Ofrandā (2023)

Trailer

Ina, an introverted 11-year-old immigrant girl, finds herself captivated by Petra, a newcomer to her class from the same country as she is. Faced with her indifference, a desperate quest for connection takes over Ina’s world as she moves between dream and reality.

Produced with Peripheria Films
Distributed by Travelling Films

Genre Fiction, Drame
Country Canada (Québec)
Year 2023
Length 14m59s
Formats DCP
Sound 5.1
Version STA, STF, Roumain

CAST

Ina : Kalyna Nichita
Petra : Gabriela Lucaci
Mother : Luiza Cocora
Teacher : Anana Rydvald
Petra’s friends : Ines Feghouli, Megane Proulx

CREDITS

PRODUCTION Pierre Villepelet, Yanick Létourneau, Leslie Dabit (Peripheria)
WRITER / DIRECTOR Vjosana Shkurti
CINEMATOGRAPHY Léa Taillefer
PRODUCTION DESIGN Jeremy Sandor
PICTURE EDITING Elian Mikkola
SOUND DESIGN & MUSIC Sacha Ratcliffe

AWARDS

Gala Prends Ça Court!, Canada |2023| *Metafilms Award
Writer’s Guild of Canada – Award for best English Script at Cours Ecrire Ton Court by SODEC

FESTIVALS

OFRANDA by VJOSANA SHKURTI, a Quebec film director of Albanian origin, was presented in competition at the Festival du nouveau cinéma in 2023 and at the latest edition of Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma. Ina is an isolated immigrant teenager whose imagination seems to compensate for a lack of interaction with her peers.
The arrival of a new student from the same country as her, Petra, intrigues her and gradually fascinates her. The director depicts young Ina’s loneliness through the use of close-ups from behind and then from the front, which isolate her and separate her from the rest of the class. The ambient noises of the school, including the bell and the shouts of the teenagers, are perceived as background noise by the young girl, who speaks and smiles little. Her highly expressive face conveys curiosity as well as mistrust and discontent. The off-screen space seems to represent the elements that disturb, annoy or deafen her. While Petra is distant with her, only the scrunchie she drops on the floor allows Ina to glimpse a fictional connection with this new student. Vjosana Shkurti manages to visually represent the loneliness and disappointments of the silent girl, whose few exchanges with her mother seem devoid of affection.
(translated from French)

– ESTHER BASLÉ, Revue Sequences #338 Printemps 2024

In this film, a young girl rejected by her peers at school discovers love with another girl, and at the same time tries to gain acceptance from others. Vjosana Shkurti tackles these delicate themes with a subtlety and gentleness that envelops the film in deep sensitivity. Through the protagonist’s different emotions, the film takes us back to distant but authentic memories, exploring crucial stages of pre-adolescence. The film’s art direction and coloring deserve special mention, imbuing each scene with a visually arresting aesthetic.

– A word from tënk, Filministes Festival 2024

The committee was charmed by this film, which they found to be a very delicate and disturbing portrayal of adolescence, favouring the eloquence of a gesture or a glance over words. It is a sensitive film, with an intimate feel that is extremely well maintained right through to the end. The fascination exerted by the newcomer is quite contagious, and we too are drawn in by the slow pace and mysterious beauty of the characters. They like the way the camera stays on the character’s face and isolates her from the others. The committee also likes the way certain things are played out off-screen, as well as the scarcity of dialogue and the economy of the narrative, which veils the reality of what we see in uncertainty and leaves the viewer free to interpret Ina’s behaviour in their own way (adolescent turmoil, search for identity, etc.). They are unanimous in saying that this is a very powerful film.

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