Blue Heron
A filmmaker sifts through old videos and memories in this emotionally devastating coming-of-age marvel, a multiple award winner at Locarno and Toronto.
Eight-year-old Sasha (Eylul Guven) is growing up surrounded by brothers, one of a sprawling Hungarian immigrant family on Vancouver Island in the 1990s. The big family’s attention is captured by troubled elder brother Jeremy (Edik Beddoes), whose rebellious behaviour seems like a cry for help. Years later, now a filmmaker, Sasha (Amy Zimmer) combs through old home videos and bittersweet memories, trying to make sense of her formative years.
Earning comparisons to Charlotte Wells’s beloved Aftersun (MIFF 2022), Blue Heron won the Swatch First Feature Award upon its premiere at Locarno and was crowned Best Canadian Discovery at TIFF. Sophy Romvari has directed a number of celebrated shorts including 2020’s Still Processing, effectively an autobiographical companion to Blue Heron; her hugely impressive, affecting debut feature further confirms her as a major emerging voice in cinema.
“Signals the arrival of a bold new filmmaking voice … Blue Heron demonstrates the full potential of the cinematic form to not just move us emotionally, but rewire our understanding of how it is that we tell stories on screen.” – The Wrap
Writer/director Sophy Romvari is a guest of the festival and will be in attendance at all sessions of the film.
Tickets
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