The 35th Vancouver International Film Festival
Sept. 29 – Oct. 14 | Various venues & times | Tickets/info: $10 – $900 viff.org
Autumn, which brings cooler, shorter, typically rainier days, invites us to cozy up somewhere warmer — and definitely drier — inside. Starting Thursday, the 35th Vancouver International Film Festival will roll out that welcomed option. Sixteen days of film watching, from dawn to dusk.
VIFF executive director Jacqueline Dupuis is clearly excited at that prospect. Heading into her fifth year at VIFF’s helm, she’s also pleased about the new eight specific film streams replacing past multi-category sections. Embracing a “film-plus” model of audience experience and interaction, each of the VIFF streams — Panorama, Ignite, True North, Impact, Next, Gateway, M/A/D and Alt (more on these later) — integrates into year-round programming.
“We looked at our three separate, distinct business interests — the Vancouver International Film Centre, the film festival and the industry conference — and at how could we insure that we create a consistent experience for both the audience and industry over all of them,” said Dupuis. “The idea is to have a year-round, cross-silo model that all falls under VIFF.”
This year is the first in a four-year-long plan to fully develop the streaming model into year-round programming. Ultimately, the film festival will be more of a macro showcase of what takes place under the yearly VIFF calendar. A gala premiere of an Asian film in the Gateway stream could occur in March, complete with director Q&A, canapes, wine and whatnot.
“True North and Impact already have a lot of initiatives within them from screenings, talks and events by virtue of the amount of local and Canadian cinema and public interest in topical films (Impact),” said Dupuis. “By Year 3, we expect an equally robust offering in all the other streams, too.”
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Vancouver International Film Festival executive director Jacqueline Dupuis is excited about the new approach this year. ‘We looked at our three separate, distinct business interests — the Vancouver International Film Centre, the film festival and the industry conference — and at how could we insure that we create a consistent experience for both the audience and industry over all of them,’ she says. ‘The idea is to have a year-round, cross-silo model that all falls under VIFF.’
The truth is, Vancouver (and Canada) just love festival branding, both for the buzz it generates and for funding. This proliferation of film events (DOXA, Latin American Film Festival, Queer Film Festival) means VIFF needs to define itself clearly in the market. How we consume content in a digital world has also affected the bottom line for all arts organizations.
“Not to take anything away from any of the other festivals, but many spun out VIFF to provide the opportunity to go deeper into various genres or regions which aren’t our year-round programming,” said Dupuis. “VIFF has always been more about creators than celebrities. From TV, film and digital media, we featured key figures such as Breaking Bad’s Vince Gilligan for both the public and industry to take in.”
With a $2-billion (and growing) local film, TV and visual effects business (not to mention gaming), there are a lot of directions in which VIFF can paddle. Dupuis doesn’t mince words in assessing what the public wants: “It’s time to double-down on creators and special events because that is where the interest is in a fan-based culture and we can.”
Yes, you can always stream the film at home. But nothing really beats watching movies on a big screen in the company of friends and strangers.
VIFF Streams: An Overview
Panorama: Anticipated new work from name international creators and other exciting breaking names
Film pick: Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience: Friday, Oct. 14, 6:30 p.m., at Science World.
Director Terrence Mallick goes big. Like Big Bang big. A cinematic journey across time and space.
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Director Terrence Mallick goes REALLY big in Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience. It plays Oct. 14 at Science World as part of the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Ignite: B.C. works of note, from local and other creators
Film pick: Window Horses (The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming): Friday, Sept. 30, 6:15 p.m., at Vancouver Playhouse and Monday, Oct. 3, 3:45 p.m., at International Village 9.
Director Anne Marie Fleming’s (Window Horses) NFB-animated feature about a young girl’s journey into poetic self-discovery.
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Vancouver director Anne Marie Fleming’s Window Horses (The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming) is about a young girl’s journey into poetic self-discovery.
True North: Coast-to-coast-to-coast Canadian creations
Film pick: Maliglutit (Searchers): Tuesday, Oct. 4, 6 p.m., at Centre for the Arts and Thursday, Oct. 8, 3:15 p.m., at Vancouver Playhouse.
Zacharias Kunuk (Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner) nods towards John Ford’s classic The Searchers in this Far North odyssey of a man trying to find his kidnapped daughter and wife.
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Canadian Inuk producer/director Zacharias Kunuk’s Maliglutit (Searchers).
Impact: Films that aim to change the way we see the globe and generate discussion, action, change
Film pick: RiverBlue: Saturday, Oct. 1, 6:30 p.m., at SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts and Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2 p.m., at International Village 10.
Ever wonder what the environmental damage caused by your favourite pair of blue jeans is?
Next: Next-level experiences from such digital realms as Virtual Reality, gaming, music and more
Pick: Late Night @ VIFF HUB: Friday, Sept. 30 – Saturday, Oct. 8, 10 p.m. – 1 a.m., Vancouver International Film Centre, 1181 Seymour St.
Live music, interactive digital biz showcases, fest goers getting festive.
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Scene from Suffering of Ninko.
Gateway: East Asian art both new and noteworthy
Film pick: Suffering of Ninko: Saturday, Oct. 1, 6:30 p.m., at Cinematheque and Sunday, Oct. 2, 12:45 p.m., at International Village 8.
A monk sworn to celibacy is irresistible to women and many men. Based on a Japanese folk tale, this comedy maybe isn’t one.
M/A/D: Music, art and design are the front and centre focus here
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Director Jim Jarmusch’s Gimme Danger turns his lens on ‘the greatest rock and roll band ever’ in The Stooges.
Film pick: Gimme Danger: Thursday, Sept. 29, 9:15 p.m., at Rio Theatre; Saturday, Oct. 8, 4:30 p.m., at International Village 10 and Wednesday, Oct. 12, 6:30 p.m. at Rio Theatre.
Cult fave director Jim Jarmusch makes a movie about “the greatest rock and roll band ever,” The Stooges.
Alt: Weird, wacky, wonderful genre-jumping works in long and short form
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Elaine (Samantha Robinson) is looking for love and not afraid to cast some spells in The Love Witch.
Film pick: The Love Witch: Friday, Oct. 7, 8:45 p.m., at Rio Theatre and Sunday, Oct. 9, 1:30 p.m., at International Village 10.
For fans of those ridiculous Italian horror flicks of the 1960s, Russ Miller and Swinging Seventies sexploitation romps. Elaine (Samantha Robinson) is looking for love and not afraid to cast some spells from the dark side to get it. Can anyone say Satan?
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
