Category Archives: Arts Friday

Most Anticipated Films of 2024’s First Six Months

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Summer blockbusters, action-packed thrillers, sweet rom-coms, and much-anticipated sequels are all on the upcoming movie slate for 2024.

2024 at the movies promises to be one for the books, especially with the long-awaited releases of a surfeit of films that were delayed for release until 2024, as a result of the strike of WGA and SAG-AFTRA members last spring and summer.

From dramatic biopics like Bob Marley: One Love and the Amy Winehouse film Back to Black to epic sequels like Dune: Part Two, as well as a surfeit of movies pushed back from 2023, this new year is already shaping up to be a wild year in film.

Here’s a list of the 26 most anticipated Hollywood releases set to hit your local multiplex in 2024, between now and the end of June.

Argylle (Feb. 2). Matthew Vaughn returns to the espionage genre in a new movie that follows a spy novelist (Bryce Dallas Howard) who, unbeknownst to her, is writing real-life events into her beloved books series. Sam Rockwell, Henry Cavill and Bryan Cranston also star, alongside pop star Dua Lipa.

Lisa Frankenstein (Feb. 9). The campy, young adult take on the Mary Shelley classic sees a high schooler re-animate a corpse who turns out to be a love interest. The movie is the feature début from Zelda Williams and features a screenplay from Jennifer’s Body scribe Diablo Cody.

Madame Web (Feb. 14). Dakota Johnson leads this Spider-Man spinoff as a clairvoyant who becomes entangled with multiple superheroes.

Bob Marley: One Love (Feb. 14). The biopic of Jamaican singer-songwriter Bob Marley comes from King Richard director Reinaldo Marcus Green and stars Kingsley Ben-Adir as Marley, the film following the singer’s rise, and personal and political journey.

Dune: Part Two (March 1). This follow-up to Denis Villeneuve’s first Dune was originally set for release in 2023. The sequel picks up with Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) looking to avenge his family line. Austin Butler and Christopher Walken join the cast that is also led by Zendaya.

Road House (March 21). Patrick Swayze’s 1989 action flick is getting a 2024 re-do thanks to director Doug Liman, with Jake Gyllenhaal taking over the starring role as an ex-UFC fighter turned bouncer.

The American Society of Magical Negroes (March 22). Set for a Sundance 2024 début later this month, this featurefrom comedian and satirist Kobi Libii follows a young man who’s recruited into a secret society of Black people who are meant to make white people’s lives easier. Justice Smith leads this Focus Features project.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (March 29). After revitalizing the franchise with 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, stars Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace and Paul Rudd return to team up with original Ghostbusters stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts as they attempt to save New York.

Mickey 17 (March 29). The new film from director Bong Joon-ho, his first since his Oscar-winning Parasite, stars Robert Pattinson as a “expendable” employee sent to colonize a foreign world.

The First Omen (April 5). Nell Tiger Free stars in the prequel to the classic Richard Donner film. The project kicks off when a young American woman moves to Rome in service of the church, only to encounter a mysterious darkness. Tawfeek Barhom, Sonia Braga, Ralph Ineson and Bill Nighy also star in the project, from.filmmaker Arkasha Stevenson.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (April 12). Godzilla vs. Kong filmmaker Adam Wingard returns with a film that teams Godzilla and Kong set to face off against previously hidden monstrous Titans. Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry and Dan Stevens are on board as the human stars.

Challengers (April 26). Another holdover from 2023 pushed due to the actors strike, this Luca Guadagnino film stars Zendaya as a tennis star turned coach in a love triangle with competing champions. Josh O’Connor & Mike Faist co-star.

Civil War (April 26). This Alex Garland movie is set after the United States has fallen into a state of civil war, and follows reporters as they try to traverse the fractured and increasingly dangerous country. Kirsten Dunst, her husband Jesse Plemons, Nick Offerman and Priscilla’s Cailee Spaeny co-star.

Idea of You (May 2). The beloved romance novel is turned into a romantic comedy. Michael Showalter directs and Anne Hathaway stars as a single mom who goes to a concert with her daughter where she begins a relationship with the lead singer of a beloved boy band (think Harry Styles). Nicholas Galitzine stars as the love interest in the feature which will stream on Amazon.

Fall Guy (May 3). This feature film version of the 1980s TV series follows a Hollywood stuntman who gets embroiled in a real-life crime plot that will require him to use his skills to save the day and the movie he is working on. Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt co-star in this feature film directed by David Leitch.

Back to Black (May 10). Marisa Abela stars as the late Grammy winner Amy Winehouse in the biopic from Sam Taylor-Johnson.

https://youtu.be/MbvonXc8QjI?si=xElVFjFFSzC3ZPLl

IF (May 17). John Krasinski directs and acts in this feature centering on a young girl (Cailey Fleming) who can see imaginary friends (also known as IFs) and must help IFs who have been abandoned by their kids. Ryan Reynolds leads the Paramount feature that voice stars Steve Carell as an IF named Blue.

Garfield (May 24). Chris Pratt voice stars as the classic comic strip cat, who goes on a heist with his feline father (Samuel L. Jackson) and canine pal Odie (Harvey Guillén). Nicholas Hoult voices Garfield and Odie’s owner, Jon, while Chicken Little filmmaker Mark Dindal directs.

Furiosa (May 24). Nearly a decade after George Miller’s Fury Road was heralded as one of the greatest action films of all time, the filmmaker returns with a prequel centered on the early days of Furiosa, played by Anya Taylor-Joy.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (May 24). Set 300 years after the trilogy of Apes films, this new film, like the classic 1968 Planet of the Apes installment, is set in a time when apes have taken over Earth and humans are subjugated.

Ballerina (June 7). John Wick 4 grossed a series-best $440.1 million. Ballerina will be a new test of the franchise’s strength, with this feature spinoff movie starring Ana De Armas as a ballet dancer / assassin named Rooney.

Inside Out 2 (June 14). The gang is back in this animated follow-up to the beloved Pixar movie that follows the anthropomorphized emotions of a young girl led by Amy Poehler’s Joy. Joining for this round is Anxiety, voiced by Maya Hawke.

Bad Boys 4 (June 14). In many ways, Bad Boys 4 is a much-needed palette cleanser for those involved. For one, it marks Will Smith’s return to the summer blockbusters following his infamous Oscars slap in March 2022, the film arriving nearly 30 years after the 1995 original, directed by Michael Bay.

The Bikeriders (June 21). Disney opted not to release The Bikeriders amid the SAG-AFTRA strike. Focus Features will release this Jeff Nichols-directed movie focusing on the culture of a 1960s Midwestern motorcycle club, the film’s stars: Tom Hardy, Jodie Comer and Austin Butler.

A Quiet Place: Day One (June 28). Six years after John Krasinski launched a new franchise for Paramount, the studio is releasing its first spinoff. Set in New York City on the first day of an alien invasion, the feature originated from an idea Krasinski. Pig’s Michael Sarnoski directs a cast that includes Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou and Denis O’Hare.

Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 (June 28), Chapter 2 (Aug. 16). Kevin Costner’s multi-film western saga has been in the works since 1988, with the star-filmmaker putting at least $20 million of his own money into the project.

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The cinematic landscape of 2024 promises a kaleidoscope of experiences, from the grandeur of Hollywood blockbusters to the intimacy of independent gems discovered at film festivals.

As audiences prepare for a year filled with visual spectacles, emotional journeys, and thought-provoking narratives, the global film industry stands ready to captivate, challenge, and inspire.

Whether it’s the excitement of summer blockbusters or the anticipation of the autumn Oscar season, 2024 is poised to be a remarkable chapter in the ongoing saga of cinema.

#Oscars 2024 | Best Actress / Actor +++ More Academy Predictions

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Ah, the glitz, the glamour, and the relentless buzz surrounding the Oscars!

As the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences marches towards the 96th annual Oscar ceremony on Sunday, March 10th 2024, the speculation over potential nominees for the most coveted categories – Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Director – has reached a fever pitch.

Here’s a glance into the crystal ball to discern who might grace the esteemed list of nominees. Oscar nominees will be announced on Tuesday, January 23rd at 5 a.m.

Best Picture

As we wrote yesterday, the leading contenders for the Best Picture Oscar are: Christopher Nolan’s hard-hitting biopic Oppenheimer; Greta Gerwig’s pastel-pink Mattel extravaganza Barbie; Martin Scorsese’s western gangster epic, Killers of the Flower Moon; Yorgos Lanthimos’ fantastical coming-of-age tale, Poor Things; Alexander Payne’s Christmas dramedy The Holdovers; Bradley Cooper’s biopic of composer Leonard Bernstein, Maestro; Cord Jefferson’s feature directorial début, American Fiction; and, writer / director Celine Song’s feature directorial début, the American romantic drama, Past Lives.

After that, who knows who will fill the 9th and 10th spots?

Best Actor

The Best Actor category often shines a light on performances that redefine the craft. Names already swirling in the Oscar conversation are …

Bradley Cooper. Maestro. Cooper’s portrayal of the sexually conflicted composer Leonard Bernstein in a film he wrote, directed and stars in, offers a performance poised to bring him his fifth acting Oscar nomination.

Leonardo DiCaprio. Killers of the Flower Moon. DiCaprio is in the running for his sixth performance under the direction of Martin Scorsese, in which he plays a simpleton who becomes part of a scheme to kill and rob the Osage community.

Colman Domingo. Rustin. In his first lead role, the Emmy-winning star of Euphoria has won universal raves. Domingo brings heart, mind and soul to the part of Bayard Rustin, a Black and gay civil rights activist who organized the 1963 March on Washington.

Paul Giamatti. The Holdovers. This veteran could land a Best Actor nomination — and at this point is actually the odds-on favourite to win Best Actor — 19 years after his prior collaboration with Alexander Payne in Sideways. He again plays a snob, this time a crusty boarding school instructor forced to stay on campus during Christmas break.

Cillian Murphy. Oppenheimer. The Irishman best known for the TV series Peaky Blinders has been doing notable work in film for more than 20 years. But never before has he played a part as widely seen or praised as that of J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster biopic.

Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction. One of the most revered screen actors who’s never received an Oscar nomination, this Emmy winner arguably gives the performance of his career as a cranky college professor who writes books that nobody reads — until he writes one, of a very different sort, under a pen name.

Best Actress

Competition is heating up for the Best Actress Academy Award at Oscars 2024, with several great performances vaulting women into the awards race.

Margot Robbie. Barbie. The shining star of the movie, perfectly capturing Barbie’s toy-like looks and evolving her performance to fit with the movie’s exploration of Barbie’s empowering arc, this two-time Oscar nominee could take home the big prize this year.

Sandra Hüller. Anatomy of a Fall. Cannes Best Actress winner Hüller — who attempts to prove she is not responsible for her husband’s death, in this courtroom drama — carries the film on her shoulders and delivers an exceptional performance.

Carey Mulligan. Maestro. Mulligan plays Leonard Bernstein’s wife Felicia Montealegre, chronicling their heartbreaking, decades-spanning love story through all the highs and lows, in a role that could win her her first Academy Award.

Lily Gladstone. Killers of the Flower Moon. Scorsese’s film is expected to be a massive hit with Academy voters. Gladstone’s role as Mollie Burkhart is at the heart of the movie, and is essential to the film’s emotional core. Thus far in the Oscar race, Ms. Gladstone has picked up all of the critics, and last Sunday the Golden Globe, Best Actress prize.

Emma Stone. Poor Things. Stone’s dazzling, revelatory performance as a Frankenstein creature brought to life is the expected winner of the Best Actress 2024 Oscar.

Best Supporting Actor

Ryan Gosling. Barbie. Gosling is definitely Kenough to run away with this whole thing.

Robert Downey Jr. Oppenheimer. On the campaign trail, Downey reminds voters of his outstanding work as Louis Strauss, transforming his appearance and affect.

Robert De Niro. Killers of the Flower Moon. De Niro’s villainous turn as William Hale is a lock for a nomination.

Mark Ruffalo. Poor Things. Ruffalo plays a promiscuous reprobate who can’t deal with a sexually empowered woman in Poor Things. Ruffalo is definitely in the mix, as is Willem Dafoe in that same film as a disfigured mad scientist/father figure.

Charles Melton. May December. Vaulting from TV’s Riverdale to a fascinating role as a man seduced by a married woman (Julianne Moore) when he was in middle school has picked up all of the critics awards thus far.

Best Supporting Actress

This category promises an array of talent.

Juliette Binoche. The Taste of Things. As Eugénie, Binoche plays the personal cook to renowned gourmet Dodin Bouffant in his country home in 1889 France, the French reverence for the art of cuisine serving to define the film.

Emily Blunt. Oppenheimer. A formidable contender, potentially signaling a promising awards journey ahead.

Danielle Brooks. The Color Purple. Brooks and Taraji P. Henson, the standouts from Blitz Bazawule’s daring re-imagining of Alice Walker’s beloved novel are both vying for recognition in this fiercely competitive supporting actress race.

Penélope Cruz. Ferrari. Cruz fuels Oscar talk with her extraordinary turn in Michael Mann’s Ferrari biopic, as the scorching, melancholic heart of the film.

Jodie Foster. Nyad. Could this be Oscar #3 for Nyad scene-stealer Jodie Foster?

Da’Vine Joy Randolph. The Holdovers. The odds-on favourite in this category, Randolph delivers a standout performance in as Mary Lamb, a cafeteria worker mourning her son’s loss.

Best Director

The visionary minds behind the lens are poised for recognition.

Frontrunners

Christopher Nolan. Oppenheimer.
Greta Gerwig. Barbie.
Martin Scorsese. Killers of the Flower Moon.
Yorgos Lanthimos. Poor Things.
Jonathan Glazer. The Zone of Interest.

Major Threats

Cord Jefferson. American Fiction.
Celine Song. Past Lives.
Bradley Cooper. Maestro.
Alexander Payne. The Holdovers.
Todd Haynes. May December.
Blitz Bazawule. The Color Purple.
Ava DuVernay. Origin.

#Oscars 2024 | Predicting the 2024 Best Picture Oscar Nominees

A & E, Arts Friday, Cinema

As the dust settles from 2023’s celebrated cinematic offerings, the film industry —  not to mention cinephiles and movie-loving members of the public — are already abuzz with anticipation for the 96th Academy Awards, set to take place at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday March 10th in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

While predicting the winners can be as unpredictable as a plot twist in a thriller, we can’t resist speculating on the potential nominees in the most prestigious category: Best Picture, the category that is always the most talked-about, representing a diverse array of genres and storytelling styles.

In preparation for the Oscar ceremony two months from now, we can expect a mix of groundbreaking films, from the intimate drama that captured hearts and minds at film festivals this past year to the surprise dark horse entry that emerges as a critical favourite in the eleventh hour.

Nine locks for one of the 10 Best Picture Oscar nominations include a few front-runner titles: Christopher Nolan’s hard-hitting biopic Oppenheimer, whose stars Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, and Robert Downey, Jr. will chase Oscars.

Greta Gerwig’s pastel-pink Mattel extravaganza Barbie, starring likely acting contenders Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.

Martin Scorsese’s western gangster epic Killers of the Flower Moon, starring Best Actor winners Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and rising breakout Lily Gladstone.

Yorgos Lanthimos’ fantastical coming-of-age tale Poor Things, starring certain Best Actress nominee Emma Stone, the film winning the Golden Lion (Best Film) at last September’s Venice Film Festival.

Alexander Payne’s Christmas comedy The Holdovers, which reunites him with his Sideways star Paul Giamatti — a certain Best Actor nominee, and probable winner — in VanRamblings favourite film of the holiday season just passed.

Tackling the real life composer Leonard Bernstein and putting himself both in front of and behind the camera, as he did in 2018 with Best Picture nominee A Star is Born, Bradley Cooper’s new film Maestro represents his evolution as a filmmaker, and at this point in the Oscar campaign is waging a pitched battle with Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers to take home the 2024 Academy Award for Best Picture. Also starring certain Best Actress nominee Carey Mulligan, look for Maestro to continue to generate a lot of buzz  over the next two months.

At the Cannes Film Festival in May this year, British auteur Jonathan Glazer won the Grand Prix for the German-language film, The Zone of Interest, a dark holocaust movie starring German actress Sandra Hüller.

Hüller also scored raves for French director Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winner, the courtroom drama Anatomy of a Fall, half in English, half in French.

Both films will feature in the Oscar race.

Winning the coveted — and often predictive of a Best Picture nomination — People’s Choice Award winner at the Toronto Film Festival in September was American Fiction, director Cord Jefferson’s adaptation of Percival Everett’s novel Erasure, starring Jeffrey Wright.

What other films are in contention for a Best Picture Oscar nod?

David Fincher’s thriller The Killer, starring Michael Fassbender as an assassin under threat (available on Netflix).

In a follow-up to her Oscar-winning Promising Young Woman, Emerald Fennell skewers the British upper crust in outrageous ways in Saltburn, starring Rosamund Pike and Barry Keoghan (available on Prime).

As always, a raft of biopics will compete in the Oscar fray.

Early buzz was upbeat on veteran Ridley Scott’s pricey epic Napoleon, toplining Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix and nominee Vanessa Kirby. Napoleon is available On Demand, or Apple TV+ (currently $24.99 rental).

In Priscilla, Oscar-winner Sofia Coppola pits Jacob Elordi as Elvis opposite newcomer Cailee Spaeny, winner of Best Actress in Venice, in the title role.

Director Michael Mann also hit the fall film festivals with his racing biopic Ferrari, starring Adam Driver, who played Italian in House of Gucci, alongside Penélope Cruz, a certain Best Actress nominee, as his wife.

The Sundance critical and box-office breakout Past Lives, from Korean-Canadian playwright-turned-director Celine Song, about a married New York writer (Greta Lee) who reunites with her Korean childhood sweetheart (Teo Yoo) is certainly in consideration for a Best Picture nod when nominations are announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2024.

But don’t count out (in order of most likely to join the race):

Todd Haynes, with the fictionalized true story May December, starring Oscar-winners Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman, which opened the New York Film Festival.

Cannes box-office specialty hit Asteroid City which proved to be Wes Anderson’s most entertaining film since The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Amazon and MGM will push the film that opened South by Southwest to much acclaim, the new film from Argo Best Picture winner Ben Affleck, co-produced by (with Affleck) and starring Matt Damon, the well-received sports drama, Air.

Steven Spielberg’s 1985 adaptation of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple holds a distinct record as the most-nominated — yet undecorated — film in Oscar history, with 11 nods that didn’t translate to a single victory. In 2024 Spielberg and co-producer Oprah Winfrey look to right that wrong with a musical revival of Purple, starring lead actress Fantasia Barrino, along with Halle Bailey, H.E.R., and Ciara.

Then there’s Nyad, the biopic of Diana Nyad, who swam from Cuba to Florida at age 64 in an epic feat of endurance, starring Annette Bening, who has never won an Oscar despite an impressive resume and four nominations, co-starring Best Actress Oscar winner, Jodie Foster.

Colman Domingo becomes an instant Best Actor Oscar contender with Netflix’s civil rights drama Rustin, which is also in the hunt for a Best Picture nomination.

Pundits also have Ava DuVernay’s new film, Origin, firmly in the Oscar hunt, the film starring sure-fire contender for Best Actress Anjanue Ellis-Taylor as a journalist on the journey to write the bestseller, as she grapples with tremendous personal tragedy.

Loosely based on Taichi Yamada’s 1987 novel Strangers, there’s Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers. The film follows screenwriter Adam (Andrew Scott), who, after an encounter with his neighbour Harry (Paul Mescal), is mysteriously pulled back into his childhood home, where it appears his long-dead parents (played by Claire Foy and Jamie Bell) are actually alive — and haven’t aged in 30 years.

While predicting the Best Picture Oscar nominees and winners is an exercise in speculation, it’s also a celebration of the incredible talent and creativity that the film industry offers each year.

As we eagerly await the red carpet and the opening of the golden envelopes, one thing is certain: the magic of cinema will continue to inspire and transport us to new and exciting worlds.

The full slate of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Oscar nominations will be announced at 5 a.m. on Tuesday, January 23rd.

Arts Friday | Attend the New York Film Festival Right Here in Vancouver

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Every year towards the end of September, both our homegrown Vancouver International Film Festival and the heavily-juried New York Film Festival get underway, presenting the best in cinematic art to be found anywhere across the globe.

As occurs each year, both VIFF & NYFF share fifteen or more films, as is the case once again this year. Here are the 15 films on offer at the New York Film Festival that will also screen at the 41st annual Vancouver International Film Festival …

(film titles for each film link to VIFF’s website for the film, allowing you to purchase a ticket)

Aftersun

6:30pm, Friday, September 30th, International Village 9
9:15pm, Sunday, October 2nd, International Village 9

In one of the most assured and spellbinding feature débuts in years, Scottish director Charlotte Wells has fashioned a textured memory piece inspired by her relationship with her dad, starring Paul Mescal and Francesca Corio as a divorced father and his daughter whose close bond is quietly shaken during a brooding weekend at a coastal resort in Turkey.

Alcarràs

6:15pm, Friday, October 7th, SFU Woodwards
2:30pm, Sunday, October 9th, Vancouver Playhouse

Winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, Carla Simón’s follow-up to her acclaimed childhood drama Summer 1993 is a ruminative, lived-in portrait of a rural family in present-day Catalonia whose way of life is rapidly changing.

All That Breathes

12:30pm, Sunday, October 2nd, International Village 8
9pm, Wednesday, October 5th, SFU Woodwards

In this hypnotic, poignant, and beautifully crafted documentary, New Delhi-based filmmaker Shaunak Sen immerses himself with two brothers who for years have been taking it upon themselves to save the black kite, their city’s endangered birds of prey, which the general population largely sees as nuisances despite their essential role in the city’s ecosystem.

Corsage

6pm, Monday, October 3rd, Centre for the Performing Arts
6pm, Thursday, October 6th, Centre for the Performing Arts

In a perceptive, nuanced performance, Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread) quietly dominates the screen as Empress Elizabeth of Austria, who begins to see her life of royal privilege as a prison as she reaches her fortieth birthday. Marie Kreutzer boldly imagines her cloistered world with both realism and fanciful imagination.

De Humani Corporis Fabrica

9pm, Thursday, October 6th, The Cinematheque
6pm, Saturday, October 8th, VIFF Centre – Vancity Theatre

In their thrilling new work of nonfiction exploration, Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor (Leviathan) burrow deeper than ever, using microscopic cameras and specially designed recording devices to survey the wondrous landscape of the human body.

Decision to Leave

9:15pm, Friday, September 30th, Centre for the Performing Arts
9pm, Thursday, October 6th, Centre for the Performing Arts

A Busan detective is increasingly obsessed with a murder suspect in a puzzling new case: a middle-aged businessman has mysteriously fallen to his death and his wife might be to blame. Park Chan-wook won the Cannes Best Director award for this twisting Hitchcockian detective thriller, one of his most enveloping and accomplished films.

EO

4pm, Sunday, October 2nd, Vancouver Playhouse
9:30pm, Saturday, October 8th, Centre for the Performing Arts

At age 84, legendary director Jerzy Skolimowski has directed one of his spryest, most visually inventive films yet, following the travels of a peripatetic donkey named EO who begins as a circus performer before escaping on a pastoral trek across the Polish and Italian countryside.

The Novelist’s Film

9:15pm, Tuesday, October 4th, International Village 9

For his playful and gently thought-provoking 27th feature, Hong Sangsoo takes on the perspective of a prickly middle-aged novelist, Junhee (Lee Hye-young), whose dormant creativity is stoked following a chance encounter with a famous actress (Kim Min-hee).

One Fine Morning

9pm, Sunday, October 2nd, Centre for the Performing Arts
6pm, Tuesday, October 4th, Centre for the Performing Arts

The intensely poignant and deeply personal latest drama from Mia Hansen-Løve (Bergman Island) stars Léa Seydoux as Sandra, a translator and single mother at a crossroads, torn between the romantic desire she feels for a married man (Melvil Poupaud) and her obligation towards her sick father (Pascal Greggory).

Pacifiction

9pm, Saturday, October 1st, International Village 9
5:30pm, Sunday, October 9th, Vancouver Playhouse

Catalan filmmaker Albert Serra reconfirms his centrality in the contemporary cinematic landscape with this mesmerizing, slow-building fever dream about a French bureaucrat (a monumental Benoît Magimel) drifting through a fateful trip to a French Polynesian island with increasing anxiety.

R.M.N.

9:30pm, Saturday, October 1st, Vancouver Playhouse
9pm, Thursday, October 6th, Vancouver Playhouse

Cristian Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days), who dramatizes the tensions of a modern Romania still beholden to dangerous traditions, returns with a gripping, mosaic-like portrait of a rural Transylvanian town riven by ethnic conflicts, economic resentment, and personal turmoil.

Scarlet

3:30pm, Thursday, October 6th, International Village 10
9pm, Saturday, October 8th, International Village 9

One of contemporary cinema’s most versatile talents, Pietro Marcello (Martin Eden) proves again he is as comfortable in the realm of folklore as he is in creative nonfiction with this enchanting period fable that delicately interweaves realist drama, ethereal romance, and musical flights of fancy.

Stars at Noon

9pm, Monday, October 3rd, Vancouver Playhouse
1pm, Saturday, October 8th, Centre for the Performing Arts

In Claire Denis’s surprising contemporary thriller, a dissolute young American journalist (Margaret Qualley) and an English businessman (Joe Alwyn) with ties to the oil industry meet by chance while on different, mysterious assignments in modern-day Nicaragua and tumble into a whirlwind romance.

Stonewalling

9pm, Saturday, October 1st, The Cinematheque
2:45pm, Tuesday, October 4th, The Cinematheque

A young flight-attendant-in-training’s plans to finish college are thrown into doubt when she discovers she’s pregnant. Not wanting an abortion, she hopes to give the child away after carrying it to term, while staying afloat amidst a series of dead-end jobs. Beijing-based wife-and-husband team Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka’s film is an urgent critique of a modern-day social structure that has few options for women in need of care.

Triangle of Sadness

9pm, Monday, October 3rd, Centre for the Performing Arts
9pm, Sunday, October 9th, Centre for the Performing Arts

Ruben Östlund’s wildly ambitious Palme d’Or–winning Buñuelian satire follows two hot young models (Harris Dickinson and Charlbi Dean) who rub elbows with the super-rich on a luxury cruise gone haywire.