Acoustic Memory

Director: Matthew Berka

Year: 2027

A SEASON IN SECRET brings together material both close at hand and far away. It is a meditation on things glimpsed at a distance and the limits of perception. What lies behind the screen is hidden and may only be hinted at through the language of visible images and sounds. The film takes some of its cues from the Japanese aesthetic concept of Yūgen, described in part by the 15th-century aesthetician Zeami Motokiyo: “...to stand upon the shore and gaze after a boat that disappears behind distant islands.”

Director: James Richards

Year: 2026

Taking as his starting point - less by way of invocation than summoning - the text from Marguerite Duras’ 'Les Mains négatives' and Tony Conrad’s 'The Flicker', James Richards weaves together stirring fragments composed from 2022-2026, including repurposed material from friends and collaborators including Steve Reinke. The screen is filled with images and impressions, depicting a frantic yet melancholic quest for meaning between language, gesture, and sensation. Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2026 - World premiere

Director: Gemma Rigg

Year: 2026

A feral child befriends a stray dog in a lonely post-apocalyptic world, but at what cost? A stop motion animation set in a post-apocalyptic abandoned village where survivors forage for food through rubble and ruins. Amongst them is Lola, a lonely feral orphan. Her life is changed forever when she detangles a starving stray dog from a plastic bag. Her new friend fills her world with fleeting warmth and she shares what little food she has. But it’s not for a dog, even a starved one. His his tummy rumbles as he sleeps by her side. The dog is gone by morning, leaving a broken-hearted Lola to search all day for her new friend. She finally discovers the disloyal lurcher munching eagerly on a rival survivor's fresh meaty finds. Lola's sweet revenge is served warm, on a silver platter, to the grateful mutt. But what is the true price of this loyalty?