VIVA & Communion – two thoughtful short independent films showcased at Belfast Film Festival #bff23

Two of the NI Independents short films caught my eye in the Belfast Film Festival programme. They were screened this afternoon in the Strand Arts Centre.

Marie Clare Cushinan’s VIVA imagines a world twenty years hence where old people trade their life for a final year of holiday, exploring places that were special to them. Nicole and Justin (Kate O’Toole and Lalor Roddy) have made this decision, leaving their house and wealth to daughter Ellie (Sara Dylan) and avoiding its use for care home costs.

A final ‘departure day’ dinner party with Ellie, her husband Jack (Richard Clements) and good friend Tony (Bosco Hogan) reveals that their somewhat clinical last goodbye is a trade-off between certainty and an unpredictable old age. Around the table there is lots of laughter, warmth and love, as well as some regrets and differences of opinion. Nicole and Justin see the environmental benefit of their euthanasia, while Tony sees their unburdening as social suicide. Meanwhile, Ellie’s lip begins to curl, and husband Jack adds a frisson of tetchiness.

While dialogue is mostly absent from the second half, the strong storytelling continues under Michael Mormecha and TRÚ’s beautiful soundtrack. Even without the framing device of the Cards Against Humanity game, VIVA is a warm and intelligent contribution to the growing debate over euthanasia, asking whether we fear an unknown future more than we want to embrace what life throws at us.

Séan Coyle’s Communion weaves together the death of a local man, the last days of a woman in a hospice, and the looming closure of the local Catholic Church. Parish priest Father Owens (Steven Jess) finds parallels between his imperfect home life as a child and thirty-something Aoife’s experience of marriage and death. His sensitive response to her confession opens a door for Aoife (Sadhbh Larkin Coyle) to rebuild her faith.

Meanwhile, his flock may be diminishing in size, but Fr Owens tends to them all with diligence, patiently sitting by the bedside of Grainne (Maria Connolly). Great performances from Coyle, Jess and Connolly enrich the pathos and empathy.

While all around is in decline, Communion demonstrates how faith can heal – even in death – and how God ultimately is bigger than buildings and can overcome any crisis our lives can muster.

Check out my other recommendations at Belfast Film Festival which continues until Saturday 11 November.

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