A travelogue in which the filmmaker leads the viewer through a tour of the four seasons — without ever once setting foot across his doorstep. Focusing on unexplored things inside his own four walls, the film is a year-long journey through domestic surroundings, and at the same time is a trip into imagination and collective memory revealed in collected fragments of images, objects and sounds: a bed, books, a squirrel in the garden…

As the seasons change, associations are made with things previously seen; an intricate web of clues to a life, there for the viewer to unpick.

Ben Rivers (Somerset, England 1976). Studies at Falmouth School of Art. 23 films since 2003; screenings at International Film Festival Rotterdam, the ICA (London), Courtisane (Ghent), etc. Fifth appearance at Media City. Lives in London, England.

Babash is a parrot. He lives in Los Angeles. He speaks mostly Farsi, mixed with some English and Azeri. Behrouz Rae has made friends with Babash. Observing and intervening in their relationship, a focus emerges of a shared displacement within their genuine friendship.

Behrouz Rae (Sumqayit, Azerbaijan [USSR] 1979). Studies at Azad University of Art & Architecture, Tehran. Lisa Truttmann (Sankt Pölten, Austria 1983). Studies at University of Applied Arts, Vienna. Both work in video, photography and installation since early 2000s; first film in collaboration, screenings at Chicago Underground Film Festival, New York Film Festival, etc. First appearance at Media City. Both currently live in Val Verde CA, attending California Institute of the Arts.

The familiar form of a sit-down interview, presented as a lo-fi fragment from a forgotten video production. The role of the interviewee is quickly revealed as an edited performance, or a document of actors reading text in real-time, covering personal and uncomfortable topics normally left unsaid.

James N. Kienitz Wilkins (Boston MA, 1983). Studies at Cooper Union. Four films since 2007; screenings at Chicago Underground Film Festival, Edinburgh International FIlm Festival, Ann Arbor Film Festival, etc. First appearance at Media City. Lives in Brookyln, New York.

In 1984, for three weeks in May, what appeared to be a giant cloud shrouded the small town of Hüllen-Hüllen in darkness. Before the end of the month the cloud had dispersed and life seemed to return to normal. One month later, however, the town was hastily abandoned and its residents were nowhere to be found. They left most of their belongings behind in such a way as to make one think they would return at any moment…

Anja Dornieden (Heiligenstadt, [East] Germany 1984), Juan David González Monroy (Bogotá, Colombia 1983). Fourteen films and performances since 2011; screenings at Ann Arbor Film Festival, Visions du Réel (Nyon), IFF Rotterdam, etc. Second appearance at Media City. Live in Berlin, Germany.

Through a flood of images and impressions, a narrator attempts to recall a family holiday. Shot in Berlin and Toronto, Bunte Kuh combines a found postcard, a family photo album and original footage to weave together the temporal presence of two separate vacations.

Left: Parastoo Anoushahpour (Tehran, Iran 1986). Centre: Faraz Anoushahpour (Tehran, Iran 1987). Right: Ryan Ferko (Mississauga, ON 1987). Work in collaboration since 2013. First appearance at Media City. All live in Toronto.

Oona Mosna