VIFFamp

The VIFF Is Back For 2022

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

I know it’s been a long time since I blogged. Normally I would fill my summer blogging with a major football event. However the World Cup doesn’t start until November. In addition, this summer I was involved in a heavy duty post-secondary course that took up a lot of my time. However the VIFF is starting up soon so now I’ve got my drive back.

The Vancouver International Film Festival returns. This year, the Festival is an eleven-day event from Thursday September 29th to Sunday October 9th. The Festival this year is a move to having less streaming on VIFFConnect and more getting people to return to the theatres. This year, VIFF returns to having films at the International Village like they did back in 2019.

Me, I will be volunteering this year at the International Village as an usher. This is the first time in three years I will volunteer there. Each year, I talk about my VIFF goals including the three that stand out: Canadian feature, shorts segment, foreign-language Oscar contender. This year is different as I will be leaving Vancouver in the middle of the Fest to attend a wedding. I will have to cut my film-watching short. However I do still have a goal of seeing at least seven films. We’ll see how the week goes. Also it depends if I’m lucky with my volunteer position for each film. Yes, you will get reviews from me. Some of you remember I still had reviews to post but I ran out of energy. You can thank an accounting class for that. But I’m sure I’ll have the energy to post reviews for all the films I see this year.

The Vancouver International Film Festival isn’t just about films. It also has a wide variety of events related to film and the industry including talks from business insiders, high school programs, interactive exhibitions and even an orchestrated replay of a silent film taking place at a church. Here’s what’s on the roster for this year’s VIFF:

VIFF Talks: This year’s VIFF Talks include Brother director Clement Virgo; Avatar costume designer Deborah Lynn Scott who will deliver a masterclass, Dean Fleischer Camp who will showcase his new short film Marcel The Shell With Shoes On.

VIFF Industry and VIFF Labs: VIFF Industry holds talks from industry professionals this year include such topics as filmmaker’s influence on climate change, showrunners of sci-fi talking of their craft, the challenges and opportunities of international coproduction in Canada, shooting analog and guests from the Directors Guild of Canada. VIFF Labs allow people in film to cultivate their craft and is for invitation-only groups.

VIFF Amp: Once again, VIFF Amp explores the connection of music and sound in film. Guest speakers include film score composers, music supervisors, songwriters and managers. Events include masterclasses, case studies, panel discussions, networking, breakout sessions and musical showcases. All are meant to promote up and coming musicians, especially from marginalized communities, to a thriving future in film.

Signals: In the past, it was VIFF Immersed that showcased the latest in virtual reality. Now it’s renames Signals. The interactive exhibitions are back. There’s more variety of new technologies including virtual production, volumetric capture, holograms, and VR/AR/XR technologies.

An Evening With Michael Abels: The composer who composed scores to Jordan Peele films like Get Out, Us, and Nope will be at the Vancouver Playhouse for a night of insight, creativity and his music performed by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

Nosferatu 100 by Big Kill: Pop group Big Kill set the score of gothic pop for a resurrection of Nosferatu in what is it’s 100th anniversary. Set at St. Andrew’s-Wesley Church for the right goth feel, this promises to be an experience like no other!

And of course with the Vancouver Film Festival comes films. There are 130 films and 100 shorts from 74 countries. Theatres include the VanCity theatre (the main theatre only), the International Village, Rio Theatre, Vancouver Playhouse Theatre, Centre for the Performing Arts, Cinematheque and the SFU Goldthorp Theatre. There’s a lot to look forward to and to watch at the Film Festival. Here’s a sneak peak of some of the biggest highlights:

OPENING GALA: Bones Of Crows-Marie Clements directs a story of a Metis woman who goes through the 20th Century enduring the harsh systemic racism forced upon her from residential schooling to enlisting in the army for World War II.

CLOSING GALA: Broker- Directed by Hizoraku Kore-eda, this story starring Parasite’s Song Hang-Ko about a man conducting a baby adoption scam in Korea. It’s described to be as touching as it is comedic. Song’s performance won the Best Actor award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

The Banshees Of Inisherin- directed by Martin McDonagh, this story starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson is of two good friends in Ireland in the 1920’s whose friendship takes a turn for the worse and their enmity has the whole village consumed.

Corsage- directed by Marie Kreutzer, this Austrian film is a comedy of 19th Century Austrian empress Elisabeth. Elisabeth is nearing 40 and struggles with her appearance. Meanwhile she has been politically sidelined against her will and starts acting out. Vicky Krieps’ performance won a special award for performance at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Decision To Leave-Another South Korean film with buzz. By director Park Chan-wook, this story is of a homicide director who falls in love with the Chinese widow of a bureaucrat who committed suicide. At this year’s Cannes Festival, Park won Best Director.

Empire Of Light-Directed by Sam Mendes, this is a story of an English woman who works a cinema job in the early 80’s. Soon she is taken aback by her black co-worker. She strikes up a romance, but it does not go well in the Thatcher-dominated UK of the 1980’s.

EO-Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski directs a story of a donkey who first starts life as a circus performer in Poland. Animal rights activists change everything and his life is changed where he goes from being a part of a petting zoo to playing a Polish soccer game to encountering a countess. Shared winner of the Prix du Jury at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

The Grizzlie Truth-Directed by Kathleen S. Jayme, this is a documentary of the ill-fated Vancouver Grizzlies of the NBA. Despite the Grizzlies’ short life in Vancouver, Jayme remained a true fan and she goes in and connects with former players and fans alike.

One Fine Morning-Directed by Mia Hansen-Love, this is a film situated in Paris. Sandra, played by Lea Seydoux, is going through financial difficulties and it’s made even more complicated as her father is suffering with Benson’s syndrome and needs to be place in a care facility. During that time, she has an affair with a past friend she meets again by chance.

The Son- Directed by Florian Zeller, this film is the story of a 17 year-old boy struggling to find himself. He feels he has to leave his mother to be with his father (played by Hugh Jackman), but the father’s new family and the son’s struggle with depression may prove to be too much.

Stars At Noon- Directed by Claire Denis, this film is a story of a young American journalist who has her passport seized. She tried to do whatever she can to make it out, but when she falls for a British man, what she thought was her way out was a path to worse trouble. Shared winner of the Cannes Grand Prix.

Triangle Of Sadness-Winner of the Cannes Palm d’Or. Directed by Ruben Ostlund, An influencer couple go on a luxury cruise for the mega-rich. During that time, they contemplate their status and their relationship. Along with a captain (Woody Harrelson) that is arrogant and quotes Marx, this cruise is bound to hit stormy weather.

The Whale-Directed by Darren Aronofsky, this film focuses on a morbidly obese teacher, played by Brendan Fraser. Turns out his eating is a suicide attempt in order to be reunited with his dead boyfriend. Will reuniting with his estranged teenage daughter change that?

Women Talking- Sarah Polley directs a story adapted from the novel by Miriam Toews. News has hit a Mennonite community in Canada that a colony in Bolivia has systematically abused over 100 women over a two year period. Eight women in the Canadian community were among the victims and they try to make sense of it all.

And there you go! There’s a sneak peak of what to expect at the 2022 Vancouver Film Festival. For more information and to buy tickets for yourself, just go to: https://viff.org/

VIFF 2020 Does It Online

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment
Most of VIFF’s films will be viewed online.

This has been an unusual year. A pandemic has led to the cancellation of various events or had them be conducted under strict limits. The Olympic Games and Euro 2020 were cancelled but league sports continue in spectatorless stadiums. Movie theatres started the pandemic closed off and then to limited attendance with precautions. Most film festivals have had to resort to doing their events online. This is what the Vancouver International Film Festival will be doing this year.

The Show Must Go On

Looking to other film festivals as to how they decided to do their festival during the pandemic, the VIFF has seen how to make a film festival work during the pandemic. The TIFF in Toronto was a strong indicator as it too had most of their films for viewing online with a select few films for viewing in cinema. For those that were to view films in cinema, they had to have face coverings. It was mandatory.

I’m sure that will be the case in the Vancity Theatre and the Cinematheque as well as any hall where there will be lectures. Eighteen of the estimated 95 films of the VIFF will be shown in theatres. All films including those with a theatre showing can be viewed online. Tickets are $9 each. However it’s the VIFF Connect passes that are the best deal. They consist of:

  • VIFF Connect Festival Subscription: can view any online film once, can watch any bonus features, and can take part in any online Creator Talk. Membership is included in the subscription. Price: $60 ($30 for full-time students)
  • VIFF Connect GOLD Subscription: All the features of the Festival subscription plus access to specially-curated online content during the festival, a free annual year-round suscription to VIFF Connect and a free VIFF+ Gold membership that’s valid for a full year. Price: $95

It’s not just film happening with VIFF. There are talks and lectures this year too focusing on the craft of filmmaking and film music. For this year there will be:

  • VIFF Talks and Masterclasses: For this year’s VIFF talks, there will be documentarians, animators, HBO cinematographers, creators of comedy series, actors, production designers and even Charlie Kaufman. Some of the events will focus on the craft of writing, storytelling and cinematography. Others will talk about the issues surrounding the stories of the films or documentaries they created. There’s another Meet The Showrunners event this year where the focus is on diversity as well as a special talk about increasing diversity and inclusion in the film industry. Some events are live-streamed while others are pre-recorded. Check the VIFF website for more details.
  • VIFF Amp: Again the focus is on music in film. It will consist of three straight days of lectures opening with a lecture from jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard. Topics of focus for this year are music in animation, music supervision, song placement and sync licensing, marketing music to filmmakers, composition and production. AMP Passes are $45.
  • VIFF Immersed: Modern technology meets filmmaking and storytelling in this selection of lectures. The lectures will range from dealing with new technologies and new directions as well as focus on the more artistic focuses of film including a special focus on Indigenous XR creation. There’s even a flashback to 2019’s Immersed sessions.
  • VIFF Totally Indie Day: September 26th is the day and it all starts at 10am! Three films in focus will be a documentary, semi-documentary and a live-action film. All films will have a Q&A with the creators. In addition, there will be a special Q&A session with independent filmmakers and how they managed to proceed with filmwork despite the setback of the COVID pandemic. Day Pass is $45/$30 for Students.

Of course the big focus is on the films. Usually I’d have a guidebook to tell you most of the highlighted films. However I’m not so lucky this year. I will pick eight I think will stand out:

  • Monkey Beach – Based on the novel by Eden Robinson and directed by Loretta Sara Todd, this story is about a young Haisla girl who possesses a supernatural gift that is as much of a curse as it is a blessing.
  • There Is No Evil – This film by Iranian filmmaker Mohamad Rasoulof won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. Banned from filmmaking for life, this film focusses on life in a repressive regime with special focus on the death penalty.
  • Inconvenient Indian – This docudrama from Michelle Latimer won the People’s Choice Documentary Award at the TIFF. The film promises to be more about giving an expression about being Indigenous rather than telling a story.
  • The Curse Of Willow Song – directed by Karen Lam, this looks like a film for Altered States. It’s the story of a young female arsonist just released from prison. Trying to make her way back in the world, she receives supernatural forces from a spirit of the past.
  • Falling – Viggo Mortensen stars and directs in this film about a son taking in his cantankerous father after learning he has dementia. He tries to make peace with his father and the family but it’s a challenge that may prove too hard.
  • The Father – Another story about a father with dementia. This time the director is Florian Zeller (adaptation of his own stage play) and the father is played by Anthony Hopkins and the daughter by Olivia Colman.
  • Ammonite – This stars Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan and is directed by Francis Lee. Set in 1840’s England, a female paleontologist tends to an unhappy young bride of privilege class. A bond soon comes and then grows into something much more.
  • Time – African-American injustice has been a hot topic this year. This documentary by Garrett Bradley focuses on a woman and her struggle to keep her family together as she challenges the justice system over their dealing with her husband sentenced for 60 years for armed robbery.

Those eight films are just a small sample of what to expect at the VIFF this year. The festival is fourteen days instead of the usual sixteen and runs September 24th to October 7th. I’ll be doing a lot of watching from my computer but I hope to have a chance to see at least one in a theatre. Don’t worry. I have my own mask!