VTIFF Program Guide 2025 - Flipbook - Page 11
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FILMS A TO Z
FEMALE TROUBLE
DRAGONFLY
Directed by Paul Andrew Williams
UK | 2025 | Fiction | 98 min | English
Sponsored by: VTIFF Programming Committee
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26 | 2 PM | FH
This nasty little number is a gift from the genre gods. Dame Brenda Blethyn (Secrets &
Lies, Pride & Prejudice) and Andrea Riseborough (To Leslie, The Death of Stalin) give
contrasting tour de force performances as neighbors who strike up an unlikely
friendship. Seeing the lack of care that her elderly neighbor Elsie is receiving from the
nursing staff hired by her son, Colleen insinuates herself into Elsie’s life and eventually
takes over as her daily caregiver. But Colleen’s motivations are murky at best and seem
suspiciously less than altruistic. There’s also something undeniably unnerving about her
nature. She’s introduced enthusiastically stabbing a microwave dinner and the motion
seems to come quite naturally to her. You can probably guess that this mystery thriller is
headed for a jaw-dropping ending, and the anticipation is as delicious as biscuits and
tea. ~OO
WITH DIRECTOR JOHN WATERS IN PERSON WITH A LIVE COMMENTARY
Directed by John Waters
U.S. | 1974 | Fiction | 97 min | English
Sponsored by: Rena Koopman
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22 | 7 PM | FH
The great John Waters is coming to VTIFF! We’re thrilled to present his outrageous
trash-classic Female Trouble, which just happens to be the director’s favorite film
starring his larger-than-life muse Divine. But this is no ordinary screening; it’s a onenight-only performance as well! John Waters joins us in person in the theater to provide
live commentary throughout the film, regaling the audience with his invaluable insights
and tangy humor as he watches along. Dedicated to Manson Family member Charles
“Tex” Watson, who Waters visited behind bars, Female Trouble unleashes Divine as fame
monster Dawn Davenport, a nightmarish teenager hell-bent on getting cha-cha heels for
Christmas. When her parents drop the ball, she goes on a decades-long rampage that
can only end in the electric chair. Glamour has never been more grotesque than it is in
Waters’ oddly ambitious 16mm love letter to Hollywood melodramas. ~OO
FOUR MOTHERS
Directed by Darren Thornton
Ireland | 2025 | Fiction | 89 min | English
Sponsored by: Gay Regan
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18 | 4:45 PM | BB
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21 | 2:30 PM | SR (open captions)
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25 | 2 PM | BB
Aspiring YA author Edward, an avatar for people-pleasers everywhere, agrees to look
after the ailing mothers of friends who are going on an unexpected vacation. Already
caring for his own mother, he finds himself stuck with four elderly women under his roof.
He is a writer who stays well within his comfort zone, constantly using his mother as an
excuse for not experiencing life. Forced to deal with the demands and criticisms of three
additional mother figures, he navigates his own anxieties about his rather unexciting life.
Full of Irish charm, Four Mothers finds a nice balance between big laughs and poignant
family drama. Though rather light and undemanding, this film is funny and charming
enough to justify simply sitting back to enjoy the bumbling efforts of Edward, whose
exasperation is played at a perfect pitch by James McArdle. ~AK
VTIFF.ORG | VERMONT INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2025
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