AMANDA MARTINEZ MAÑANA

Festival Passes not valid for this event. No discount available for this event Sunday, 3 November 2013, 8:30 pm, Innis Town Hall Legendary Canadian singer and songwriter Amanda Martínez celebrates hope, possibility and persistence in her new album MAÑANA. After the premiere screening of CICLO, directed by her cousin Andrea Martínez and about her father...
They Were Promised the Sea

They Were Promised the Sea

Kathy Wazana, Canada, 2012, 74 min, in Arabic, French, and English with English Subtitles Sunday, 3 November 2013, 3:00 pm, Innis Town Hall Followed by a Panel Discussion They Were Promised the Sea is the story of a people whose identity as Arab Jews challenges the very notion of enemy. Informed by the director’s family...
Resilience

Resilience

Dordaneh Dadui, Canada, 2013, 13 min, in Farsi and English with English subtitles Precedes MARGINAL ROAD, Saturday, 2 November 2013, 4:00 pm, Carlton Cinema Yeganeh and her parents fled Iran years ago. Just because she’s safe from the country’s oppressive regime, doesn’t mean she’s forgotten the hardships she endured there. But you would never know...
Clandestine Childhood

Clandestine Childhood

Benjamín Ávila, Argentina/Spain/Brazil, 2012, 110 min, in Spanish with English Subtitles Winner, 10 Argentina’s Oscars 2012; Casa de America, San Sebastian FF 2012; Coral Award, Havana FF 2012; Official Selection Cannes FF 2012 Saturday, 2 November, 9:00 pm, Carlton Cinema Sunday, 3 November, 3:00 pm, Carlton Cinema Argentina, 1979. After years of exile, Juan (12)...
Water

Water

A Feature Film Born Out of a Unique Israeli-Palestinian Cooperation Nir Sa’ar & Maya Sarfaty, Mohammad Fuad, Yona Rozenkier, Mohammad Bakri, Ahmad Bargouthi, Pini Tavger, Tal Haring, Israel/Palestine, 2013, 110 min, in Arabic, Hebrew, English with English Subtitles, Canadian Premiere The project WATER is a cinematic cooperation created in 2012 by a small group of...
Parviz

Parviz

Majid Barzegar, Iran, 2012, 107 min, in Farsi with English Subtitles, Canadian Premiere Winner, Jury’s Special Mention, San Sebastian IFF 2012; NETPAC Award, Asiatec FF, Rome 2012; Silver Apricot, Yerevan FF, Armenia 2012 Saturday, 2 November , Innis Town Hall At age 50, Parviz still lives off his father. The two men don’t get on very...
CICLO (CYCLE)

CICLO (CYCLE)

Toronto Premiere   Andrea Martínez Crowther, Mexico, 2012, 91 min, In Spanish and English with English subtitles Andrea Martínez Crowther, Gustavo Martínez, and Amanda Martínez in attendance The screening of CICLO will be followed by a performance by Amanda Martínez May 1, 1956. Two brothers, Arturo and Gustavo Martinez, leave their hometown in central Mexico...
Just Like a Woman

Just Like a Woman

Canadian Premiere Rachid Bouchareb, USA/France, 2012, 90 min With: Golshifteh Farahani, Sienna Miller Mona, a young North African immigrant living in Chicago is treated badly by her mother-in-law because she has not gotten pregnant after five years of marriage. When she meets Marilyn she finds out they share the same passion for belly dancing. When...
Goodbye Morocco

Goodbye Morocco

Canadian Premiere Nadir Moknèche, France, 2012, 102 min, in Arabic, French, and English with English Subtitles Single mother Dounia lives with a Serbian architect in Tangiers, a scandalous relationship in the eyes of her Moroccon family. The couple supervise a construction project where earthmovers uncover 4th century Christian tombs decorated with ornate frescoes. Dounia embarks...
Marginal Road

Marginal Road

Yassaman Ameri, Canada, 2012, 57 min, in English and Farsi with English Subtitles “Marginal Road” is the name of the scenic route that runs along the Atlantic Ocean south of Lisbon. The Europe’s westernmost point. It’s also the first place where Yassaman Ameri, her husband and baby daughter were photographed after fleeing Iran on September 10,...
Here and There (Aquí y Allá)

Here and There (Aquí y Allá)

Canada Premiere Antonio Méndez Sparza, Mexico/Spain/USA, 2012, 110 min, in Spanish with English subtitles Winner, Critics Week, Cannes FF 2012; Coral Award, Havana FF 2012; Best Feature, Montreal FF 2012; Golden Gateway, Bombay FF 2012   AQUÍ Pedro returns home to a small mountain village in Guerrero, Mexico after years of working in the US....
Chronic Love (Amor Cronico)

Chronic Love (Amor Cronico)

                      Canada Premiere Jorge Perugorría, Cuba/USA, 2012, 81 min, in Spanish with English Subtitles With: Cucu Diamentes Amor Cronico follows the flamboyant Grammy nominated Cuban-born and New York based singer CuCu Diamantes on her tour around Cuba. The film interweaves footage of live musical performances...
Una Noche (Opening Night)

Una Noche (Opening Night)

Toronto Premiere Lucy Mulloy, USA/Cuba, 2012, 90 min Winner, Best New Director, Best Actor, Best Cinematography, Tribeca FF 2012; 2nd Best Feature Film, Berlin FF 2012; Best Screenplay, Athens FF 2012; Best Director, Best Foreign Film, Ft. Lauderdale FF 2012; Golden Anchor Award, Haifa FF 2012; Telia Film Award, Stockholm FF 2012 Assaulting a tourist...
IDFF 2013

IDFF 2013

Festival theme: Latin American Diaspora                   A tribute to Glauber Rocha                               

In Conversation with…

Filmmakers, actors, producers, and film scholars will be in attendance for intimate discussions with audience.                   Atom Egoyan and Arsinée Khanjian will share their CALENDAR with the audience. An on-stage interview and Q/A after the film screening. Monday, 5 November 2012, 7:00 PM, Innis Town Hall, Free...
OPENING NIGHT: Screening + Live Concert

OPENING NIGHT: Screening + Live Concert

OPENING NIGHT: Screening + Live Concert Separate admission for each event In Collaboration with Ashkenaz Festival http://www.ashkenazfestival.com/ El Gusto Safinez Bousbia, Ireland/Algeria, 2011, 88 min In Arabic and French, with English Subtitles Winner, Arab-World Documentary’s Prize, Abu Dhabi Film Festival 2012 Canadian Premiere Opening Film, Thursday, 1 November 2012, 7:00 PM, Innis Town Hall Watch...
Hatred

Hatred

In Collaboration with Six Weeks of Iranian Arts Festival www.sixweeks.org Reza Dormishian, Iran, 2012, 84 min With: Baran Kosari, Babak Hamidian In Farsi and Turkish, with English Subtitles Toronto Premiere Watch trailer here Friday, 2 November 2012, 7:00 PM, Carlton Cinema Saturday, 3 November 2012, 9:00 PM, Innis Town Hall Zhaleh and Hamed are two...
El Gusto

El Gusto

Safinez Bousbia, Ireland/Algeria, 2011, 88 min. In Arabic and French, with English Subtitles Winner, Arab-World Documentary’s Prize, Abu Dhabi Film Festival 2012 Canadian Premiere Opening Film, Thursday, 1 November 2012, 7:00 PM, Innis Town Hall Chaabi is a genre of popular Algerian music that arose out of a felicitous melding of Berber melodies, religious chants...
Indignados (The Outraged)

Indignados (The Outraged)

Tony Gatlif, France, 2012, 88 min. In French, Greek, Spanish, Wolof, with English Subtitles Canadian Premiere Friday, 2 November 2012, 9:00 PM, Innis Town Hall Saturday, 3 November 2012, 3:00 PM, carlton Cinema Watch trailer here In 2010, Stephane Hessel, a 93-year-old Frenchman, a resistance veteran and a former diplomat and author, published a lean...
Shanghai Gypsy

Shanghai Gypsy

With: Visar Vishka, Asli Bayram Marko Naberšnik, Slovania, 2012, 124 min. In Slovanian, Romani, Italian, with English Subtitles Winner, Best Screen play, Montreal Film Festival 2012 Toronto Premiere Friday, 2 November 2012, 9:00 PM, Carlton Cinema Saturday, 3 November 2012, 3:00 PM, Innis Town Hall Watch trailer here The story of four generations of the...
Snackbar

Snackbar

Meral Uslu, The Netherlands, 2012, 83 min. With: Ali Cifteci, Nazmiye Oral In Dutch, Arabic, and Turkish, with English Subtitles Canadian Premiere Saturday, 3 November 2012, 1:00 PM, Innis Town Hall Watch trailer here This snack bar, owned by Ali, in a suburb of Rotterdam, is a refuge for the local Moroccan youth. They are...

Diaspora in Short

A collection of three multi-award winning shorts examine the experience of escaping the country, living in exile, and being deported back. Silent River Anca Miruna Lazarescu, Romania/Germany, 2011, 30 min With: Toma Cuzin, Andi Vasluianu In Romanian, German, and Serbian, with English Subtitles Winner, Golden Bear, Best Short Film, Berlin International Film Festival; Prix UIP...
Crulic - The Path to Beyond

Crulic – The Path to Beyond

Anca Damian, Romania/Poland, 2011, 73 min. With: Sandrine Bonnaire, Vlad Ivanov In Romanian with English Subtitles Winner, Don Quixote Award, Locarno International Film Festival; Special Jury Prize, Polish Film Festival; FACE Award, Istanbul International Film Festival; Grand Prix, Annecy International Animated Film Festival Canadian Premiere Saturday, 3 November 2012, 5:15 PM, Innis Town Hall Watch...
Generation Kunduz: The War of the Others

Generation Kunduz: The War of the Others

Martin Gerner, Germany, 2011, 80 min. In Farsi Dari, with English Subtitles Winner, Golden Dove, Leipzig DOK Festival 2012 Toronto Premiere Saturday, 3 November 2012, 5:00 PM, Carlton Cinema Watch trailer here: http://www.generation-kunduz.de/Trailer-e.html In Sept. 2009 a German military officer ordered an attack on two fuel trucks, resulting in 90 deaths, mostly civilian. The film...
Kuma

Kuma

Umut Dag, Austria, 2012, 93 min. With: Nihal G. Koldas, Begüm Akkaya In German and Turkish, with English Subtitles Winner, Best Film, Salerno Shadowline Film Festival; Audience Award, Lecce Festival of European Cinema Canadian Premiere Saturday, 3 November 2012, 7:00 PM, Innis Town Hall Watch trailer here: http://www.kuma-film.com/en/trailer In her small Turkish village, everyone believes...
Material

Material

Craig Freimond, South Africa, 2012, 93 min. With: Vincent Ebrahim, Riaad Moosa In English Official Selection, London Film Festival 2012, Busan Film Festival 2012, Montreal Film Festival 2012 Toronto Premiere Saturday, 3 November 2012, 7:00 PM, Carlton Cinema Sunday, 4 November 2012, 8:00 PM, Innis Town Hall, Vincent Ebrahim in attendance Watch trailer here Cassim...
Shun Li and the Poet

Shun Li and the Poet

Andrea Serge, Italy/France, 2011, 100 min. With: Tao Zhao, Rade Serbedzija In Italian, with English Subtitles Winner, FEDIC Award, Laterna Magica Prize & Lina Mangiacapre Award, Venice Film Festival; Satyajit Ray Award, London Film Festival Canadian Premiere Saturday, 3 November 2012, 9:00 PM, Carlton Cinema Sunday, 4 November 2012, 2:00 PM, Innis Tawn Hall Watch...

York U Student Showcase

In collaboration with the Department of Film, York University A selection of best shorts made by film students Sunday, 4 November 2012, 2:00 PM, Carlton Cinema, Free Admission, Filmmakers in attendance The Fuse: or How I Burned Simon Bolivar – Igor Drljaca, Canada, 2012, 9 min The beginning of the conflict in Sarajevo from the...
Beauty

Beauty

Daniela Seggiaro, Argentina, 2012, 83 min. With: Rosmeri Segundo Daniela Seggiaro, Argentina, 2012, 83 min With: Rosmeri Segundo In Spanish and Wichi Lhämtes, with English Subtitles Official Selection, Berlin Film Festival 2012, Seattle International Film Festival 2012 Canadian Premiere Sunday 4 November 2012, 4:00 PM, Innis Town Hall   Watch trailer here Delicately observed, Beauty tells the...
De President (The President)

De President (The President)

Erik de Bruyn, The Netherlands, 2011, 90 min. With: Achmed Akkabi, Najib Amhali In Dutch with English Subtitles Canadian Premiere Sunday, 4 November 2012, 4:00 PM, Carlton Cinema Watch trailer here Heroes are born every day, but then again, so are goats. When Joes and his Cousin Hamid leave the goat herding of their native...
Aliyah

Aliyah

  Elie Wajeman, France, 2012, 90 min With: Pio Marmaï, Cédric Kahn, Adèle Haenel In French and Hebrew, with English Subtitles Winner, Directors’ Fortnight, Cannes Film Festival 2012 Canadian Premiere Sunday, 4 November 2012, 6:00 PM, Innis Town Hall Watch trailer here Paris. Alex is twenty-seven. He makes a living selling hash and pays off...
Embracing Voices: The Woman Behind the Music of Jane Bunnett

Embracing Voices: The Woman Behind the Music of Jane Bunnett

Elisa Paloschi, Canada/Cuba, 2011, 70 min. With: Jane Bunnett, Larry Cramer, Kellylee Evans, Creole Choir of Cuba In English and Spanish with English Subtitles Sunday, 4 November 2012, 6:00 PM, Carlton Cinema Canadian jazz luminary Jane Bunnett, Juno award winner, Grammy nominee, recipient of the Order of Canada, came back from the brink as she...
Mashalá

Mashalá

Cyrus Sundar Singh, Canada, 2008, 45 min In English, Spanish, Hebrew, with English Subtitles Sunday, 4 November 2012, 8:00 PM, Carlton Cinema, Free Admission, Director and Producer in attendance Watch trailer here http://www.salaamshalom.org/mashala.shtml Shot on location in Barcelona, Spain, this film depicts the music of MASHALÁ, a superb collection of world music players with Ellen...