Category Archives: Vancouver

#VanPoli | Vancouver City Council | Wiebe MUST Resign | Pt. 2

September 23, 2020#VanPoli Civic Politics, BC Politics, Politics, VancouverRaymond Tomlin

Green Party of Vancouver elected officials on Council, School Board and Park Board Say Goodbye | Green Party of Vancouver elected officials currently sitting on City Council, School Board and Park Board (save David Wong, pictured lower right)

Continuing from Part One of our three-part series on why Vancouver City Councillor Michael Wiebe must resign his position on Council …
Stalemate | Aggrieved Citizens Head to the B.C. Supreme Court

With receipt of the investigator’s report written by respected municipal affairs lawyer and UBC professor, Raymond E. Young, submitted on September 12, 2020 to Vancouver City Manager Sadhu Johnston, and Mayor Kennedy Stewart, mandating that Green Party of Vancouver City Councillor Michael Wiebe is duty bound to resign his seat on Council, arising from an egregious Code of Conduct violation and undeclared Conflict of Interest, and that Mr. Wiebe not further be allowed to run for office for any elected body in the period prior to the next municipal election (in the autumn of 2022), and the subsequent refusal — thus far — by Councillor Wiebe, or any of his Green Party of Vancouver colleagues, to validate Mr. Young’s findings and recommendation, the question arises …
Where do the good citizens of Vancouver, and Mr. Wiebe’s colleagues on Vancouver City Council go from here, what comes next in the process of resolution respecting the scandalous fiasco that currently consumes both the attention of Vancouver’s beleaguered City Councillors, and citizens? Vancouver City Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung states in the tweet above, posted on the morning of September 21st, 2020, that she and other Councillors have a legal obligation that precludes our elected Councillors from speaking on an “open code of conduct investigation.” In point of fact, there is no “open” code of conduct investigation — that investigation came to a conclusion on the morning of Saturday, September 12th, when investigator and lawyer Raymond E. Young submitted his completed report to Vancouver City Manager Sadhu Johnston, and to the office of the Mayor, Kennedy Stewart.

Readers should know that on Monday morning, September 21st, 2020, Francie J Connell, the City of Vancouver’s longtime Director of Legal Services, posted an e-mail to Mayor and Council advising our elected officials that they may not discuss the matter of the recommendation made by Raymond E. Young mandating that their fellow Councillor Michael Wiebe must resign his office — neither with each other, nor most particularly in the public weal, lest they themselves find that they are charged with a Code of Conduct violation. Such order by the city’s top legal official effectively muzzles our elected officials. Wonder why you haven’t heard boo from Lisa Dominato, Colleen Hardwick, Rebecca Bligh, Christine Boyle, Mayor Kennedy Stewart, and the remaining members of Council in the current circumstance involving Councillor Wiebe? Now, you know why.

Vancouver City Council, 2018 thru 2022, left to right: Councillors Rebecca Bligh, Christine Boyle, Colleen Hardwick, Pete Fry, Adriane Carr, Mayor Kennedy Stewart, Melissa De Genova, Jean Swanson, Michael Wiebe, Lisa Dominato, and Sarah Kirby-Yung.

There is an option open to Vancouver’s City Councillors to bring a motion forward to Council mandating that their colleague, Michael Wiebe, resign his seat on Council, requiring a two-third vote of Council in favour of such a motion. Were such a motion to pass, there would be no force of law behind it, as the Municipal Affairs Act of British Columbia does not allow for the removal of an elected official by her or his fellow Council colleagues.

The only other avenue of redress should Councillor Michael Wiebe choose not to voluntarily resign as a City Councillor in the city of Vancouver, would be for 10 citizens / registered voters within the city of Vancouver to take the matter to the British Columbia Supreme Court, asking the courts to enforce the recommendation of the authorized investigator hired by the City of Vancouver, to enforce the investigator’s mandated recommendation: that Councillor Wiebe be ordered by the Court to vacate his Council seat.
VanRamblings is advised that such a process is now underway.

Not to get too deep into the woods, but quite honestly Michael Wiebe and City of Vancouver Councillors, and the Mayor do not want this matter proceeding to the courts. Why not?
Any time one goes to court, not only can the outcome of the court proceeding not reasonably be predicted, the Supreme Court Justice could very well expand the scope of the proceedings, and rule in ways that Councillors and the City might find injurious, substantively limiting the power and authority of elected officials and staff at The Hall going forward.
A digression. Here’s an example of how things can go awry. In 2006, the Board of Variance sued the Mayor and Council for their unprecedented decision to remove all of the appointed members of the Board, to be replaced by individuals associated with the majority party in civic office. Respected jurist George McIntosh — then considered to be one of the top 25 lawyers in Canada, and at present a British Columbia Supreme Court Justice — was hired to argue the City’s case. The position of the City prevailed — a new Board was appointed by Mayor Sam Sullivan’s Council.
Although the matter had not been raised during the court proceeding, in his ruling, the Supreme Court Justice who heard the matter, found that a central provision of the mandate of Boards of Variance in British Columbia was ultra vires, ordering the revocation of the authority of Boards of Variance to hear “third party appeals” — which is to say, from that day forward Boards of Variance, as they had done for 55 years, could no longer provide a forum for aggrieved citizens to argue that the city (or more particularly, developers) must not move forward with a development citizens believed was contrary to the best interests of, or was detrimental to, the citizenry of a neighbourhood within the city where they reside.
Here’s what VanRamblings believes will happen when the matter of Councillor Michael Wiebe’s resignation from Vancouver City Council, arising from an egregious conflict of interest, and self-dealing, is heard by the Court: the Court will order Mr. Wiebe to vacate his Council seat forthwith.
VanRamblings believes, however, that the Justice will not limit her / his jurisdiction in the matter to the simple removal of Mr. Wiebe from office. Rather, we believe that the complainants will be awarded court costs, such that Mr. Wiebe — and the Green Party of Vancouver — will be liable for tens of thousands of dollars for having brought the matter forward to the Courts, when the simplest resolution to the matter would have been for Councillor Wiebe to abide by the recommendation of the investigator.
In addition, it is probable that the Justice will revoke the provisions of the Code of Conduct of the City of Vancouver, a code that serves to prevent Councillors from properly carrying out their responsibilities to the citizens of Vancouver who elected them to office. Even more, it is highly probable that the Justice will effectively re-write existing provincial municipal affairs law that precludes members of an elected body from removing an elected official who has engaged in conduct detrimental to the interests of the citizenry — going forward, then, any elected official who “acts out” in an unparliamentary fashion, be it on Council, School Board or - in Vancouver - Park Board, may be removed from office, either by a two-thirds vote of her / his colleagues, or arising from an investigative report recommendation that the elected official be removed from office.

Further, VanRamblings believes it to be entirely likely that, sooner than later, the province of British Columbia will step in to bring resolution to matters respecting Councillor Wiebe’s removal from Vancouver City Council. Although there is a provincial election underway, and Ministers of the Crown are now candidates, and not officials of the government carrying out their ministerial responsibilities, it is entirely likely that British Columbia’s Deputy Minister of Municipal Affairs, Kaye Krishna, could ask the Deputy Minister for the Attorney General, Richard Fyfe, to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate the particular circumstance involving Councillor Michael Wiebe.

#VanPoli | Vancouver City Council | Wiebe MUST Resign | Pt. 1

September 22, 2020#VanPoli Civic Politics, BC Politics, Politics, VancouverRaymond Tomlin

On Sunday morning, September 20th, at 10:30 a.m., Charlie Smith, the longtime editor of The Georgia Straight, and avid and well-practiced journalist covering municipal politics in Vancouver, broke the story that UBC professor and esteemed municipal affairs jurist Raymond Young, following an exhaustive three-month investigation authorized by the office of the Mayor of Vancouver, “declared that [Green Party Vancouver City] Coun. Michael Wiebe is disqualified from holding local office until the next election, due to a conflict of interest.” Says Young in his report …

“Despite apparently being knowledgeable about conflicts of interest, on May 13th, Councillor Wiebe put forward the amendment [for] ‘staff to work directly with business operators to identify immediate patio seating options.’ Councillor Wiebe had to know that he was a business operator,” Young wrote. “His proposed and passed amendment enabled Councillor Wiebe to wear two hats when dealing with city staff: that of the Council member and that of the business owner.

“This was a clear conflict of interest situation that he deliberately set in motion. This conflict of interest cannot be viewed as an inadvertent action.”

Raymond Young recommended in his 14-page report — submitted to Mayor Kennedy’s Stewart’s office on September 12th — that “it would be ‘appropriate’ for Wiebe to resign his seat on council,” arising from a conflict that involved his ownership of Eight ½ Restaurant Lounge, and substantive financial interest in the Portside Pub, both of which businesses directly benefited from Wiebe wearing ” two hats when dealing with city staff: that of council member and that of business owner,” Young wrote in his findings.

At this point, let’s backtrack a little, to more fully contextualize the timeline of events that led up to Raymond Young’s determination that Councillor Michael Wiebe must resign his seat on Council, and disqualify him from holding office on city council, the park board, other local government, or as a trustee under the Islands Trust Act until the next general election.
On June 5th, 2020 at 9:48 a.m., The Straight’s Charlie Smith published an article calling into question the propriety of Wiebe’s involvement in “participating in the discussion of a matter, vote on a question in respect of a matter because of a direct or indirect pecuniary interest.”

On his financial disclosure statement and on his Linkedin profile, Wiebe lists himself as the owner/operator of Eight 1/2 Restaurant Lounge (151 East 8th Avenue). It won approval for its application for a free temporary patio permit from June 1 to October 31. These permits allow business owners to use on-street parking space or sidewalks in front or beside their establishments.

According to the May 13 city council minutes, Wiebe did not absent himself from discussions or voting on a motion to “approve in principle the prioritization of additional staff and budget resources to support the allocation of flexible, innovated, and expedited patio space”. In addition, that motion directed staff “to seek out cost recovery opportunities where possible and where reallocation of public space may be for private use”.

On May 27, Wiebe seconded a motion by NPA councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung calling on council to temporarily waive all permit and application fees associated with the temporary expansion of patio spaces.

Under section 145.2 of the Vancouver Charter, a council member must issue a declaration if they consider that they are “not entitled to participate in the discussion of a matter, or to vote on a question in respect of a matter” because of a direct or indirect pecuniary interest. If a councillor has a direct or indirect pecuniary interest, the council member must not remain or attend at any part of a meeting in which this matter is under consideration. In addition, a councillor cannot participate in a discussion, vote on the matter, or influence the voting on the matter.

“A person who contravenes this section is disqualified from holding office as described in section 145.911 [disqualification for contravening conflict rules] unless the contravention was done inadvertently or because of an error in judgment made in good faith,” the Vancouver Charter states.

On June 4th, 2020, Vancouver City Hall had issued a permit to Eight ½ Restaurant Lounge, one of 14 restaurants to receive approval for a patio. Wiebe submitted his application on June 1st. According to various reports, in the weeks leading up to June 1st, Wiebe worked with city staff to prepare the drawings and provide all of the necessary documentation required for a successful patio application — giving him a lead time for his application that would have been unavailable to other applicants … which is to say, those not sitting on Council, and those citizens who did not have as ready access to city staff as would be the case with a sitting City Councillor.

On June 6th 2020, non-practicing lawyer Michael Redmond, based on The Straight story above, lodged a Code of Conduct complaint with the City of Vancouver, triggering Raymond Young’s city-authorized investigation.
Upon receipt of the Code of Conduct complaint, Councillor Wiebe attended at City Manager Sadhu Johnston’s office to be advised of the complaint, and to sign off on the appointment of the individual who would conduct the investigation. Mr. Wiebe readily agreed to Mr. Young taking on the role of investigator, committing to his full co-operation with the investigation.

In fact, that June 6th meeting in the City Manager’s office was the last time Mr. Wiebe appears to have given any thought at all to the investigation, for in point of fact, he did not either meet with Mr. Young, nor provide answers to any of the questions submitted by Mr. Young to Mr. Wiebe, nor did he provide any aid whatsoever to Mr. Young in the conduct of the Code of Conduct complaint that had been lodged against him. Mr. Wiebe, it would appear, only gave thought to the matter when Charlie Smith published his Sunday morning, September 20th article in The Georgia Straight.There has been speculation in the community as to whether someone in the Mayor’s office was the source who provided Raymond Young’s report to The Straight. In fact, VanRamblings is advised that it was the complainant, Mr. Redmond, who provided Mr. Smith with a copy of the Young report, which he had received from Mr. Young on September 12th, the same date the report was submitted to the Mayor’s office. We understand that a second municipal affairs reporter — who we expect was CBC municipal affairs reporter, Justin McElroy — was also provided with a copy of the report.

In the curious and curiouser department, when Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung lodged a formal Code of Conduct complaint against her fellow Councillor, Jean Swanson, City Manager Johnston sent out notification of the complaint to Council and senior city staff. The Code of Conduct complaint against Ms. Swanson was amicably resolved when Councillor Swanson provided an apology to Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung.

Vancouver City Council. Councillor Colleen Hardwick looks askance at a Council colleague

In the past two years, Councillor Colleen Hardwick has had two Code of Conduct complaints filed against her, the nature of both investigations requiring Ms. Hardwick to engage the services of a municipal affair lawyer, Bob Kasting, requiring of her the expenditure of monies in legal fees to respond to each complaint.

Relating to both Code of Conduct complaints, the City Manager posted e-mails to Council and senior staff informing them of the filed complaints.

Relating to the first complaint filed against Councillor Hardwick, The Breaker News’ Bob Mackin published an article on July 11, 2019, writing the following …

Lawyer Henry Wood dismissed pro-density activist Peter Waldkirch’s Jan. 16 complaint against Colleen Hardwick, finding no evidence that the 2018-elected councillor used her PlaceSpeak.com civic engagement company improperly.

Waldkirch’s complaint to city manager Sadhu Johnston took issue with a page on the PlaceSpeak website showing Hardwick and an image of city hall with the headline “You don’t need to wait for an election to have your voice heard — I’m listening.” Waldkirch, a research lawyer, alleged that Hardwick was confusing citizens and using public office to benefit her private company.

“I do not believe it is appropriate for her to use it for city business and there is at least the appearance of this,” Waldkirch wrote in the email to Johnston, obtained via freedom of information.

Waldkirch went further on Twitter, just over 30 minutes after his initial complaint to Johnston. He publicly accused Hardwick of “attempted privatization” of public engagement and called PlaceSpeak a “black box.”

In his report, Wood wrote, “We are dealing with a soft launch of a consultation site on which the only question posed was ‘Do you think that you are being heard by the City of Vancouver?’ There is no obvious potential conflict arising from the substance of that issue.”

Further to the above, Councillor Hardwick had offered the services of PlaceSpeak to all members of Council, at no charge, furthering lessening any appearance of impropriety or conflict.

Note might be made at this point that, as is the case with the Code of Conduct complaint filed against Councillor Wiebe, investigators hired to investigate Councillor Hardwick received in excess of $20,000, on each occasion, for their investigative work, and the writing of a report.

Yes, that’s right, in excess of $60,000 has been paid to date to investigators conducting inquiries, and the writing of reports, related to Code of Conduct complaints lodged against two Vancouver City Councillors. One Councillor was exonerated … twice. One was not.

Note should also be made that although the City Manager’s office posted e-mails to Council and senior staff relating to the Code of Conduct complaints filed against Councillors Swanson and Hardwick, at no time did the City Manager post correspondence to Council and senior staff respecting the Code of Conduct complaint filed against Councillor Wiebe.

One is left to wonder, why would that be the case?

Note should further be made that Councillor Hardwick took the matter of the Code of Conduct complaints seriously, and determined early on that she would require the services of her own legal counsel in order that she might properly respond to each Code of Conduct complaint.

Councillor Michael Wiebe, on the other hand, appears not to have taken the Code of Conduct matter at all seriously, and unlike his more mature distaff Council colleague did neither engage the services of legal counsel to traverse the rocky shoals of legal engagement, nor in any way, shape or form co-operate with the investigation, not meeting with investigator Young, nor answering any of the questions provided to him by Mr. Young.

Why is it that Vancouver City Councillor Michael Wiebe chose to — it seems abundantly clear to this writer — not take the filing of a Code of Conduct complaint against him at all seriously, why did he consciously choose not to engage the services of his own legal counsel and, finally, why did Councillor Wiebe not co-operate with Raymond Young in the conduct of the investigation of the serious Code of Conduct complaint filed against him?

VIFF 2020 | Nostalgia, Dystopia, Malfeasance, and Hydrous Myth

September 16, 2020Cinema, Vancouver, VIFF 2020Raymond Tomlin

Today, four more films brought to you by the fine folks who programme the Vancouver International Film Festival, two documentaries, a France-German co-production from an acclaimed director, and the auspicous début of a young Japanese director. VIFF ticket and pass sales continue online.

The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel (Canada). As Norman Wilner writes in his Georgia Straight review of Joel Bakan’s and Jennifer Abbott’s follow-up to their 2003, made in BC-made documentary, The Corporation, “The New Corporation concludes we’re all pretty much screwed.” The 2003 doc was that rare political film with the power to remove the scales from our eyes, not simply asserting that big companies were destroying the world, but looking at the legal frameworks that created corporations that consistently placed profit over social or ethical concerns.
Investigating the evolution of corporate greed, in The New Corporation Bakan and Abbott provide a dense yet fast-paced exposé on how corporations profit from the carnage they’ve created both environmentally and politically, and their embrace of nihilism as an economic raison d’être, as elucidated by the MAGA folks who’ve latched onto the fear-mongering these corporations promote, those who march in the streets denying our current pandemic, all the while allowing Charles Koch and his cohorts to profit through the misery of others while netting profits through privatized prisons and schools — and working to make our lives as miserable and disconnected as possible — not just in North America, but across the globe.

Undine (Germany/France). Winner of the Silver Bear (Best Actress) for Paula Beer at the Berlinale this year, Undine represents an odd new beauty from German auteur Christian Petzold (Transit) who explores and updates the myth of the water nymph who has to kill her lover should he betray her.
Unsurprisingly, water plays an important role throughout the film — Undine comes from the Latin word for “wave,” suggesting both water & movement — and there are several beautifully shot underwater scenes that work on a visual level while making room for Petzold’s usual thematic concerns, capturing frantic characters doomed by dark obsessions. At its core, a haunting, fantastical and passionate female-centred supernatural romance revolving around a doomed love, Undine also questions the fixed nature of human behaviour in a world whose borders are constantly shifting.

The Town of Headcounts (Japan). One of the five Canadian premières that represent a constituent element of this year’s VIFF Gateway Asian series, Japanese director Shinji Araki’s The Town of Headcounts — a chilling, beguiling and electrifying thriller — makes its international début at the 39th annual Vancouver International Film Festival.
One of the most politically astute films to come out of Japan in years, as well as a potent and disturbing sci-fi classic, Headcount offers viewers an allegory of a dystopian Japanese society dedicated to keeping its citizens docile and dependent on sexual abandon, instant gratification and transactional sex — where rules of etiquette are nonetheless strictly enforced — in order that the state might direct the attention of the populace away from the near constant threat of terrorism, the incessant intrusion of the surveillance state, the unrelenting malaise that has the globe in its grip, and the decimation of democratic institutions.

“With contributions from our programme consultants — Maggie Lee for Japan & Korea, and Shelly Kraicer for China, Hong Kong & Taiwan — the Gateway series offers VIFF members an intimate window into the vibrant cultures of East Asia,” avers PoChu AuYeung, VIFF programme manager and senior programmer. “This year’s eclectic collection of cinematic experiences is at times sentimental, inquisitive, and occasionally even shocking — but what unifies them is the authenticity of voices and beauty of expression from one of the film world’s most exciting creative regions.”

The Town of Headcounts is Shinji Araki’s riveting directorial début.

Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President (USA). The Canadian première of director Mary Wharton’s infectiously charmingly and wistful remembrance of an earlier and, perhaps, more sane time in American politics, in its 96-minute running time tells the tale of an enlightened U.S. commander-in-chief who was a true aficionado and lover of American popular music.
Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President is more than just a record of Carter’s knowledge of our musical history. This lively documentary explores his belief that American music reflects the country’s soul: “I think music is the best proof that people have one thing in common no matter where they live, no matter what language they speak.” Director Mary Wharton, in collaboration with writer Bill Flanagan, help make Carter’s case by weaving together interviews with entertaining, at times inspiring, archival and concert footage. The film will make you nostalgic for great music and for a return to true spiritual leadership down south. The Man from Plains was not a mere peanut farmer who stumbled into the country’s highest office; he was a principled leader whose spiritual beliefs and southern roots brought youthful passion and moral direction to the presidency.
After the misery, cynicism, and division of the past four years in America, Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President is a breath of fresh air.

VIFF 2020 | Intoxicating, Terrifying, Celebratory & Priceless

September 14, 2020Cinema, Vancouver, VIFF 2020Raymond Tomlin

One hundred plus award-winning films in 14 days, what’s a person to do?
Today, the first instalment of VanRamblings’ informed insight, into three films set to find their way onto your home screen through VIFF Connect, the celebration of the best in homegrown and international cinema, that will commence just a week this Thursday, on September 24th.

Another Round (Denmark). The Danish title is Druk, a term which is maybe best translated by adding the letter N before the one at the end.
Originally slated to play at Cannes this year, and currently screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, director Thomas Vinterberg reteams with his The Hunt star, the always engaging Mads Mikkelsen, for a darkly comic referendum on intoxication. Compelling, and more than a little sobering, Vinterberg takes aim at his home country’s drinking culture, in a film that resonates far beyond Denmark’s shores. Mikkelsen plays a high-school teacher beginning a reckless experiment with alcohol, in this tragicomic and bittersweet portrait of midlife crisis and alcohol abuse.

Another Round is sweeter, lighter and more conventional than most of Vinterberg’s past work, eschewing the bleak social commentary that underscored films like The Celebration, Submarino and The Hunt. Even so, it makes for an appealing ensemble piece, as well as a great vehicle for Mikkelsen’s vulpine beauty and nimble dance moves. For anyone who has ever craved seeing this former gymnast doing his finest Gene Kelly impersonation to pounding Europop, your dream movie has finally arrived.

Capturing the gleeful, anarchic euphoria of being merrily drunk in the company of good friends, Another Round — although it doesn’t have much profound to say about intoxication and addiction — does offer an engaging tribute to friendship, family and bacchanalian hedonism in moderation.

The Forum (Germany/Switzerland). In his latest documentary, German filmmaker Marcus Vetter takes a look behind the scenes of the World Economic Forum in Davos. As the first independent film director to get such access, Vetter’s fascinating documentary gives rare behind-the-scenes access to the World Economic Forum. Providing an admirably balanced deep dive into the organization that brings together the elite from the worlds of politics, big business and beyond is something to be celebrated, and more than justifies its near two-hour running time.

At the heart of the film is Professor Klaus Schwab, the 81-year-old whose brainchild the WEF was and who displays such incredible diplomatic skills that you wonder what he might have achieved as a head of a country. His aim is to further social cohesion across the globe by creating dialogue between those who might not otherwise listen to one another. There are plenty who are skeptical about how successful the WEF has been at improving the world, however, and they are given a voice here too. That includes Greenpeace International’s executive director Jennifer Morgan, who talks about the “mega group-think” of elites that is “99 per cent status quo” rather than a movement for change. (Screen Daily)

One attendee who insists Schwab, not to mention the 3,000 global figures he gathers annually, must do more, is Greta Thunberg. The young climate activist from Sweden attends with her father and is regarded unseriously as a quaint novelty by many of the other participants until her stark address hits home. “It feels like I’m at a firefighters’ conference, and no-one is allowed to speak about water,” she says of the hypocrisy of a conference that prizes success stories but is unwilling to admit their terrible price.
The final part of the film is focused on the 2019 Davos event, which is very different from the previous one. This time around, there is no May, Trump nor Macron; instead, Bolsonaro and Thunberg are there, and an exchange between the Brazilian president and Al Gore is surely one of the most priceless moments in documentary cinema captured in recent years.

Yalda, A Night for Forgiveness (Iran). Grand Jury Prize winner in the World Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival this year, filmmaker Massoud Bakhshi (A Respectable Family), who wrote and directed this suspenseful exposé of Sharia law, tells the story of a young woman convicted of murder who goes on Iranian TV to try to win a pardon.
The way religious law penetrates every aspect of Iranian life, from a murder case to how a TV show is run, is probably the most striking aspect of the film. The perverse logic of temporary marriage, inheritance laws favouring boys and homicide laws stacked against wives, not to mention the practice of paying one’s way out of a hanging with “blood money” to the victim’s relatives, become casual plot elements in Bakhshi’s well-shot melodrama.
As the story of the “murder” comes out, one outrageous fact follows another. To begin with, the wealthy husband Nasser Zia was 65 and married when he decided to implore innocent young Maryam, his driver’s daughter, convincing her he loved her and getting her to agree to the infamous practice of “temporary marriage,” which avoids sin along with permanent commitment, although not Maryam’s pregnancy, causing the two to fight, resulting fatefully in Zia’s death, for which Maryam is held accountable.
Grippingly paced, opulently shot in muted colour by cinematographer Julian Atanassov, with precise and always fluid editing by Jacques Comets, the film’s bold method of addressing themes of maternal sacrifice, and what determines both legal and religious rights in a country where the Western concept of feminism is inherently offensive, Yalda is timely and terrifying film fare, available only at the 39th Vancouver International Film Festival.

Click here for VanRamblings’ introductory coverage to western Canada’s gloriously west coast, this year largely virtual edition, of our homegrown and keenly spectacular 39th annual Vancouver International Film Festival.