VTIFF Program Guide 2025 - Flipbook - Page 26
FILMS A TO Z
FH: FILM HOUSE | BB: BLACK BOX THEATER | SR: SCREENING ROOM • All at Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington
WALK WITH ME
Directed by Heidi Levitt
U.S. | 2025 | Documentary | 89 min | English
Sponsored by: Rena Koopman
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18 | 12 PM | FH
MONDAY, OCTOBER 20 | 2 PM | SR (open
captions)
The October 18 screening is followed
by a panel discussion about Alzheimer’s
resources in the Chittenden County area.
A USEFUL GHOST
In 2019, art director Charlie Hess was
diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s. In
this tender and clear-eyed film, his wife,
acclaimed casting director Heidi Levitt, chronicles the metamorphosis of their marriage
over the next four years as she becomes his caretaker, learning to adapt to an everchanging reality. The two have disparate reactions to the initial diagnosis—Charlie is
accepting; Heidi is full of questions—but they come together as their roles and priorities
change, and they try to learn the best way to live the lives they have. Lovingly crafted, the
film is a delicately put-together portrait of love and resilience, as well as a reminder that
life is about the people around you. ~SM
Directed by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke
Thailand, France, Singapore, Germany | 2025 | Fiction | 130 min | Thai w/subtitles
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21 | 7 PM | BB
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26 | 4 PM | BB
Thai filmmaker Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s debut feature has some serious issues
on its mind: impersonal corporations, opportunistic bureaucrats, indifferent urban
developers, and atrocities swept under the rug. But he is having way too much fun
indulging every flight of fancy to present any of this in a serious manner. Exhibit A: the
main character, Nat, the eponymous specter, is styled to look exactly like Woody
Woodpecker. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Other choice gags include absurdist
factory signs, foul-mouthed monks, a Slinky used as an electroshock device, and one of
the best action sequences of the year: an all-out brawl between a vacuum cleaner and a
refrigerator! A Useful Ghost is a cockeyed, surprisingly touching romance told through
high-concept comedy, magical realism, and lo-fi science fiction, and is Thailand’s entry
for Best International Feature Film at this year’s Academy Awards. ~OO
VIGNETTES OF VEILED LIGHT
Directed by Myles Jewell and Alexandra Jewell
U.S. | 2025 | Multimedia Performance |
60 min | English
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26 | 12 PM | BB
The screening is followed by a Q&A with
directors Myles and Alexandra Jewell.
YES!
Directed by Nadav Lapid
France, Israel, Cyprus, Germany | 2025 | Fiction | 150 min | Hebrew w/subtitles
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23 | 1:15 PM | FH
When the moon blocks the sun, we see
the world in a new light. This eerie and
inspiring phenomenon challenges our
perceptions—what is revealed when
light and shadow shift so dramatically?
These short video vignettes, alongside
music, communal storytelling, and
reflection, provide space to revisit and
celebrate the awe we all experienced on
April 8th, 2024, when Burlington was in
the direct path of a once-in-a-lifetime solar eclipse. Vignettes of Veiled Light is a love
letter to Burlington, celebrating how light and shadow shape our understanding of the
world—and how a single natural phenomenon brought thousands of people together.
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Israeli enfant terrible Nadav Lapid mashes the world’s hottest button with his latest
agitprop satire. Lapid was in Europe developing the latest exploits of his avatar Y. (now
embodied by Ariel Bronz) when the events of October 7 motivated him to furiously
rework the film entirely. The result is a paean to self-annihilation where Lapid wrestles
with the sins of his homeland. Even though it’s drawing inspiration from Pasolini, Yes!
refuses to be a somber screed; instead, it’s a demented bacchanalia. The film follows Y.
and Yasmin, partners in life and art, as they give over their bodies and souls to the
militaristic ruling class to make ends meet. “Submission is happiness,” imparts Y. to his
infant son, and sometimes that requires literal bootlicking. When Y. is commissioned to
compose a song of nationalist propaganda—an “anthem for the victory generation”—all
he can do is comply. As the whole world is trying to find nuanced ways to discuss the
atrocities in Palestine, Lapid is screaming into the wind. ~OO
VTIFF.ORG | VERMONT INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2025
