On March 29th of last year, 17-year-old Billie Eilish entered the public consciousness, and the Billboard charts, with her self-produced début album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, the 2nd-biggest album of 2019, and the third-largest streaming week for an album by a woman, with six Billboard Hot 100 top 40 songs: When the Party’s Over, Bury a Friend, Wish You Were Gay, Xanny and Bad Guy, the last of which became her first number one single stateside, in the U.K., Mexico, and Australia.
The rest, as they say, is utterly unique, groundbreaking rock ‘n roll history.
Billie Eilish’s accolades include 5 Grammy Awards, 2 American Music Awards, 2 Guinness World Records, 3 MTV Video Music Awards, and one Brit Award. Eilish is the youngest person and second person ever to win the four main Grammy categories — Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year — in the same year. No mean feat that.
The daughter of teacher, actress, and screenwriter Maggie Baird, and construction worker and part-time actor, Billie Eilish and her older brother / producer and co-songwriter, Finneas O’Connell hail from decidedly working class roots. Both parents encouraged the siblings — who were homeschooled — to express themselves and explore whatever they wanted, including music, art, dancing and acting.
In October 2015, at age fourteen, Billie recorded the song Ocean Eyes, co-written and produced with Finneas, after his sister’s dance teacher asked them to record a song for a dance routine. In 2015, releasing the song on SoundCloud, and the next year on YouTube (at present, Ocean Eyes has 293,733,254 views), coinciding with a deal Finneas had made to sign Billie with Apple Music, Billie’s budding music career began to kick into high gear.
In March 2017, Billie recorded songs for the soundtrack to the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why — one song, Lovely, recorded with Khalid, was certified platinum in North America — and that same month, Billie was showcased at the South by Southwest music festival. In February 2018, Billie, Finneas and their parents embarked on the Where’s My Mind World Tour, where they débuted the songs constituting the tracks on Billie’s first album. By January 2019, Billie reached an unprecedented one billion Spotify streams.
Billie kicked off her When We All Fall Asleep World Tour at the Coachella Festival in Indio, California in April 2019, travelling across the U.S. and Canada, and then the globe, before returning to the Americas and concluding her world tour on November 17, 2019 in Mexico City.
Why does VanRamblings write in the headline that Billie Eilish (and her brother Finneas) constitute the new Beatles? Watch the videos directly above, and feel the emotional reactions of Billie’s fans, how those in attendance know the lyrics to the songs, and are clearly moved. In more than 50 years writing about music, aside from the reaction to the Beatles that could be observed in the mid-1960s, no other artist or group has come along with stronger album sales, and a larger, more devoted fan base. Although radio doesn’t quite know what to do with her, Billie Eilish is making her own career, and together with Finneas, making decisions about her career. And, fortunate for all of us, in the summer and fall of 2020, that means Billie’s full-throated support for the Democratic Party in the United States, and the candidacy of Joe Biden, no matter the impact on her career. Woebetide the right-wing, Trump-supporting political candidates and QAnon-supporting conspiracy theorist journalists who take Billie Eilish on.
And, finally for today, we’ll leave you with a bit of human-scale Finneas and Billie, and all the painstaking work the two of them put into recording the first track for the When We All Fall Asleep album release. When you watch the video below, you’ll also come to realize that Billie and Finneas are, very much, the 21st century John Lennon and Paul McCartney for our new age.
Film has always been a central, organizing force in my relationship with both my daughter, Megan, and my son, Jude.
Our collective love of the cinema, attending film festivals and discussing what we saw following the various screenings we attended (usually at the Fresgo Inn on Davie, which was alive no matter the time of night or early morning) was, over the years, a central feature of our relationship — the relationship between son and daughter, and dad — that allowed us to delve deep into discussions of the meaning of life, and our collective responsibility to work towards creating a fairer and more just world for everyone.
Heart and deep caring for humanity was at the centre of our love of film, and at the centre of our loving familial relationship, informing the choices we made about how we would conduct ourselves in the world, and the projects and causes to which we would devote our time and our energies.
In the 1980s, when Cathy and I were going through a rancorous divorce, film brought us together. When in Seattle — which we visited frequently, always staying on the non-smoking 33rd floor of the Weston twin towers — in 1984, we took in a screening of Garry Marshall’s The Flamingo Kid — the story of a working class boy (Matt Dillon) who takes a summer job at a beach resort and learns valuable life lessons. Megan was seven years of age, and Jude 9 — both were uncertain about the efficacy of our trip south (without their mother’s permission — we called her upon arriving at our hotel), but the screening alleviated and, finally, repaired any of their concerns, and all went well that weekend. Fortuitously, too, upon our return, the divorce proceedings inexplicably moved forward into a more reasonable and thoughtful direction, reflective of all our collective concerns.
Whenever there was “trouble” in our relationship — generated, most usually, by their mother — film served to salve the wounds of dysfunction, allowing us to find our collective centre while healing the wounds that rent all of our lives during a decade-long, million dollar custody dispute.
Film spoke to us, made us better, took us out of the drudgery of our too often protean daily and, more often, troubled lives, and engaged us while putting our lives into a broader and more human scale perspective. Never once was there a film that we saw together when we didn’t come out of the screening feeling more whole, and more at one with ourselves & the world.
Such was true, at the screenings of Glenn Close and John Malkovich’s Dangerous Liaisons over the holiday period in 1988, or months later at the screening of Kevin Costner’s Field of Dreams, which we took in at the Oakridge Theatre, a favourite and comforting cinema haunt of ours.
When Megan wanted some “alone time” with me, it almost always revolved around watching a film together, although as Megan matured (and as her love for film matured), Megan made it plain that she was present in the theatre to watch the film, not “share time” with me, choosing always to sit in a whole other section of the theatre (it drove her crazy in the times that we were sitting together in a theatre that I would check in occasionally with her, looking at her to determine how she felt about the film — talking during a film was an unforgivable sin, so that was never going to happen).
Some days, Megan would call and say, “Dad, take me to a film.” And because I was a film critic at the time, and had a pass to attend at any cinema in North America, off the two of us would traipse to see Kathy Bates’ Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) or Johnny Depp’s Benny & Joon (1993) at the old 12-theatre complex downstairs in the Royal Centre mall.
Other times, post dinner and after Megan had finished her homework, I’d say to Megan out of the blue, “I’m heading out to attend a screening of a film. Do you want to come along with me?” Megan would ponder my question for a moment before asking, “Which film?”
In 1991, one very long film screening we attended was Kevin Costner’s directorial début, Dances With Wolves, about which we knew nothing other than it starred one of our favourite actors, and off the two of us went.
At screening’s end (Megan and I actually sat together at this particular screening, which took place in the huge Granville 7 Cinema 7, cuz the preview theatre screening room was just packed), Megan turned to me, and said, “Dad, I knew this was going to be a great film.” And it was. “And, you know what else? It’s going to pick up a raft of Oscars this year, too, and be considered one of the, if not the best, films of the year.”
Jude and Megan also attended film festival screenings with me.
Almost inevitably, Vancouver International Film Festival founder, and co-owner of Festival Cinemas Leonard Schein was present with his wife Barbara, and at a screening’s end, Megan would make her way over to wherever Leonard and Barbara were sitting to enquire of him whether or not he intended to book the film into either the Varsity, Park or Starlight.
Following screenings of Neil Jordan’s 1992 putative multiple Oscar award winner, The Crying Game or, that same year, Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom, Megan marched right over to Leonard, and asked him boldfacedly, “Well, what did you think?” When Leonard indicated that he thought the films were not quite his cup of tea, that both films would have difficulty finding an audience, and that it was unlikely he’d be booking either film into one of his cinemas, Megan lit into Leonard with a passion and an anger that I had rarely observed as coming from her, saying, “Are you out of your mind? Strictly Ballroom (or, The Crying Game) is a wonderful film, and just the sort of film that not only should you book, but that you MUST book — these are both groundbreaking films that will only serve to reinforce your reputation as an arts cinema impresario, but will also make you a tonne of money, and we all know that you’re all about the money. Either you book these films into The Varsity, or believe me when I tell you that there’ll be hell to pay when you see me next.”
And with that, Megan marched off.
At the 1990 Vancouver International Film Festival, I’d caught a screening of Whit Stillman’s directorial début, Metropolitan, in preview, and knew that this would be a film that Megan would just love (and be astounded by, at the revelation of one of the characters, mid-film). I made arrangements to pick Megan up from University Hill Secondary at 3pm sharp on the day of the festival screening, we drove downtown, found a parking spot, and rushed over to The Studio Cinema on Granville to catch the 4pm screening of Metropolitan — which as I had predicted, Megan just loved.
In early December 1993, on a particularly chilly and overcast day, at 10am in Cinema 2 at the Granville 7 theatre complex, I caught a screening of Jonathan Demme’s groundbreaking new film, Philadelphia — a film about which I knew little, and a film that knocked me out (along with the handful of film critics in attendance at the theatre for the screening). Emerging from the theatre just after noon, making my way onto Granville, I looked for the nearest telephone in order that I might call Megan at school.
I called the office at University Hill Secondary, and asked them to find Megan and bring her to the phone. When Megan asked, “Dad, is everything all right?”, I told her about the film I had just seen, and that when it opened in January, I wanted to take her and Jude to a screening at the Granville 7. We talked about the film for a few minutes, with her saying about 10 minutes in, “I’m holding up the school phone, and calls coming in. Let’s get together after school. Come and pick me up, and we can continue our conversation. I’ll see you then, Dad. I love you.”
There are gifts we give our children. From my parents, it was what would emerge as a lifelong love for country music. For Jude and Megan, my gift was a love of music, a love of the ballet, and an abiding love for film.
As of today, we are less than two weeks away from the glorious start of the 39th annual Vancouver International Film Festival as tremendously engaging, moving, and humane an event as occurs on Vancouver’s arts calendar each year, easily as absorbing, gripping, engrossing and captivating as all of VIFF’s previous festival iterations, representing the culmination of a year’s dedicated and devoted work by VIFF’s utterly humane and talented group of programmers, who working with their formidably talented and hard working support staff once again this year bring you films that will move, fascinate, educate, mesmerize, entreat, bewitch and, in many cases, change you forever for the better, where by festival’s end you will come to see yourself as a citizen of the world, working relentlessly to realize a fairer and a more just world for all of us.
In the midst of our current pandemic, the good folks at VIFF have made some necessary changes to this year’s film festival: for the most part, VIFF 2020 will be a virtual film festival, a festival where you will be afforded the opportunity to watch the more than 100 films on offer in the comfort of your home — no frustrating lineups for tickets this year, no having to wait in the pouring rain as the previous screening to the film you’re waiting in line to see is running late, no having to rush to get the seat you want. Nope, this year, the good folks at VIFF perform the extraordinary, bringing our much cherished international film festival to you, in your comfy home.
And you know what else? Yep, VIFF 2020 is available to British Columbians across the province. So, if you’ve got friends, or children / grandchildren in the far flung towns, cities and villages across our great province, for the very first time, our annual Vancouver International Film Festival will be available to kith and kin, wherever they reside across our belle province.
What’s that I hear? Enough of this palaver? Get down to brass tacks, you say, give us the information we need to engage with VIFF 2020?
First up, you’re going to want to buy tickets for individual films, or — and this is a much, much better deal — you’re going to want to purchase a subscription, so that you can see as many films as you can squeeze into the two-week running time of VIFF 2020.
Individual tickets for screenings go for $9, but the much, much better deal is to purchase either a VIFF Connect Festival Subscription, for the low, low price of $50, which will afford you the opportunity to watch any VIFF film on offer, as well as take part in any online Creator Talk, while the VIFF Connect Gold Subscription, at $95, allows you to watch any VIFF 2020 film, as well as offering you a free VIFF+ Gold Membership valid for one year (worth $240), and a free year-round subscription to VIFF Connect (worth $60), cuz let’s face it, folks, this pandemic thing ain’t ending any time soon, so if you want to catch the best in international cinema over the course of the next 12 months, the VIFF Connect Gold Subscription is the way to go.
Now, about this streaming thing. All your questions are answered here.
That said, here’s the bit of info you’re really going to need.
As the good folks at VIFF suggest, you’re gonna need a streaming platform.
Apple TV (4th Generation or newer)
Roku
Amazon FireStick
Chromecast (where you can stream films thru the Chrome browser).
As above, your laptop or desktop computer, via your preferred web browser, when you log onto the VIFF site with your account will allow you to stream any of the VIFF 2020 films, may / will be necessary. Yes, yes, we know, it all sounds sort of intimidating. It’s not. Rather, you’ll find — once you get over your initial jitters — that it’s easy peasy, nice and easy.
As an experiment, VanRamblings logged onto the VIFF site, and played a couple of VIFF trailers through our iPhone’s Chromecast app. Soon, the VIFF Connect app will be available. For the festival, we’re probably going to “cast” VIFF films on the Chrome browser through our Chromecast “dongle” right onto our 4K TV, as we did during the recent DOXA film festival, after the National Film Board’s Katja De Bock (we just love that name!) cajoled us into purchasing Chromecast (which we picked up at Best Buy for $35). Chances are, though, that we may also use one of our iPads or the iPhone to stream VIFF 2020 films through our iOS Chromecast app.
What about the films, we hear you ask? Not to worry, we’ve got you covered. Beginning next week, three (or perhaps more) times a week, VanRamblings will publish “previews” of three or more films each day, replete with the trailers for the films, as well as a round-up of the over-the-moon reviews the films garnered when these films screened at Sundance, Berlin, Tribeca, Taipei, Locarno, Hong Kong, Venice, Toronto or New York.
As is VanRamblings usual practice, we will identify 20 films that are worthy of your time, so that by the time the festival commences on Thursday, September 24th — when you can start streaming films at home — you’ll have some idea as to what the more recommendable films are that are set to screen at VIFF 2020, films such as Viggo Mortenson’s directorial début.
In 2020, VanRamblings find ourselves able to bring you VIFF’s annual press conference, where board chair Lucille Pacey and (interim) executive director Kyle Fostner introduce you to VIFF’s fine programming staff, names you may have heard but this year with faces that you can put to those names, including VIFF’s winsome associate director of programming, Curtis Woloschuk who, along with Tammy Banister and Rylan Friday, provide insight into the twenty-four acclaimed Canadian films VIFF has on offer this year, as well as VIFF’s director of creative engagement and live programming, Ken Tsui, who introduces this year’s Talks and Masterclasses series (there’s so much more available than you’ll find in the previous link that you’ll simply just have to set about to explore), and Totally Indie Day, a day of online panels dedicated to the next generation of filmmakers.
And saving the best for last, VIFF programme manager and senior programmer, PoChu AuYeung, and the heart of the festival since it’s inception in 1981, director of international programming, Alan Franey, who at the outset of his address speaks about a Belgian film he saw earlier in the year, My Voice Will Be With You, before moving on to introduce another Belgian film, this time a documentary titled I Am Not a Hero, the first film made about COVID-19. Alan then talks about the winner of this year’s top prize (the Golden Bear) at February’s Berlin Film Festival, There Is No Evil, while PoChu introduces films by three emerging female filmmakers from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea — you’ll just have to watch the press conference to discover the titles of those award-winning Asian films.
Other buzz films set to screen digitally at this year’s festival: Ecuador’s Yellow Sunglasses, Danish master Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round, Sundance Grand Jury and Audience Award winner The Reason I Jump, the B.C. première of The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel by Joel Bakan and Jennifer Abbott, the international première of Japan’s The Town of Headcounts, the North American première of Anerca, Breath of Life, and the Annecy International Animation Film Festival official selection Beauty Water, from South Korea.
Christian Petzold’s Undine also arrives at VIFF with good buzz, as is the case with VIFF favourite François Ozon’s look back at the mid-80s, Summer of 85, a romantic, sexy, and ultimately tragic coming-of-age tale.
VIFF’s opening film — which will screen in 50 cinemas across B.C. on September 24th — Monkey Beach, Loretta Sarah Todd adaptation of Eden Robinson’s beloved novel also arrives at VIFF to much acclaim.
As in past years, VIFF will offer full programmes of shorts, including animated gems and the female-focused Tell Us About Her Life compilation, which will be available beginning September 24th.
For those willing to take the risk, VIFF 2020 has planned 54 in-cinema screenings at the Vancity and the Cinematheque, providing the only opportunity for patrons to see two of the year’s most buzzed about films: The Father, starring Anthony Hopkins, and Ammonite, a 19th century set film starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan, both of which films will be Oscar bound early next year.
Here, for your edification and enjoyment, the one, the only, the official … VIFF 2020 Press Conference
The 2020 | 39th annual Vancouver International Film Festival Press Launch, on Vimeo.
Fashion is today the second most polluting industry in the world, following only the oil business.
For altruistic and ecological reasons, the shopping attitude of Canadians towards second-hand clothes has been changing, and consignment stores are bustling with their newfound clientele, and consequent increased sales.
What was once a $12 billion North American market only a few short years ago is now a thriving $24 billion consignment clothing market, with the marketplace expected to top $50 billion by the middle of the next decade.
In other words, the ‘second hand economy’ is thriving.
Consignment stores are not what they used to be, offering quality like never before, carefully curated collections, and an elevated shopping experience for their burgeoning customer base.
A recent published study shows that in 2018, 64% of women and men were willing to buy pre-owned consignment store clothing — clothing which often has never been worn, and acquired from businesses which have gone bankrupt — up from 45% in 2016. The clothing retail industry believes that by 2028, up to half of the clothes in women’s and men’s wardrobes are likely to be ‘secondhand’. Fashion circularity, a new term referring to the recycled life of a garment, as indicated above is projected to reach $51 billion in five years, up from the current $24 billion.
In discussion with consignment store operators across Vancouver, proprietors told VanRamblings that where there was once “a stigma attached” to purchasing consignment store clothing — conjuring images of the yellow sweat patches, clothes strewn casually and confusingly hung (if at all) and emotional baggage people often associate with used clothing …
“Now, thankfully, purchasing clothing from consignment stores is not just acceptable — it’s cool and has completely captured the fashion zeitgeist,” one consignment clothing proprietor recently told us.
A recent study published by the Raymond James Financial Centre reports that 56% of women and men aged 18-29 prefer the consignment second hand market over conventional retailers of new clothing. Shopping in a thrifty manner guarantees shoppers the uniqueness of their own style. Most of the pieces in a consignment clothing shop are one of a kind, and allow endless possibilities of matching and styling in a creative and unique way.
All of which is to say, no longer is there a taboo about consignment clothes shopping. The rise of the sharing economy has also helped — it’s taken the stigma out of resale and removed the need to own something forever.
In September, fast fashion chain Forever 21 announced it was closing all its international locations, including 44 stores in Canada, amid flagging sales.
According to a recent interview conducted with the CBC finance guru Diane Buckner, British Columbia retail consultant Bruce Winder told her fast fashion’s target market — young, style-conscious shoppers on a budget — are also among those most concerned about the health of the planet.
“The younger millennial specifically, along with Gen Z, are incredibly environmentally conscious,” he said. “And they look at every brand and every product in terms of what is the impact on society, but also what is the impact on the employees and the environment.”
Not only do consignment stores benefit from the fact that the city’s stylish set are clearing out their closets like never before, a return to quality over quantity in the minds of most shoppers means visits to consignment stores for quality designer goods that will last (i.e. not end up in a landfill) and not break the bank will only continue to rise.
How does consignment clothing store shopping save the environment while also saving you money? Thrift shopping at consignment stores offers a viable solution for anyone looking to help out the environment.
Saving Money. Thrifted clothing is far more affordable than new clothes of comparable quality.
Smarter Buys. You tend to spend more time looking over each item instead of buying it outright.
Unique Finds. It’s highly unlikely that anyone else is walking around in the same clothes as you.
Creative Potential. You might be inspired to try new combinations, or even some DIY reconstruction!
If that isn’t enough incentive, as promised above, here are seven ways Erich Lawson writes thrifting helps the environment …
1. Consignment clothing shopping lowers your carbon footprint. A great deal of energy goes into clothing manufacture, right from the transportation of raw materials to the production process. Then, there’s the energy required to transport clothing to stores, and dispose of unwanted pieces. When shoppers buy from consignment stores, we prevent wastage of energy & resources on production of new clothes.
2. Aiding in Water Preservation. In addition to energy, water consumption is extremely high at every stage of clothing production. For instance, growing one kilogram of cotton requires 5,300 gallons of water, while wet processing and printing use 18 and 21.6 gallons respectively, per pound of cotton. Manufacturing, packaging and transportation processes add to this cost as well.
3. Reducing Chemical Pollution. The production of cotton is highly pesticide-intensive, causing soil acidification and water contamination. Textile manufacturing processes also involve the use of harmful dyes, caustic soda and crude oil by-products. These chemicals are generally dumped into areas around manufacturing units, contaminating surface and ground water through soil runoff.
4. North Americans throw out anywhere from 60 to over 80 pounds of textile waste annually, and only about 10% of this makes it to consignment stores. If more people start shopping for consignment clothes, less fabric ends up being dumped in landfills. That’s not all. Packaging material is also reduced, keeping plastic, paper and metal out of the waste stream.
5. Inspiring Green Living. Thrifting is an essential part of green living, in more ways than one. When you buy consignment clothing, you keep them from being sent to a landfill and reduce manufacturing demand as well. Also, by donating consigning clothes you no longer wish to wear, you encourage others simply by giving them something they can use.
6. Boosting Community Development. Shopping at consignment stores means support for local business instead of multinational corporations. Consignment stores provide employment in retail outlets, creating more jobs and boosting the local economy. Many hire disabled workers and support local community programming projects as well.
7. Encourages Recycling. Did you know that recycled cotton clothing uses less than 3% of the energy that would have gone into producing new clothes? When you reuse or recycle clothes, you’re decreasing the demand for production & encouraging sustainabity. It may not seem like much, but every item that doesn’t end up in a landfill counts as a win!
In the 1990s, when VanRamblings was charged with training Statistics Canada employees on how to conduct the annual Survey of Household Spending, during the role play portion of the training exercise, in answer to the question as to how much we spent on clothing and shoes each year, we responded with: $500. Senior staff at Statistics Canada guffawed loudly when VanRamblings offered this bit of information, saying to us at days’ end, “Raymond, suggesting that you spend only $500 a year on clothing and shoes is the funniest thing I think I’ll ever hear. How clever of you. Good for you. It brought lightness to the day’s proceedings.”
Little did senior staff know that, in fact, VanRamblings was acquiring most of our clothing from Arthur’s for Men on West 1st Avenue just west of Burrard Street, where fashionable wool sweaters could be had for $15, shirts and pants for $10, and jackets and shoes for $25, or less.
VanRamblings’ children had long encouraged shopping at consignment stores.
“Dad, not only are you colour blind, you have no fashion sense. In the past, you’ve bought your clothing at The Bay, and you’ve tended to shop for the store brands. You are much better off shopping for name label clothing at a consignment store: those clothing items are priced less expensively than what you’re buying now, the clothes are of invariably better quality — and will hold their nap in a way your current shirts, sweaters and pants will never do, meaning the clothing will last longer.”
“Buying name label consignment clothing assures quality, assures — at least in most cases — proper colour and design that will match the remaining items in your wardrobe, and as long as you shop at Arthur’s for Men, the owners will know what clothing items you have in your wardrobe at home, because they have a list of what you’ve purchased, so will be able to recommend complementary items.”
And now to the present.
Recently, we purchased an Italian suede jacket we’d seen at a neighbourhood Italian clothing boutique that had now gone out of business.
The jacket was retailing for $380.
When Turnabout (our consignment clothing shop of choice, these days) purchased almost the entire stock of the bankrupt Italian clothing boutique, that $380 suede jacket was put on sale for $40!
When walking into the store the morning the jacket was put on sale, staff approached me to say, “Mr. Tomlin, we’ve just put a jacket out on the floor that we think you’ll love,” directing me to the suede jacket. “You’d better buy it now, or it’ll be gone by noon.”
So, we did — and enjoy wearing it today!
Now, it may be a lark that our former employers at Statistics Canada thought our voiced annual clothing expenditure to be a laugh, but in our current scarce and uncertain economy, if sales at the consignment store we most often attend is any indication — where only a decade ago, we could wait for an item to drop 80% in price were we to wait six to eight weeks — when an item we like now appears in the shop, we purchase it immediately, because if we don’t, it’s almost a certainty that it’ll be gone the next day.
