Sidartha Murjani is rising star who was featured with two films at the recent Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF). Originally from Bali, Indonesia, now based in Vancouver, he is a multi-disciplinary artist who has made eight short films to date. His production company Timeless Stories Films focuses of crafting narratives that transcend time.
The two films he was featured in at the VAFF this year included Chaturanga which means Chess in Sanskrit which he produced and directed about message a father leaves his daughter after his death in the form of a humanoid AI (MOF). However, to receive this message she has to beat MOF in a game of chess.
He also stars in Imposter by Rafeal Millan where he plays a compelling Psychiatrist Isaac Maffoud is called to negotiate with a delusional patient, Frederick, who believes his son is an imposter. As Frederick becomes violent, Isaac saves the boy, at the cost of his reality becoming forever transformed. The film is also produced by Summer Parvez and Isabel Chachacho.
Both films were featured in the West Coast Narrative Shorts program entitled Reality Check at the VAFF. Other films that were featured in the program included The Lost Salmon by Amir Arab which follows Ali, an Iranian student in Vancouver, grappling with the political situation at home and worrying for his family amid political turmoil and falls into depression and suicide ideation. The other film that had its world premier at VAFF was Common Law by Kagan Goh, a compelling family drama that portrays a Chinese-Canadian family struggling to come to terms with their son’s recent bipolar mood disorder diagnosis and the devastating impact this incurable mental illness has on their lives.