Sunday, March 12 / 6:30 pm / Ottawa Art Gallery

Program: No Ghost in the Morgue, Ordinary Failures


Feature presentation \

Ordinary Failures

Běžná selhání

2022 / 84 minutes / Czech Republic
Director: Cristina Grosan
Writer: Klára Vlasáková
Language: Czech
Subtitles: English

women \ social drama \ philosophical

A middle-aged widow, a misfit teenager, and an anxious young mother experience a day interrupted by the arrival of a mysterious, unidentified natural phenomenon that is threatening the planet. Hana has just become a widow and has lost her job as an editor; Tereza, a troubled, lonely teenager crosses Hana’s path randomly in a shopping mall; Silva and her troubled young son, David, also intersect with Hana and Tereza as the planetary disturbance intensifies. Told in three chapters, Ordinary Failures is a fascinating jigsaw puzzle narrative focusing on three women at different stages of life who, by circumstance and coincidence, just might be able to help each other. As their personal lives and the world at large seem to be descending into chaos, these three women resist, fighting to remake their lives before it’s too late. A beguiling interwoven triptych of stories (not unlike Mexican director Angeles Cruz’s Nudo Mixteco shown at IFFO 2022), director Cristina Grosan’s idiosyncratic and impressive film was selected for the prestigious ‘Giornate degli Autori’ section at the 2022 Venice Film Festival.

- Tom McSorley

Une veuve dans la soixantaine, une adolescente mésadaptée et une jeune mère anxieuse vivent une journée interrompue par l’arrivée d’un phénomène naturel mystérieux et non identifié qui menace la planète. Hana vient tout juste de devenir une veuve et de perdre son emploi d’éditrice; Tereza, une adolescente troublée et solitaire croise le chemin d’Hana par hasard dans un centre commercial; Silva et son jeune fils troublé, David, font aussi la rencontre d’Hana et de Tereza alors que les bouleversements planétaires s’intensifient. Raconté en trois chapitres, Ordinary Failures est un casse-tête narratif fascinant entourant trois femmes à différentes étapes de la vie qui, par circonstance et coïncidence, seront peut-être en mesure de s’aider mutuellement. Alors que leurs vies personnelles et le monde dans son ensemble semble descendre en chaos, ces trois femmes résistent et luttent pour refaire leurs vies avant qu’il ne soit trop tard. 

- Tom McSorley (traduit par Jacinthe Grenier-Albert)


Short film \

No Ghost in the Morgue

2022 / 15 minutes / Quebec
Director: Marilyn Cooke

Content notes: Death

Medical student Keity wants to become a surgeon like her mother and grandmother. But after her first operation takes a dramatic turn, she has to accept an internship at the morgue. Between her dead patients, her unconventional colleagues and seeing her grandmother’s spirit, she tries to tough it out.