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The Vancouver International Film Festival remains one of the largest film festivals in North America, and a première Canadian cultural event. Founded in 1982, in its 28th year VIFF continues as a fall fixture on the international film festival circuit, and the largest Asian film festival in North America.
The 2009 edition of the Festival takes place a bit later than usual this year, from October 1st thru 16th, when more than 150,000 locals, and those traveling to our city from afar, will choose from a selection of more than 640 screenings of 377 films, from 80+ countries from across the globe.
The 24th edition of the Film and TV Forum, established to foster the art of cinema, facilitate the meeting of cinema professionals from around the world, and to stimulate the motion picture industry in BC and Canada, began Tuesday and will conclude Saturday, with New Filmmakers’ Day. The Forum offers 5 days of classes, seminars, and roundtable discussions for budding local cinéastes, and those interested in the filmmaking process.
As to the Festival proper, the 28th edition features 217 feature length fiction films, 92 feature length documentaries, and 140 shorts. There are 89 Canadian films in the programme, consisting of 20 dramatic features, and 13 non-fiction features.
OPENER/CLOSER: The opening night gala attraction will be A Shine of Rainbows, a Canada-Ireland co-production from Indian-born Canadian filmmaker Vic Sarin (Partition), which tells the story of an extraordinary woman who helps an orphan boy find self-acceptance and love through her unique gifts of colour and magic. The film stars Connie Nielsen.
The Festival ends 16 days later with a screening of Queen To Play, Caroline Bottaro’s directorial début which employs chess as metaphor for life while exploring class and gender empowerment. The French-German co-production stars the always radiant Sandrine Bonnaire, and Kevin Kline.
GALAS: Between these two glitzy bookends, three other high-profile films will be given special premières and gala celebrations: on Oct. 2nd, Excited, the Canadian Images gala film, from Vancouver-based director Bruce Sweeney, offers a romantic comedy about sexual dysfunction; on Oct. 8th, Japanese director Yakusho Koji’s Toad’s Oil, a sprawling, magical fantasia about fathers, sons and truth and lies in relationships, as this year’s Dragons and Tigers Award Gala; and, on Oct. 10th, the Anniversary Gala film, An Education, given that it’s 2009’s buzz Sundance film, stars certain Best Actress Oscar nominee, Carey Mulligan, in an absorbing, evocative, superbly constructed coming-of-age character study; most assuredly a sell out at its gala screening, and the two other scheduled screenings.
WORLD CINEMA: The spotlighted country this year is Japan but, as usual, the French presence pummels the competition with more than 28 features, including new work from Jacques Audiard, the Grand Jury Prize winner at Cannes this year, A Prophet; Catherine Breillat (Bluebeard); Alix de Maistre (For A Son); and Alain Cavalier (Irène).
Other international marquee names include Spain’s Pedro Almodóvar (Broken Embraces), Sweden’s Lukas Moodysson (Mammoth), the Czech Republic’s Jan Hrebejk (Shameless), Germany’s Maren Ade (Everyone Else), Grand Jury Prize winner in Berlin this year; Taiwan’s Cheng Wen-tang (Tears), and Hong Kong’s Wai Ka-fai (Written By).
AWARD WINNERS: From Sundance, in addition to Audience Award Winner, An Education, this year’s VIFF has programmed four other Sundance winners, including Chile’s The Maid, World Cinema Prize, Drama; Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire, Grand Jury Prize; Tibet in Song, World Cinema Special Jury Prize; We Live In Public, Grand Jury Prize, Documentary; and, from this year’s Berlin Film Festival, in addition to Maren Ade’s Grand Jury Prize winner, Everyone Else, VIFF has programmed Gigante, winner of the Silver Bear, and Best First Film awards; from New York’s Tribeca Film Festival, Ireland’s The Eclipse was awarded a Best Actor Prize for Ciarin Hinds; and, from Cannes 2009, Canada’s I Killed My Mother, winner of three prizes, including Best Director, Director’s Fortnight; Police, Adjective (Romania), Jury Prize winner (Un Certain Regard); and Michael Haneke’s eagerly anticipated The White Ribbon, Palme D’Or winner.
NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL: This year, as in past years, the heavily juried New York Film Festival (Sept. 25 – Oct. 11) overlaps with Vancouver’s International Film Festival. At the opening press conference in early September, Festival Director Alan Franey proudly pointed to the following films, which will play both prestigious film festivals: in addition to those films already mentioned (Precious, Broken Embraces, Bluebeard, Everyone Else, Police, Adjective, and The White Ribbon), the VIFF will present Lars von Trier’s latest provocation, Antichrist (winner, Cannes’ Best Actress award, Charlotte Gainsbourg); 100 year-old filmmaker, Manoel de Oliveira’s, Eccentricities of a Blond Hair Girl; Dragons and Tigers candidate, Independencia; recent Venice Film Festival award winner, Lebanon; Bong Joon-Ho’s, Mother; Pedro Costa’s Ne change rien; Andrey Khrzhanovsky’s, A Room and a Half France’s breathtaking documentary, Sweetgrass; and, Portuguese director João Pedro Rodrigues’ touching To Die Like A Man.
NON-FICTION FEATURES: In the non-fiction / documentary feature film category, the following films have garnered awards, including Gerald Peary’s magnificent For The Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism; Salt, Fredricks and Michael Angus’ breathtaking 2009 Best Australian short winner; Dana Perry’s Boy Interrupted; Mexico’s The Inheritors; Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith’s The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers; and, Libby Spear’s controversial Playground, chronicling the child sex trade in North America.
For a full rundown on the 377 films, a schedule and ticket and series pass information, go online to www.viff.org/home, or order tickets at the VISA advance box office at the VanCity Theatre, 1181 Seymour Street, noon til 7 daily. All Festival attendees must purchase a $2 membership. You can also charge by phone, at 604-685-8297, noon til 7 through October 15th.
