Lochmaddy – Jon The Blogcentric

VIFF 2022 Wraps Up With Excitement

1 November 202219 November 2022Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

In the past, you’d have to wait until late in November for my VIFF wrap-up blog. However this was one of those years I could only stay for half the Festival. I will get into my reason why I didn’t take in the full festival later in my blog.

Anyways the Vancouver International Film Festival wrapped its 2022 Festival up on Sunday, October 9th. Just in time for people to have their Thanksgiving dinner! The Festival consisted of over 200 short and feature-length films from 74 countries. The films were a wide range including Oscar contenders, documentaries, short films, animation and various Canadian films. With the return of the VIFF to the International Village, it allowed for more opportunities for films to be seen on the big screen and less through the VIFF Connect streaming service. The Festival also brought back more features of VIFF Amp and VIFF Immersed and also allowed for some fun with a classic church performance of Nosferatu!

The showcasing of films went well. Once again, people were up to giving their opinions with the ballots they were handed after the film. And awards were handed out. Here are the award-winning films:

JURIED AWARDS

Best Canadian Film
Presented by the Directors Guild of Canada
Winner: Riceboy Sleeps (dir. Anthony Shim)
Special Mention: Queens Of The Qing Dynasty (dir. Ashley McKenzie)

Best Canadian Documentary
Presented by Rogers Group Of Funds
Winner: Geographies Of Solitude (dir. Jacquelyne Mills)
Special Mention: Ever Deadly (dirs. Tanya Tagaq & Chelsea McMullan)

Vanguard Award
Presented by the Lochmaddy Foundation
Winner: Other Cannibals (dir. Francesco Sossai)
Special Mention: Tortoise Under The Earth (dir. Shishir Jha)

Emerging Canadian Director
Presented by Directors Guild of Canada
Winner: Charlotte LeBon – Falcon Lake
Special Mention: Sophie Jarvis – Until Branches Bend

Best BC Film
Presented by Creative BC and Company 3
Winner: Until Branches Bend (dir. Sophie Jarvis)
Special Mention: The Klabona Keepers (dirs. Tamo Campos & Jasper Snow-Rosen)

Best Canadian Short Film
Presented by VIFF and William F. White International
Winner: Baba (dirs. Meran Ismaelsoy & Anya Chirkova)
Special Mentions: Heartbeat Of A Nation (dir. Eric Janvier) and Agony (dir. Arnaud Beaudoux)

AUDIENCE AWARDS

Galas And Special Presentations
Winner: The Grizzlie Truth (dir. Kathleen S. Jayme)

Showcase
Winner: Crystal Pite: Angels’ Atlas (dir. Chelsea McMullan)

Panorama
Winner: The Blue Caftan (dir. Maryam Touzani)

Vanguard
Winner: Harvest Moon (dir. Amarsaikhan Baljinnyam)

Northern Lights
Winner: Riceboy Sleeps (dir. Anthony Shim)

Insights
Winner: The Klabona Keepers (dirs. Tamo Campos & Jasper Snow-Rosen)

Spectrum
Winner: The Hermit Of Treig (dir. Lizzie MacKenzie)

Portraits
Winner: Lay Down Your Heart (dir. Marie Clements)

Altered States
Winner: Rodeo (dir. Lola Quivoron)

And now for my volunteering experience this year. This was a rare year I could only stay for half of the Film Festival. My sister was to have her wedding in Winnipeg on Saturday October 8th. She and her husband married two years earlier, but it was a private ceremony due to the pandemic. They still aimed for that particular day in October 2020 because it would mark the milestone of the anniversary of the day they first met. They tied the knot that day, pandemic or no pandemic. Nevertheless they still wanted a ceremony for the family. After two long years, they got sick of waiting and decided to have it in Winnipeg that day.

For me and my love for the VIFF, that meant I had to cram my volunteering. When I applied, I let them know that it may be possible I can’t do the full amount of expected shifts and explained why. The person in charge of volunteering was good about it. They said they understood and had no problem. Especially since they checked back with my past supervisors and they gave me good word. When shifts were allotted, I rushed to book to the best of my availability and to have it completed in good time before my departure.

The venue I was given was the International Village Cinemas. The dates I chose were the opening day, Thursday the 29th, Saturday the 1st and Sunday the 2nd. All were evening shifts. On the first day, Vancouver was going through a heat wave that wouldn’t end. I swore if it continued to be hot on the weekend, I’d wear shorts. On my first shift, I was given line control. Lines for the films were to be separate from the regular Cineplex patrons to the cinema on the third floor. Those who wanted to see films had to stand in line on the second floor, or if there was a film with huge demand, the standby line on the ground level. Thursday’s line control wasn’t as tiring. Saturday’s line control was a lot busier as I had to do line control for many films that were big attractions. The most annoying thing about line control for the International Village wasn’t exactly the lines, but the smell of the garbage area. The mall didn’t have their main-floor garbage area doors locked and you could smell it even on the second floor!

For Sunday, I lucked out. I was an usher. I could lead people to their seats, take ballots for films finishing, do some clean-up, scan tickets, and even watch some of the films! That was the treat since line control wouldn’t have me see the films. I had no problem with it. I knew for years when we volunteer, our top duty is to be an usher. Watching films depends on the luck of the position. Sunday ended up being my lucky day as I was able to see Music Pictures: New Orleans and Like A Fish On The Moon. For watching films outside of volunteer times, my first chance was the evening of Friday the 30th where I saw two films at the Cinematheque: Love Will Come Later and The Word. My next chance was the afternoon of Saturday the 1st when I saw Klondike. That fulfilled one of my annual VIFF Goals to see a nation’s Oscar entry for Best International Feature Film, and would end up being the only one of my three annual VIFF Goals that I achieved!. My last chance to see a film was the late evening of Monday the 3rd. The last film showing that night was Riverside Mukolitta. That was a delight to see.

And that was it: six films. With my work and having to finally fly out to Winnipeg on Wednesday the 5th, that ended up being it. During the Festival, I attempted to see films on VIFF Connect from a computer in Winnipeg. I was even willing to pay the regular box office fee to do so. VIFF Connect only allows viewership in BC! So six ended up being it. I didn’t fulfill all my film goals and I didn’t have too much opportunity to chat with others I had not seen in a long time, but I’ll make up for it next year! Yes, I’m glad I went to the wedding. It would be ridiculous for me to hold it against my short time at VIFF. Nevertheless I still look forward to a good full VIFF next year.

So to end my wrap-up, I have to say it was great being back at the International Village. It was enjoyable getting to talk with other volunteers and reconnecting with others. Also I was happy with all six of the films I saw. It was a shame I could only do half of the festival. But I intend to make up for it big time at the Vancouver Film Festival of 2023!

VIFF 2020 Wraps Up Its First Online Fest

23 December 202027 January 2021Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

It does seem awkward to do a wrap-up for the Vancouver International Film Festival. Not just because it’s way into December, but because most of the film festival was online! Plus all my VIFF activity for 2020 was online! Nevertheless I feel it’s worth it.

2020 was an interesting festival as it had to resort to mostly online viewing of films. There were airings of films at theatres like the VanCity and Cinematheque, but they were very few and had limited capacity. Despite all this, the online system did give the opportunity to watch many of the films that were part of this year’s Film Festival. There were 102 feature films, 98 short films and 19 talks and events at this year’s VIFF. The number of VIFF Gold passes sold out. Despite the lower number of films, viewership was still good as it totaled over 50,000 online views.

For me, this was a unique experience to view a film festival all all online. I first had a goal of seeing ten films online. There was some time where I thought I had a lot of catching up to do as there were days I didn’t watch. Then it was like the last five days I did a lot of cramming. Like two films a day each day. In all honesty, I prefer watching films in the theatre. Having them in the theatre is better for demanding my attention. If I watch it on a computer, I will easily be distracted by other things online or want to sneak a websearch in. If I’m in the theatre, it’s nothing but that film.

Nevertheless I was successful in seeing fifteen feature films and two shorts segments. I saw six Canadian films or film segments, one multinational set of shorts, four American films, four European films, and two Asian films.Those who know me know my film goals for the VIFF consist of three main goals: one Canadian feature-length film, one shorts segment, and one contenders of the Best International Feature Film Oscar. The goal of a Canadian film was accomplished with Monkey Beach: the first VIFF film I saw this year. The shorts segments I did twice with Programme 2 and Reel Youth. The International Feature contender I was not able to do. During VIFF, there weren’t even ten countries that gave their official submissions to the AMPAS Academy. At the time, none of them were shown at the VIFF. The reason why so few is because the 2020 Oscars will be held on the last Sunday of April 2021 and the other countries were in no rush. During that time, I went with films I felt would best contend: Undine, Father and There Is No Evil. As time passed, it would eventually be revealed none of those films became their nation’s official submission in the category. Looks like this was one goal I had to put on hold this year.

One thing that was not absent from this year’s VIFF was their award winners. Awards were still given out. I’m happy to say that three of the films I saw won awards. One thing about this year’s awards was that because of the nature of the festival, most of the people’s choice or audience award categories could not happen. Thus only one audience award. Included for this year are VIFF Immersed awards for virtual reality that is sponsored by VeeR VR network. Here’s a list of the award winners from this year’s VIFF:

BC Spotlight Awards

Sea To Sky Award
Presented by Telus
WINNER: Nuxalk Radio (dir. Banchi Hanuse)
Special Mention: Cosmic (dir. Meredith Hama-Brown)

Best BC Film Award
Presented by CreativeBC, Encore by Deluxe
WINNER: The Curse of Willow Song (dir. Karen Lam)

BC Emerging Filmmaker Award
Presented by UBCP/ACTRA, AFBS & William F. White
WINNER: Jessie Anthony for Brother, I Cry

Best BC Short Film
Presented by Telus Storyhive
WINNER: Cake Day (dir. Philip Thomas)
Special Mention: Sunken Cave And A Migrating Bird (dir. Qiuli Wu)

Canadian Film Awards

Best Canadian Film
Presented by Directors’ Guild of Canada
WINNER: Beans (dir. Tracey Deer)
Special Mention: Nadia, Butterfly (dir. Pascal Plante)

Emerging Canadian Director
Presented by Directors’ Guild of Canada
WINNER: Violation (dirs. Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Macinelli)

Best Canadian Documentary
Presented by the Rogers Documentary Fund
WINNER: Call Me Human (dir. Kim O’Bomsawin)
Special Mention: Prayer For A Lost Mitten (dir. Jean-Francois Lesage)

Best Canadian Short Film
Presented by Side Street Post
WINNER: Bad Omen (dir. Salar Pashtoonyar)
Special Mention: Moon (dir. Zoe Pelchat)

Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film
Presented by Delta Air Lines
WINNER: Acadiana (dirs. Guillaume Fournier, Samuel Matteau and Yannick Nolin)
Special Mention: Labour/Leisure (dirs. Jessica Johnson, Ryan Ermacora)

VIFF Impact Award
Presented by The Lochmaddy Foundation
WINNER: The Reason I Jump (dir. Jerry Rothwell)

Rob Stewart Eco Warrior Award
Presented by RBC and Cineplex
WINNER: The Hidden Life Of Trees (dir. Peter Wohlleben)

VIFF Immersed Awards

Best Cinematic Live Action
WINNER: Kowloon Forest (dir. Alexei Marfin)

Best In Documentary
WINNER: By The Waters Of Babylon (dirs. Kristin Lauth Schaeffer and Andrew Halasz)

Best In Animation
WINNER: The Book Of Distance (dir. Randall Okita)

Honorable Mention In Animation
In The Land Of Flabby Schnook (dir. Francis Gelinas)

Audience Award
WINNER: Ecosphere: Raja Ampat (dir. Joseph Purdam)

VIFF Immersed Volumetric Market Awards
Sponsored by VeeR

Uninterrupted (dirs. Nettie Wild and Rae Hull)
A Vocal Landscape (dirs. Omid Zarai and Anne Jeppesen)

Before I wrap up my blog, I’ll give you the other films in which I saw at the fest. All films listed below are Canadian unless otherwise noted:

And there you have it. That’s my wrap-up of the film festival. I know it took me a long time to finish it all up, but I finally mustered the energy after all my work and courses. As for next year, we’ll see how the VIFF is carried out. Will they do more online films? Will they reduce the number of theatres or keep the same number they had in 2019? All I can say is I hope to see the VIFF films back in theatres. I like volunteering and being part of events. Only time will tell how VIFF 2021 is played out.

VIFF 2019 Wraps Up On A Great Note

11 November 2019Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

Cinema Yep, it’s been a month since VIFF 2019 ended, but the enjoyment of the Festival is still there. The VanCity Theatre will bring back a lot of the films that were shown during the festival. I hope to catch what I missed out the first time.

The 2019 Vancouver International Film Festival ended on Friday October 11th. There were big crowds throughout the festival as the films had a lot to attract. There were over 300 films from 72 countries or regions.

This year, there weren’t the Hub events, but there were a lot of ‘VIFF Live’ events. One was a lecture from rapper Chuck D, another was a pair of humorous film critics, a couple of airings of some cult classics, and even a feminist read of Some Like It Hot. There were two Master Classes organized by the Directors Guild of Canada. The first was with Atom Egoyan and the second with Batwoman director Holly Dale. Creator Talks were back and they ranged from costumers to producers and sound designers to even decision-makers like networkers, broadcasters and executive producers. VIFF Immersed was back but it was very restrictive in attendance. I will elaborate on that later.

The award winners were announced at the closing gala on Friday:

BC Spotlight Awards

Sea To Sky Award

Presented by Telus

WINNER: The World Is Bright (dir. Ying Wang)

Special Mention: Anthem Of A Teenage Prophet (dir. Robin Hays)

Best BC Film Award
Presented by CreativeBC, Encore by Deluxe
WINNER: The Body Remembers When The World Broke Open (dirs. Elle-Maija Tailfeathers & Kathleen Hepburn)

BC Emerging Filmmaker Award
Presented by UBCP/ACTRA, AFBS & William F. White
WINNER: Elle-Maija Tailfeathers for The Body Remembers When The World Broke Open

Canadian Film Awards

Best Canadian Film
Presented by Directors’ Guild of Canada

WINNER: One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk (dir. Zacharias Kunuk)

Special Mention: Blood Quantum (dir. Jeff Barnaby)

Emerging Canadian Director
Presented by Directors’ Guild of Canada
WINNER: Murmur (dir. Heather Young)

Special Mention: Kuesippan (dir. Myriam Verrault)

Best Canadian Documentary
Presented by the Rogers Documentary Fund
WINNER: Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger (dir. Alanis Obomsawin)

Special Mention: My Dads, My Moms and Me (dir. Julia Ivanova)

Best Canadian Short Film
Presented by Side Street Post
WINNER: At The Bottom Of The Sea (dir. Caroline So Jung Lee)

Special Mention: The Physics Of Sorrow (dir. Theodore Ushev)

Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film
Presented by Delta Air Lines
WINNER: Acadiana (dirs. Guillaume Fournier, Samuel Matteau and Yannick Nolin)

Special Mention: Labour/Leisure (dirs. Jessica Johnson, Ryan Ermacora)

VIFF Impact Award
Presented by The Lochmaddy Foundation

WINNER: Resistance Fighters (dir. Michael Wech)

Rob Stewart Eco Warrior Award

Presented by RBC and Cineplex

WINNER: The Pollinators (dir. Peter Nelson)

Women In Film And Television Award

Artistic Merit Award

WINNER: The Whale And The Raven (dir. Mirjam Leuze)

Audience Awards

Super Channel People’s Choice Award
WINNER: Parasite (dir. Boon Jong Hoo)

VIFF Most Popular International Documentary
WINNER: Coup 53 (dir. Taghi Amirani)

VIFF Most Popular Canadian Feature
WINNER: Red Snow (dir. Marie Clements)

VIFF Most Pupular Canadian Documentary Award
WINNER: Haida Modern (dir. Charles Wilkinson)

As for my volunteer experience, it was a unique experience volunteering for the Centre for the Performing Arts this year. This was the cinema that would have the biggest attractions this year. The very first film I officiated for was the Opening Gala and for Guest Of Honour. Yes, one of the best things about volunteering for VIFF: seeing Gala shows! For that, I was mostly in charge of line control and directing people to standing in the right line. It went quite well. After the show, I was one of the people who collected ballots for people to rate the film on a scale of 1-5.

I was scheduled for a total of four shifts, but there were some changeabouts on the schedule. So that meant after the Opening Gala, I only did two more. The second Centre shift was a case where I did line control for the film Parasite. That was something because the show sold out well in advance. I had to direct people to not only stand in line at the end of the line, but make way for the entrances of the stores. The line-up was three-quarters around the block before things got moving. I did mark the end of the line well and direct them all into the theatre. By the time I got them all in, I was too tired to see Parasite for myself. My third shift at the Centre involved scanning tickets for two shows. Scanners worked fine during the first show, but mine couldn’t work for the second show. So my shift ended there. That gave me enough luck to see Mr. Jones.

I did three at the Centre, but volunteers are to do a minimum of four. I was able to make up for it by doing three other shifts whose requests were sent via email. I took two of them at the Playhouse and another at the main VanCity theatre. Both times at the Playhouse, it was a case of giving people ballots before the show and taking the ballots after the show. For VanCity, I did it for a three hour-long documentary that had an intermission. It was possible to take ballots during the intermission, but I got very few. Each time I took ballots, I joked “This is one case where democracy works!”

Once again, there was a volunteer party one week later. It was good as I was able to make conversation with people I volunteered with. I also met up with some people I hadn’t seen in a long time. They served Chinese food, BC wine and craft beer. There wasn’t anything too big for a show. Just music played by the DJ. Nevertheless it was a good night.

As for the films I saw, here’s a list of them as well as the hyperlinks to the reviews. I have the country of origin in brackets and an asterisk marking those that are their country’s official Best International Feature Film entry for this year’s Oscars:

I fulfilled my film-watching goals for this VIFF. Shorts segment? I did it on the first Sunday with To Live In Infamy. Feature-length Canadian film? I did it on the Opening Gala and added one more in the final week. A country’s official Oscar entry in the Best International Feature Film category? I saw three. Minimum ten films? I saw eighteen in total.

I didn’t see everything I wanted. I was hoping to see a VIFF Immersed exhibit again this year. This time instead of the Centre for Digital Media, it was at the Annex Centre and there was a limit of fifteen tickets per ninety-minute exhibit. The one show I had the availability to see was sold out online and I was told to come back for the volunteer line-up. However it was a school showing and it was all reserved. Whenever I don’t get what I want, I try to find a show to see at the last minute. That’s how I saw To Live To Sing. Volunteers had a very good chance of getting into shows for free, but it was always a risk with films in huge demand. That would be my case when I wanted to see Those Who Remained. All the passholders and ticket holders filled the theatre and there was no room for volunteers. You take your chances.

One additional thing about my filmwatching. I was hoping to have again this VIFF that they did away with this year was the late-night showings at the Rio Theatre. The VIFF would have shows on the Friday or Saturday nights that started at either 11:00 or 11:30 and usually ended at 1am or shortly after. They would be films that were part of their Altered States selections. I would take full advantage of it and even watch the one shown on the last day of the VIFF as a way to end my VIFF experience that year with a bang. They didn’t have them this year because they didn’t really draw that huge of numbers. Despite that, I was able to see two or three of the Altered States films at the Rio during the 930/945 times. For Friday the 11th, I saw Greener Grass at the Rio which started shortly after 7. However I didn’t end my VIFF at the Rio. Instead I ended my VIFF at the Playhouse with The White Snake. Despite the change, I still ended my VIFF with a bang!

It’s funny how back in 2012 when the Granville theatre was about to close, newspapers said VIFF was in trouble. It’s 2019 and the VIFF is still active. It does make steps to adapt to the changes but it’s doing very well. Again in 2019, VIFF did a great job of bringing the world of film to the big screen. For many, this may be the only chance to see such films on the big screen. There have already been big screen releases for Jojo Rabbit, The Lighthouse, and Parasite, and there are more to come like White Snake. However we’re in a time nowadays where more is expected of a film to hit the big screen. The pressures of blockbuster superhero movies and other action films to bring in box office money demonstrates how much more restrictive box office releases are. There will be a lot of films at this film festival that will either be shown on Netflix or other streaming sources. The numbers of such are increasing. It’s a very tight time for independent film. It’s not like the breakthrough years of the late-80’s or early 90’s. It’s a good thing we have film festival like the VIFF to give such films a chance for better exposure.

So to conclude, I have to say it was an excellent experience I had this year. I didn’t have the Platinum Pass this year and I didn’t see everything I wanted, but I was happy with what I saw. No real disappointments. No film I thought was a waste of my time. VIFF 2020 is anticipated to be from September 24th and go until October 9th. Yes, I plan to be back to watch and to volunteer!

VIFF 2018 Wraps Up Another Good Year

23 November 20189 November 2019Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

Cinema

I know I’m late in doing my VIFF Wrap-Up blog. It’s been a crazy time. It’s not just seeing a total of twenty-one films but craziness involving work, a computer with faults, illnesses and injury, and post-secondary classes. Nevertheless I finally have the ambition to complete it today.

The 2018 Vancouver Film Fest ended on Friday, October 12th. There were big crowds throughout the festival. There was a lot to see with over 300 films from almost 70 countries and territories.

How about that? I got 21 out of 24 at VanCity’s Oscar Bingo…

The VIFF again offered Hub events and special lectures on film making topics from various professionals in its many fields. There was the VIFF Immersed virtual reality exhibit in which I will reflect on later in this blog. The Director’s Guild of Canada held Creator Talks. The first Saturday was Totally Indie Day with focuses on independent film from project to creation to promotion. There was the VIFF AMP conference which was a series of talks about musical promotion, primarily in film. There was even a Sustainable Production Forum on topics of how to makes films through environmentally-friendly means to promoting environmentalism in films.

The award winners were announced at the closing gala on Friday:

BC Spotlight Awards

Sea To Sky Award

Presented by Telus

WINNER: Broken Bunny (dir. Meredith Hama-Brown)

Special Mention: Anthem Of A Teenage Prophet (dir. Robin Hays)

Best BC Film Award
Presented by the Harold Greenberg Fund, Encore by Deluxe
WINNER: Edge Of The Knife (dirs. Gwaii Edenshaw & Helen Haig-Brown)

BC Emerging Filmmaker Award
Presented by UBCP/ACTRA & William F. White
WINNER: Freaks (dirs. Zac Lipovsky & Adam Stein)

Canadian Film Awards

Narrative Features

Best Canadian Film
Presented by Directors’ Guild of Canada

WINNER: Edge Of The Knife (dirs. Gwaii Edenshaw & Helen Haig-Brown)

Special Mentions: Genesis (dir. Philippe Lesage) & the Grizzlies (dir. Miranda de Pencier)

Emerging Canadian Director
Presented by Directors’ Guild of Canada
WINNER: When The Storm Fades (dir. Sean Devlin)

Special Mention: M/M (dir. Drew Lint)

Documentary Features

Best Canadian Documentary
Presented by the Rogers Documentary Fund
WINNER: The Museum Of Forgotten Triumphs (dir. Bojan Bodruzic)

Special Mention: A Sister’s Song (dir. Danae Elon)

Short Film Awards
Best BC Short Film
Presented by CreativeBC
WINNER: Biidaaban (The Dawn Comes) (dir. Amanda Strong)

Best Canadian Short Film
Presented by Lexus
WINNER: Fauve (dir. Jeremy Comte)

Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film
Presented by Delta Air Lines
WINNER: EXIT (dir. Claire Edmonson)

VIFF Impact Award
Presented by The Lochmaddy Foundation

WINNER: The Devil We Know (dir. Stephanie Soechtig)

Special Mentions: The Silence Of Others (dirs. Almudena Carraceco & Robert Bahar) & Samouni Road (dir. Stefano Savona)

Vancouver Women In Film And Television Artistic Merit Awards:

Award For Drama:

WINNER: Mouthpiece (dir. Patricia Rozema)

Award For Documentary:

WINNER: What Walaa Wants (dir. Christy Garland)

Audience Awards

Super Channel People’s Choice Award
WINNER: Finding Big Country (dir. Kathleen Jayne)

VIFF Most Popular International Feature
WINNER: Shoplifters– Japan (dir. Kore-eda Hirokazu)

VIFF Most Popular International Documentary
WINNER: Bathtubs Over Broadway (dir. Dava Whisenant)

VIFF Most Popular Canadian Feature
WINNER: Edge Of The Knife (dirs. Gwaii Edenshaw & Helen Haig-Brown)

#mustseebc Presented by Storyhive
WINNER: Finding Big Country (dir. Kat Jayme)

As for my volunteer experience, this was a different time. I was originally given office work to do over at the head office. One of the more difficult things was that the office positions were only announced just two days or even a single day before the shift. That didn’t fit very well with me as I work a job from 830 to 430 and if I were to take one of those positions, I would have to let my place know a good three working days in advance, especially this time of year. I did however do a variety of volunteering. I did some ushering over at the SFU and International Village cinemas as well as the Centre For Performing Arts. I did some work over at the virtual reality exhibit, which I will focus on a bit later. I helped serve one morning at the VIFF AMP conference over at The Annex which I will also touch on a bit later. I ended my volunteering with the takedown at the International Village. Their takedown was Thursday the 11th: the day before the VIFF concluded. It was late at night and we finished at midnight. We were rewarded with free passes to VanCity Theatre films. The rewards of being a volunteer.

There was a volunteer party at the VanCity the following Friday. It was great. We had catered food with a Southern USA atmosphere. It consisted of a mix of vegetables and meats like pulled pork and roast chicken. There was also the VIFF bank playing bluegrass.

For those who didn’t know, I won a Platinum Pass on the day of the Oscars. How did it happen? The VanCity Theatre, the main venue for the VIFF, had their annual Oscar party and their Oscar Bingo Contest. How Oscar Bingo works is you fill out your predictions for all 24 categories on the bingo squares. Here’s how good my predictions were. I was the first to get a row. I soon got a second row, but that was it for minor prizes for me. At the end of the night, I got 21 out of 24 right. The Oscars were that predictable. Plus I took a gamble on guessing The Shape Of Water to win Best Picture, and it paid off! As the night ended, I found out one other person had 21 out of 24 right. We both won Platinum Passes! It was exciting as I would experience having a Platinum Pass for the first time.

As for the films I saw, here’s a list of them. I have the country of origin in brackets and an asterisk marking those that are their country’s official Best Foreign Language Film entry:

I’m happy with the choices I saw. Some I was able to choose well in advance while some I chose because of the time. Some I wanted to see I did. Some I wasn’t so lucky. Like Can You Ever Forgive Me? showed at the same time as Boy Erased. I can only choose one! However I did achieve my usual VIFF goals of seeing one shorts segment, one Canadian feature and one nation’s entry for the Best Foreign language Film Oscar. It was crazy juggling having my volunteer pass and my Platinum pass on the same chain. Often if I wanted to see a film, I’d use my Platinum Pass and I’d get any seat I wanted! That was the best thing about having a Platinum Pass.

The biggest thing I learned about having a Platinum Pass this year is that they’re best for people who have all sixteen days of the festival available. I see a lot of seniors with the Platinum Passes and they make good use out of it. They are the ones that can see five films in one day, if they have the tenacity to do so. I still had my jobs to attend to during the time so that really kept me from seeing a lot. Also volunteering kept me from seeing a lot too. I remember I told one of the VIFF supervisors during Oscar night “Even though I won, I still plan to volunteer.” It was a double-edged sword to do both volunteering and own a platinum pass as most of the time, you’re outside the action. If I ever pay $900 for a Platinum Pass in the future, it will be after I retire.

There were two things I attended as a volunteer that I could not attend for free via my Platinum Pass. That was the VIFF Immersed virtual reality exhibit and the VIFF AMP conference. If I wanted to attend it, I would have to pay full admission. Being a volunteer was a good experience in both cases. For virtual reality, I learned quite a lot about a new means of film making and animation. I’ll admit I haven’t caught onto the VR craze. I had my first experience with VR at the exhibit as volunteers were allow to try things out. It was nice to try two of the VR films; both films were made in BC. I also assisted in showing a VR exhibit to students from a Vancouver high school who were on a field trip. My shift was ending just as they were about to set the place up for ticketholders. As my shift ended, I tried a state-of-the-art animated VR show called Fire Escape. It was too technical for me to handle. It’s good that the VIFF have a virtual reality exhibit. One thing we shouldn’t forget is that VIFF focuses on all formats of film: not just feature-length. They also focus on writing in film and even music in film. It was a good experience to attend the VIFF AMP conference for the morning. I was given the duty to have musicians onstage sign waivers for VIFF promotional videos. I learned a lot from some of the musicians and producers and agents about the challenges of getting music promoted in your film as well as the worldwide promotion of music in general.

So overall I’d say it was an excellent VIFF and a unique experience this year. This was the first year I saw over twenty films! Next year’s VIFF is anticipated to be from September 26th to October 11th, 2019 and should also be a unique experience. No doubt I will be back to volunteer!

VIFF 2017 Wraps Up

8 November 20178 November 2017Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

Cinema

This year, I’m late again in wrapping up my experience at the VIFF. Actually I’m way earlier than last year. This time, I publish my wrap-up just three weeks after it ended.

The 2017 Vancouver Film Fest ended on Friday, October 12th. Crowds came again and again. There was a lot to offer with over 300 films from 69 countries. There were 19 films that are official entries for the Academy Awards category of Best Foreign Language Film for this year. Eleven films made their World Premiere at the Festival, nine their International Premiere, 37 their North American and 46 their Canadian Premiere.

The VIFF again offered Hub events and special lectures on film making topics from various professionals in its many fields. There was the Buffer Festival dedicated to the topic of online film making which included lectures on such filmmaking and even a Q&A featuring a lot of top Canadian YouTube personalities.

The award winners were announced at the closing gala on Friday:

BC Spotlight Awards

Sea To Sky Award

Presented by Telus
WINNER: Never Steady, Never Still (dir. Kathleen Hepburn)

Best BC Film Award
Presented by the Harold Greenberg Fund, Encore by Deluxe
WINNER: Luk’l Luk’l (dir. Wayne Wapeemukwa)

BC Emerging Filmmaker Award
Presented by UBCP/ACTRA & William F. White
WINNER: Never Steady, Never Still (dir. Kathleen Hepburn)

Canadian Film Awards

Narrative Features

Best Canadian Film
Presented by Directors’ Guild of Canada
WINNER: Black Cop (dir. Cory Bowles)

Emerging Canadian Director
Presented by Directors’ Guild of Canada
WINNER: Never Steady, Never Still (dir. Kathleen Hepburn)

Documentary Features

Best Canadian Documentary
Presented by the Rogers Documentary Fund
WINNER: Unarmed Verses (dir. Charles Office)

Short Film Awards
Best BC Short Film
Presented by CreativeBC
WINNER: Rupture (dir. Yassmina Karajah)

Best Canadian Short Film
Presented by Lexus
WINNER: Shadow Nettes (dir. Phillip Barker)

Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film
Presented by Delta Air Lines
WINNER: The Crying Conch (dir. Vincent Coi)

VIFF Impact Award
Presented by The Lochmaddy Foundation

WINNER: BLUE (dir. Karina Holden)

Audience Awards

Super Channel People’s Choice Award
WINNER: Indian Horse (dir. Stephen Campanelli)

VIFF Most Popular International Feature
WINNER: Loving Vincent – Poland & UK (dirs. Dorota Kobiela & Hugh Welchman)

VIFF Most Popular International Documentary
WINNER: Faces Places – France (dir. Agnes Varda Jr.)

VIFF Most Popular Canadian Documentary
WINNER: Shut Up And Say Something (dir. Melanie Wood)

#mustseebc Presented by Storyhive
WINNER: Shut Up And Say Something (dir. Melanie Wood)

As for my volunteer experience, this was a unique experience in doing driving for the VIFF for a change. It wasn’t all about driving VIPs or those involved in film. There was one Friday just days before the VIFF where we had to bring two cars, an SUV, a moving van and a hauling truck from a Langley rental agency over to the VIFF theatre. It was crazy because this was my first time learning on how to drive an automatic car. All my life, I’ve started cars by turning the key. This was completely different and even had me freaked out. Nevertheless things got easier over time.

Our shifts were mostly simple. We’d wait at the Sutton Hotel to find out who we’d be picking up and from where. My first day was a Tuesday and it was confusing as I was getting used to driving the downtown Vancouver streets for the first time. Believe me, Burrard St. has very limited left-turn options and it was annoying. The second trip on my first day driving was crazier as we had to drop some people off at the back entrance of a hotel. The entrance is located at a ramp to a parkade and there was a car being us trying to enter the parkade as I was dropping the people off. vacating the hotel was a headache. The days after were easier as I mostly had to pick people up either at the Sutton Hotel or at the theatres and drive them to the airport. There were even a couple of times I had to pick people up from the airport and bring them to the Sutton Hotel. One of which I was transporting an orchestra’s musical instruments in the moving van. That was definitely interesting. On closing Friday, I was with five people who had to bring five of the ten vans back to the auto dealer’s headquarters. I thought I knew my way, but Surrey’s highway system is extremely confusing and I got lost. I did make it there, half an hour late.

As for films, I feel I saw a good variety of film. I saw thirteen feature-length films and at least one shorts segment. I was lucky to see at least three Canadian features. I saw a lot of foreign films. I saw two films that were official Oscar entries for the Best Foreign Language Feature category. I even saw an African film for the first time. I saw at least three Altered States films that were either bizarre or ridiculous. The biggest standout for this year’s films I saw had to be experimental films. I saw three such films: two Canadian. One was good while the two others came off as either a failed experiment or just something ridiculous. That’s one thing about experimental films. You have to welcome them first and then make your own judgement after.

For the end of the VIFF, there was a volunteer party held the Saturday after closing. Volunteers were treated to films shown at this year’s VIFF. Three of the best. After that, they were treated to a Mexican buffet and to karaoke singing. It was fun and I even sang three numbers. I always sing at least one Elvis number at a karaoke party!

So there you go. The 2017 Vancouver International Film Festival ended very well and it was another good year of films and volunteering for me. Next year’s VIFF is anticipated to be from September 27th to October 11th, 2018 and should offer a lot, if not more. I may end up being an usher or I may end up driving again next year. I’ll see what they have to offer me. In the meantime, see you next year!