Over the course of the 16 days that the 31st annual Vancouver International Film Festival took place this year, there was much discussion as to which films were the favourites among those who were taking in more than 50 films. These films were the buzz films, the films that moved the audience to tears or to joyous ecstasy. The thing is, though, that what one person loves, the next may feel only meh about.
The above said, on this chilly autumn Monday, VanRamblings offers our favourites at this year’s Festival, in some sort of approximate order, and why it is these films have made our ‘best of’ list. Tomorrow, we’ll publish a list of our favourite VIFF 2012 documentaries, but first up today, our favourite 2012 Vancouver Film Festival narrative fiction features …

1. Thursday Till Sunday
For VanRamblings, there was no other picture that screened at VIFF 2012 that so deeply rooted itself inside the experience of the character on the screen (11-year-old Santi Ahumada as Lucía, pictured left), than did director Dominga Sotomayor’s lovely, amazing, absolutely original and utterly devastating d&eacutebut film, Thursday Till Sunday. The viewer was provided the unique perspective of sensing every facet of the unfolding horror taking place in the front seat of Lucía’s parent’s car, as Ahumada, Sotomayor and ace cinematographer Bárbara Álvarez allowed us access to a place we’ve never been before — in this case — behind Lucía’s plangent, mournful eyes, and the catastrophic, unfolding horror she felt with her every sense, the wrenching disintegration of her parent’s marriage, the inexorable watershed movement towards pivotal and unrelenting change for 11-year-old Lucía. That the directorial decisions taken by Sotomayor, the camera work by Bárbara Álvarez, and Ahumada’s utterly natural performance fused to create the most affecting drama screened at VIFF 2012, means that for the viewer, apart from anything else we felt and witnessed while watching Thursday Till Sunday — an experience that can only be described as devastating — that we were witness, as well, to the emergence of a dynamic, signal new Chilean/Latin American directorial voice, and the birth of a major star in 11-year-old Santi Ahumada.

2. As Luck Would Have It: The film which touched us most deeply at VIFF 2012, the most devastatingly emotional film for us, with the most salient and honest expression of love we’ve ever seen expressed on screen.
3. When the Night: For us, on par with As Luck Would Have It, filmed as a Hitchcockian murder mystery (it’s the insinuating score), with a great, great romance anchoring the film, honest, with fully realized characters (those scenes in the upper chalet … omigawd), we saw it for a second time on Tuesday, and loved it again. We could watch When the Night again and again and again, and gain something more from it with each viewing.

4. Stories We Tell: Groundbreaking, reverential truth-telling of the first order, a story of a life unraveled and somehow pulled back into coherence, where tough, tough questions are confronted and answered, Sarah Polley’s devastating documentary feature is nothing less than a cinematic work of art, a film that in exploring the dynamics of family, memory and truth, limns the ragged poetry of life. Shocking, melancholy, and lovely beyond words.
5. A Late Quartet: The finest independent American film of 2012, the most erudite film screened at VIFF 2012, with virtuoso performances from all involved, with a breakout performance by Imogen Poots — who holds her own in the august company of an absolutely amazing Christopher Walken, Philip Seymour Hoffman as you’ve never seen him before, with a transcendent performance by Catherine Keener, and a performance by, and character arc for, Mark Ivanir that rivets you to the screen — this at all times amazingly watchable, finely-tuned drama about an eminent New York string quartet, and the internecine, often destructive politics within the group — sexual and otherwise — offers a juggernaut of precise, insightful, humane and heartfelt filmmaking that in 2012 knows no equal.
6. Liverpool: The most audacious filmmaking of 2012, writer-director Manon Briand’s utterly original, of-the-moment, social media-flash-mob-infused delirium of a film announces the arrival of a new world class directorial talent, a new voice in film who in setting a new direction for film grabs us by the lapels and pulls us in, all the while informing us that, “This is the future of cinema, this is where we’re going. Come on along for the ride!”
7. Neighbouring Sounds: A masterwork. Kleber Mendonça Filho’s grasp of mise-en-scène is unparalleled — all at once benevolent, sentimental, melancholy, arresting and oddly oblique, and yet very much full of meaning, superbly constructed, beautifully shot, and infused with an aural landscape that serves, always, to inform our warm narrative appreciation of the film.

8. Egg and Stone: An absolutely remarkable début for writer-director Huang Ji, this Rotterdam Tiger Award winner represents the most auspicious début by an Asian filmmaker at VIFF 2012. The narrative offers a powerful indictment of male sexual privilege, the film an almost wordless, beautifully realized mood sense memory piece. Autobiographical, part of what will become a trilogy on the subject of the movement of young Chinese women towards empowerment. With one of the most wrenching choices by a filmmaker as cinematic material ever (the D&C), and a central performance by newcomer Yao Honggui that simply burns with intensity.
9. The Hunt: The most fully realized film at VIFF 2012, and the overwhelming Audience Favourite, human scale in every dimension, with superb performances by all concerned — the performance by 5-year-old Annika Wedderkopp, and the consistent relationship she maintains with Mads Mikkelsen throughout, and his relationship with her father — is central to the success of Thomas Vinterberg’s beautifully shot, bleak and chilling new psychological thriller. The Hunt is Scandanavian cinema, af ekspertise, with its lambently rural, autumnal mise-en-scène, and its great fidelity in character realization. In the first rank of 2012 international film releases.
10. Something in the Air: With a greater fidelity than one would have thought possible, Olivier Assayas’ new film captures what it meant to be a student radical in the late 60s and early 70s, as well as the milieu of the era — the protests, the marches, the casual nudity, frequent sex and changing of partners, the drug-taking, the focus on the arts as an agent for change, and the innumerable, deadening hours of debate relating to arcane points of radical political philosophy, where no one agreed on anything, when the worst thing someone could say about you was that you were bourgeoise. Reputedly an autobiographical account of Assayas’ work within the French student radical movement, circa 1971, this immaculately realized cinematic work, with its exceptionally attractive cast — we’d never heard of nor seen India Salvor Menuez previously, but we’ll be on the lookout for her now, not to mention how wonderful it was to finally see Lola Créton up on the big screen — emerges as a compelling cinematic entertainment, an historical document of a more hopeful and radical era, and so so much more.

We also loved, and believe the following films to be in the first rank of films which were screened at the 31st annual Vancouver International Film Festival: Canadian Best Foreign Language nominee, Rebelle (War Witch); Tabu and Holy Motors (both due to return to the Vancity soon, both of which we loved); Michael Haneke’s Cannes’ award-winner, Amour, which as it did with Vancouver Board of Education Chair, Patti Bacchus, left us reeling; Abbas Kiarostami’s masterful Like Someone in Love; the feel-good hit of VIFF 2012, the exceptionally well-made Come As You Are; Sundance award-winner and certain Oscar contender, Ben Lewin’s, The Sessions; our first over-the-moon favourite at VIFF 2012 and one of the two best America indie films of the year, Any Day Now; the brutal and graphic ‘rape as a victor’s reparation of war’ historical drama, Rose; Cristian Mungiu’s delusional madhouse, yet austere, new film that transforms during its 153-minute running time into an intellectually acute and tragic tale of romantic heresy and religious dogma gone awry, one of VIFF 2012’s strongest films, Beyond the Hills; and our favourite animated film, the at all times wonderful (we wept at points throughout), Ernest et Célestine.

And, in wrapping up today’s post, we would also express our appreciation for the craft of the filmmakers, who in putting their life blood into the making of their films, deserve yours and our appreciation for these very fine VIFF 2012 films: Lucy Mulloy’s wondrously delightful, heart in your throat Cuban narrative, Una Noche; Sacha Polak’s disturbing, entrancing and sexually twisted, Hemel; an early VIFF 2012 favourite, the at all times delightful Danish film, Teddy Bear (Denmark excelled at great films this year); Rodrigo Plá’s exceptional, La Demora; the extremely moving, almost cinema verité, Aquí y Allá; one of our two favourite films from Qu&eacutebec this year, Rafaël Ouellet’s exceptional slice-of-life character drama, Camion; Ken Loach’s Scotland-set kitchen-sink drama, as only he can make them (which is to say, hopeful at all times and teeming with life), The Angels’ Share; Sean Baker’s humane take on the porn industry, and aging in America (with a breakout performance by Dree Hemingway), Starlet; one of our early favourites, the kitchen-sink father-daughter drama, Maya Kenig’s exceptional directorial feature début, Off-White Lies; Nigel Cole’s verging on Bollywood, East London set, likable, working class dramedy, All in Good Time; the first breakout film for us in preview, the best of the ‘forbidden love’ pics we saw at VIFF 2012, Morocco’s, Love in the Medina; and, Hang Sangsoo’s elliptical, engaging Roshomon-style picture puzzle of a movie, starring the always wonderful Isabelle Huppert, In Another Country.

And, in closing today, please find a list of our favourite VIFF 2012 documentary films, humane and heartrending films of the first order.
(And, yes, we’re aware Stories We Tell is on both lists, we loved it that much, as we believe Sarah Polley’s new film to be both devastating narrative, and groundbreaking, heartrending documentary truth-telling)

Although the 31st annual Vancouver International Film Festival may be shuttered until late September of 2013, in ‘fact’ the Festival is not over.
Not quite yet.
Commencing yesterday afternoon, the Vancouver Film Centre began showing the Best of the Fest, VIFF Repeats of some of 2012’s Festival favourites. And, my oh my oh my, are there some great films screening this week in repeat, films deserving of your attention, and well worth a visit to the Vancity Theatre to take in what is almost sure to be the final screenings of these movies in Vancouver.
VIFF Repeats at the Vancity Theatre

We are able to write in this post, that we absolutely loved many of the films you see scheduled in the Vancity Repeats graphic above.
Of course, Nuala — which deservedly won the Best International Documentary award this past Friday night, presented by VIFF Director Alan Franey — ranks among the best documentaries the Vancouver International Film Festival has ever screened. A powerful, unflinching, truth-telling exploration of the life of celebrated Irish novelist, journalist, broadcaster Nuala O’Faolain, Nuala is the story of a survivor, a person whose unimaginably difficult life was transformed into a life of meaning.
When the Night, which screened at the Vancity last night, simply blew our socks off with its Hitchcockian approach to what emerges as one of the greatest love stories to be captured on screen this year, or any year. We loved this film, and hope against hope that somehow When the Night makes it back to our shores.
Now on to today. First up on this rainy Sunday, at 2pm, a final screening of Side by Side: The Science, Art and Impact of Digital Cinema, a documentary film directed by Christopher Kenneally and warmly narrated by Keanu Reeves. Plotting the direction movies are likely to take in the digital age, interviews conducted with an array of prominent filmmakers — from Martin Scorsese and David Fincher to Steven Soderbergh, Christopher Nolan and many, many more — here’s a film that enlightens and enrages, all while offering keen insight into both the filmmaking process and how, going forward, we will see images exhibited on our screens come to life. There is no better thing you can do with your Sunday afternoon than take in a screening of Side by Side: The Science, Art and Impact of Digital Cinema.

At 6:45pm, Vancity presents The World Before Her, one of the most involving, engaging and informative documentaries screened at VIFF2012. Presenting the 20 finalists in the Miss India contest as informed, educated feminist revolutionaries working to overturn conventional norms and the social order vis-à-vis women’s roles in the society, and juxtaposing the stories of these women with that of a young fundamentalist Hindu Nation woman, Prachi, who has dedicated her life to preserving (even if by violent means) a social order that diminishes the humanity of women … well, this is powerful documentary filmmaking of the first order, a film that has it all — a powerful and involving story, ‘characters’ on screen who could not be more sympathetic, and in being such present wildly engaging rooting interests, first rate production craft, and the fully realized vision of the film’s director, Nisha Pahuja — all of this and more suggests that you should run, not walk to tonight’s 6:45pm screening of The World Before Her at the Vancity.
And for the final film screening on this inclement and kind of chilly Sunday, The Hunt — which not only deservedly won the VIFF 2012 Audience Award this past Friday, but ranks among the best films of the year, the most well-made film of the year, the most involving and honest film of the year. Hell, you don’t have to know anything about the film other than all that is written above in this paragraph. You would be doing yourself a disservice, if you didn’t attempt to take in a screening of The Hunt at 8:45pm this evening. VIFF passholders who present their pass will be given free entrance to the screening (a previous screening had to be cancelled, so VIFF will consider tonight’s screening of The Hunt a ‘make-up screening’).

We’ll focus on two more films: The Angels’ Share, which we saw at a sold-out early afternoon screening at the big Granville 7 theatre (just short of 1000 patrons in attendance), a film which finds celebrated British kitchen-sink dramaturge Ken Loach at his peak, The Angels’ Share is a film possessed of humour, immense humanity and hope. And, Rob Stewart’s Revolution, an entirely revelatory doc, one of the most engaging and informative and heartfelt documentaries to have screened at VIFF2012 (we were in tears at moments throughout the film). We went into the screening of Revolution doubting that the film would be anything more than a rehashed pedantic diatribe, and came out believing that Revolution should be mandatory viewing for every student, in every school across the globe (for adults, as well). We even tweeted Vancouver Board of Education Chair, Patti Bacchus (who we love like a sister, and whose husband, Lee, is one of our favourite people on the planet), with such suggestion.

Throughout the Festival, we found opportunity to chat with the humane and erudite and entirely engaging Tom Charity, about which films might return to Vancity as part of the Vancity’s regular programming schedule. The Straight’s Craig Takeuchi has published a more complete compendium of the films that Tom has already booked into the Vancity, those film titles in the available link in this paragraph. We were thrilled to read …

Vancity Theatre Programme Co-ordinator Tom Charity has informed me that they’ll be bringing back the following films: Rebelle (War Witch) (which is Canada’s official entry for best foreign-language Oscar), Tabu, Holy Motors, The Ambassador, Keep the Lights On, The Invisible War (one I also highly recommend for its in-depth and often shocking exploration of rape in the army), and Museum Hours.

In addition to the films listed above, Sean Baker’s Starlet, and Travis Fine’s Any Day Now — both of which have a distributor, in Music Box Films, in place so at least have the potential to return — may make their way to the Vancity. As for us, we will continue to work with Tom to get Mia Hansen-Løve’s Goodbye First Love — which, by hook or by crook, we’ll find a way to bring to Vancouver (we’re resourceful when we want to be). The estimable Mr. Charity is supportive of the notion of bringing Goodbye First Love to the Vancity, but there may be — as is often the case in matters such as this — mitigating distribution issues. We’ll see what we can do.

The 31st annual Vancouver International Film Festival concluded its 16-day run on Friday, October 12th. The winners of two juried awards, and six audience awards were announced prior to the screening of Holy Motors by Leos Carax at The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts. The Dragons & Tigers Award winner was announced previously.
Juried Awards
The Canadian Images jury announced two awards. The jury included popular Vancouver actor Jay Brazeau, Montréal filmmaker Anne Émond and Columbian-American media personality Claudia Mendoza-Carruth.
The Award for Best Canadian Feature Film

The Award for Best Canadian Feature Film, and its $10,000 cash prize, went to Jason Buxton of Nova Scotia for Blackbird. The winner was selected from twelve films in competition. The jury selected this film “for its years of research by the director on the juvenile correctional system; how it transforms the life of a creative kid. The supporting characters are extremely well crafted, free of clichés. We look forward to the development of the careers of both newcomer Connor Jessup and first-time feature director Jason Buxton.” Claudia Mendoza-Carruth presented the award.
Honourable Mention for Canadian Feature Film
Becoming Redwood, directed by Jesse James Miller of BC, for its “beautiful journey that transports you to the 1970s. Ryan Grantham carries the film with extraordinary gravitas on his 14-year old shoulders, winning the audience over.”
Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film Award
The Canadian Images jury, represented by Jay Brazeau, awarded a $2,000 cash award from an anonymous donor to Juan Riedinger of BC for Float. The jury selected this film as “a dark and large subject treated with simplicity and truth. The director handled these seasoned actors with finesse.”
Honourable Mention for a Canadian Short Film
Peach Juice, directed by Brian Lye, Callum Paterson and Nathan Gilliss of BC. “Funny, with a great sense of humour. A different kind of take on animation showed much promise. We look forward to seeing more. It was a bittersweet story.”
Audience Awards
Rogers People’s Choice Award

The Hunt, directed by Thomas Vinterberg, won the Rogers People’s Choice Award. All of the Festival’s 236 feature films — features and nonfiction — were eligible, and festival-goers chose the most popular film by rating every film they saw on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent). Tara Thind, reporter for OMNI TV, presented the award on behalf of Rogers.
VIFF Most Popular Canadian Film Award
The audience chose Becoming Redwood, directed by Jesse James Miller, for the VIFF Most Popular Canadian Film Award, presented by Canadian Images Programmer, Terry McEvoy.
VIFF Most Popular Canadian Documentary Award
Blood Relative, directed by Nimisha Mukerji, won the VIFF Most Popular Canadian Documentary Award, presented by Canadian Images Programmer, Terry McEvoy.
VIFF Most Popular International Documentary Film Award

The audience chose Nuala, directed by Patrick Farrelly and Kate O’Callaghan, for the VIFF Most Popular International Documentary Film Award, presented by Festival Director, Alan Franey.
VIFF Most Popular Environmental Film Award

Revolution, directed by Rob Stewart, won the VIFF Most Popular Environmental Film Award. The award was announced by Festival Director, Alan Franey.
VIFF Most Popular International First Feature Award
The audience chose I, Anna, directed by Barnaby Southcombe, for the VIFF Most Popular International First Feature Award, presented by Festival Director, Alan Franey.
Women in Film and Television Artistic Merit Award

The unanimous decision for the 2012 WIFTV Artistic Merit Award goes to Manon Briand, writer-director of Liverpool.

Previously Announced Awards
Dragons & Tigers Award for Young Cinema
The $5,000 Dragons & Tigers Award for Young Cinema, generously supported by donor Brad Birarda, went to director Li Luo of China for Emperor Visits The Hell (Tang Huang You Difu). Presented to the director of a creative and innovative film from East Asia that has not yet won significant international recognition, the award was announced on October 4th. The distinguished jury was comprised of Portuguese filmmaker João Pedro Rodrigues, whose films To Die Like a Man (2009) and The Last Time I Saw Macao, the latter screening at VIFF 2012; filmmaker Makato SHINOZAKI, a former Dragons & Tigers finalist (Die! Directors, Die! and Since Then); and Chuck Stephens, writer, teacher, and contributing editor / columnist, Film Comment. They considered eight films in competition.
The Vancouver International Film Festival exists, in part, thanks to the support of generous donors. On Friday evening, VIFF acknowledged the support of major partners Rogers Communications, Fidelity Investments Canada, and Telefilm Canada. VIFF extended its thanks and appreciation to the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Community, Sport, and Cultural Development’s Community Gaming Grants programme, as well as the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Building Communities, Arts & Heritage programme.

For those of us still recovering / withdrawing from the loss of the Festival (it’s still here, but not in full swing until next September), Teacher of the Year, an official selection of the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival, directed by Chris Modoono, and starring Gil Zabarsky, Kathleen Littlefield & Rachel Dratch.

Well, that’s it folks. 400 films, 16 days, and that’s (almost) all she wrote.
That said, VanRamblings is not done yet with Festival reportage, even if the Fest has ended. First order of business, we intend to write a love letter (of a sort) to Alan Franey, which will be published here. We haven’t made any firm decisions on publishing a prescriptive remedy for what seemed, this year, to be a plethora of logistical problems; we may or may not.
There is much that we would like to write about on the 87 (yes, only 87) films we screened during the 16 days of the 31st annual Vancouver International Film Festival, so we may do that. Chances are that tomorrow (probably later in the day), we’ll publish the VIFF2012 winners announced late on Friday; and, as the Festival makes information available on audience favourites, we’ll make that information available to you, as well.
And, of course, we’ll set about to publish our Top 20 favourite films screened at our illustrious 2012 Vancouver International Film Festival.
For now, though, a Flickr slideshow, a pictorial remembrance of our Festival.

(Over the weekend, we’ll add a few more photos to the slideshow, and edit the slideshow so the order of the photos is more coherent, and makes more sense)