The 40th annual Vancouver International Film Festival wraps at 11:59pm this Thanksgiving Monday evening — and that will be it for another Festival year, although what is now termed the VanCentre Complex (3 theatres now available in the complex that used to house just the glorious Vancity Theatre — which remains, just in case you thought that wasn’t the case) — with VIFF Connect a year-around fixture for this next year, and probably long after that into the many years to come.
On Sunday, VIFF presented two screenings of Céline Sciamma’s exquisite Petite Maman, Sciamma’s beautiful fairytale reverie, at the welcoming Vancouver Playhouse — occasioned by the dual mysteries of memory and the future — the film emerging as a resonant, profoundly moving and elegantly made small scale, but wildly effective opus for the 39-year-old French filmmaker, the dappled forested backdrop a thing of pensive beauty, the coming-of-age story at the centre of the film an example of the way cinema can make memories real, without losing their bitter honesty, and dreams, without compromising on their glowing promise.
Without a doubt, Céline Sciamma is the finest director working today, anywhere across the globe, her body of work — Tomboy (2011), Girlhood (2014), Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019), and now Petite Maman — unrivaled in the pantheon of modern cinema, each film profoundly moving and filled with heart, must-sees for any cinephile worth their salt, simply the finest examples of what cinema, in the right hands, can achieve in moving all of us forward towards a better, fairer world.
Here’s what Barry Hertz, arts & entertainment editor at The Globe and Mail had to say about Petite Maman, when it screened at the Toronto International Film Festival last month …
Well, this is an unexpected and wonderful surprise. Two years ago, French director Céline Sciamma knocked TIFF audiences out with her powerful and grand romance Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Switching gears, the filmmaker goes small, in all the right ways, for her pandemic-shot follow-up, Petite Maman.
A lovely, delicate look at the bridge between parents and their children, the film follows one lonely little girl who, while visiting her grandmother’s old country home, encounters a version of her mother as a young girl at the same exact age, through some unexplained feat of magical realism.
Featuring wonderful performances from twin sisters Joséphine and Gabrielle Sanz, and also the cutest little murder-mystery game you’ve ever seen, Petite Maman hits all the right notes, creating an epic in miniature. One warning: It may leave you a blubbering mess.
There is one final VIFF screening of Petite Maman— as always, click on the preceding link to be taken to the VIFF web page to book your ticket — scheduled for this evening at 8:30pm on this Thanksgiving Monday, at the Kay Meek Arts Centre, located at 1700 Mathers Avenue in West Vancouver, easily accessible by both car or bus (there’s a bus stop just outside of the arts complex). Highly recommended.
In the weeks leading up to the 40th annual Vancouver International Film Festival, VIFF’s Board of Directors met with Executive Director Kyle Fostner, and a handful of senior programming administrators at the Festival, to map out a business plan for the upcoming hybrid Festival, and the return to in person, in-cinema screenings.
Arising from those series of meetings, the VIFF Board and senior staff drafted and agreed on a business plan which calculated full in-person, in-cinema attendance at all VIFF 2021 screenings. The only possible way that VIFF could be successful as an organization in 2021 — and maintain its integrity, sense of purpose and the Festival’s ability to survive into the future — was if the Festival was to sell every available ticket for each venue screening during the 11-day run of the Festival.
Those senior VIFF administrators not included, those lower down the ladder, in the decision-making process only rolled their eyes when the VIFF’s business plan was published. Never in the entire history of the Festival has every VIFF screening sold out, nor come close to achieving that goal. In fact, this fiction of full attendance has been borne out at VIFF 2021 as in-cinema attendance, although good, has proved below projection, with attendance at screenings at this year’s truncated film festival anywhere from half to two-thirds, and on rare occasion, fully sold out.
The pandemic has changed a lot of things around the world. In times of stress, sadness, and world upturning events, nothing beats going to the movies. Unfortunately, pandemics and crowded movie theatres don’t mix, either at Cineplex or Landmark Cinemas, or the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Film festivals have long been an exploration of art through storytelling, best experienced in a darkened movie theatre surrounded by fellow cinephiles. But for a great while now that has not been possible. A recent survey of film festival directors and creators across the globe told those who organized the research study that they see the future of film festivals as more of a place to express art and storytelling, and less about the medium itself — although nothing quite beats the in-person experience, and the anticipation of sitting in a Festival movie theatre.
Truth to tell, most film festivals were already facing an identity crisis, even before the pandemic. An impenetrably dense media landscape, the proliferation of on-demand content, and market instability created a mounting sense of uncertainty: What should festivals be doing — and how can they possibly persevere?
Last year, Nicole Guillaumet — who worked as Sundance’s co-director from its early days in 1985 all the way through 2002 — told IndieWire’s Eric Kohn …
“Film festivals are accessible only to those who can afford them. Attending in person has become an exclusive experience. It is very expensive and excludes many young people who cannot afford to pay often exorbitant rates for access, or passes,” says Guillaumet.
Over the past 19 months, as we have continued to live through history in the making, it was only a matter of time — and survival — that moved film festival administrators to adapt to unprecedented circumstances by going online for the very first time. Guillaumet sees the move toward hybrid film festivals as a needed shift toward democratized access. “The impact on future audiences and future filmmakers will be enormous,” she said. “We need both virtual and in-person festivals.”
Existential questions about the future of cinema-going are nothing new for Festival administrators. Over the past number of years, the rise of streaming services and the accompanying decline in ticket sales have prompted much hand-wringing over the relevance of the in-cinema experience, with the coronavirus pandemic amplifying those anxieties as Festivals faced an apocalyptic reality: with theatres darkened across across the globe, and with previous film festival fare bypassing theatres almost entirely — in favour of streaming services such as MUBI, Festival Scope, Docsville, IndiePix and BFI Player, among other festival streaming services, what does the future hold for film festivals like our beloved homegrown VIFF?
Director Christopher Nolan, long a champion of the theatre experience, wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post underlining the human toll of closed theatres and diminished film festivals, urging distributors to re-consider their release plans.
“The theatrical and the festival exhibition community needs strategic and forward-thinking partnership from the studios and distributors,” Nolan wrote. “Much of the current short-term loss is recoverable. When this crisis passes, the need for collective human engagement, the need to live and love and laugh and cry together, will be more powerful than ever. The combination of that pent-up demand and the promise of great new movies will boost local and national economies, and allow film festivals to thrive into the future.”
Perhaps Nolan is right to sound the alarm. The future of the blockbuster Hollywood movie and independent film festivals alike may not be lost, but theatres, festival administrators and independent film studios must prepare for the possibility — and perhaps even, probability — of a grim post-pandemic reality.
Year-in, year out, at the very heart of the Vancouver International Film Festival lies the always spectacular, phenomenally moving — and sometimes, downright funny — International Shorts programmes, as curated by VIFF’s International Shorts programmer, Sandy Gow.
In the past VanRamblings has written this about Sandy …
“Every now and then, we get to be our true selves, our best selves. Sandy, who like many of us is ‘of an age’, has come into his own in recent years — honest and forthright, humane and caring, employing wit and warmth and intelligence and an unparalleled love of cinema, in the job he has undertaken. As mentioned above, Sandy curates the International Shorts programme. How very, very fortunate we VIFF cinéastes are to have in place for us, a VIFF staff person of such unparalleled integrity, as well as an abiding warmth of spirit, an individual who prioritizes films not just as ‘craft’, but of immense heart and cinematic intelligence.”
Three notes should be made about the International Shorts programme …
The International Shorts programme is too often overlooked by VIFF patrons who while striving to see the best in world cinema neglect to consider that the birth of the features that emerge as life-changing events at VIFF often occur within the realm of ‘the short’, a film in the truest sense (despite its abbreviated length) that garners the necessary attention to allow the novice filmmaker a film career;
For years, Sandy Gow has curated International Shorts programmes, that offer VIFF patrons one surety: most, if not all, of the films in any given International Shorts programme will come to represent the best experience to be had inside a darkened theatre, or at home through VIFF Connect. Sandy’s heart, intellect and wisdom are poured into the decisions he makes in choosing from among the 1600 entries that culminate in the 29 shorts included in the four curated programmes at VIFF2021, a winsome combination of intimate, humane, thoughtful, provocative, revelatory, and heartbreaking chronicles of the human condition;
Competition. Take a gander at your Facebook feed, or listen to the conversations in the lineups as passholders “discuss” how many films they’ve seen that day, and what their “count” of films screened is as of any given day — in some sense VIFF is, at times, a “competition” to see the most films (and why not? what a treat to see 100+ films!). Imagine the following: take in a screening of every one of the 29 shorts in the four IS programmes, and your number of films screened will burgeon! Although a gentle humility defines the approach of the VIFF veteran to her fellow Festival patrons, a bit of boastfulness from time to time surely cannot be out of place. Twenty-nine films added to your list of feature films seen at VIFF2021, and a glorious and transformative 465 minutes in the cinema! At VIFF, we call that bliss.
In a recent conversation with the slightly rumpled professorial-looking Sandy Gow, he told VanRamblings that over the past year he and his team have screened a record 1600 short films — 200 more entries than last year — while on the way to creating the curated and juried four International Shorts programmes that have found their way onto VIFF’s 2021 film schedule.
In these waning days of the 40th annual Vancouver International Film Festival, if you’re looking to be delighted, moved, informed and to be introduced to a ‘new’ filmmaker, who very well may become the next David Fincher, Kathryn Bigelow, Ava DuVernay or Pete Docter, Sandy’s International Shorts programme is the place to be, and the very best part of VIFF 2021 yet to be explored.
Mr. Gow discusses each of the 4 International Shorts programmes this year … (click on each programme link to go to the VIFF page for the programme)
“The animation programme in 2021, we had so much good animation, so many great submissions. The programme last year was hugely successful, probably the most successful shorts programme in VIFF’s entire history. The animation programme this year is a little more mature, with more serious themes, in a wonderfully diverse programme, where every short is different: in style, in approach, in theme, ranging from the various serious to the humorous. I love animation, and never more so than this year. In 2021, this great animation programme is simply not to be missed.”
“This series is about choices people make in their lives, and how that affects other people. In each of the shorts in the Life Labs series, someone is making a choice that is going to have serious implications. Some of my favourites are included in this programme. I really loved MeTube: August Sings ‘Una Furtiva Lagrima’, which is so hilarious, a loud and crazy mash up of sci-fi and opera.”
“We as human beings like to think of ourselves as intelligent and rational, as having accomplished so much during our time as a species on this Earth — and yet there are aspects of our behaviour as individuals and in society that causes us to continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. You’d think we’d have learned by now, but clearly we haven’t. Those are the issues that are addressed this year in the Have We Ever Learned? Shorts programme. Topical, political, adventurous, serious, humourous — like A Roll in the Hay which, by the way, is also a great little thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat the whole time.”
“The common theme in the Seniors Day programme is that the protagonists in every film are, essentially, older people. They’re not the lay down and die people, they’re a pretty feisty bunch. The Seniors Day programme, again, is a great collection of some really humourous films, as well as those tending to the more serious. My favourite film in all of the International Shorts programmes is Don vs Lightning — which is the best comedy I’ve screened in a long time, starring Peter Mullan (pictured above), a really established actor. In fact, that’s one of the common themes in the Seniors Day programme, three of the shorts — including Roy and Charon — have really established actors, who have lent their talent to young, up and coming filmmakers. It really pays off is all I can say.”
VIFF cinephiles: You’ve got your work cut out for you as this year’s glorious — yet somewhat truncated — 40th edition of the Vancouver International Film Festival draws to a close this upcoming Thanksgiving Monday, October 11th.
After going online in 2020, the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) returns on Friday, October 1st thru Monday, October 11th — to celebrate its 40th annual edition with a vibrant hybrid in-person and streaming lineup, with 85% of the VIFF 2021 film slate available online not just for loyal VIFF fans locally, but for patrons throughout British Columbia and across Canada, through the VIFF Connect online streaming web portal.
Although the Vancouver International Film Festival has traditionally commenced in late September with a two-week run, the somewhat truncated 2021 hybrid edition running from Friday, October 1st thru Monday, October 11th, will still feature 113 groundbreaking and celebrated original films, with 80 narrative and 33 documentary features arriving from 50 countries across the globe, 24 of which are world premières, 26 North American and 28 Canadian feature film premières, 6 of which are made by BC filmmakers. Eighty curated short films are also featured in the VIFF 2021 lineup, 36 of which are Canadian.
Strict British Columbia COVID-19 public health and safety protocols will be in place for in-person screenings, including mandatory mask wearing in screening rooms and common areas, and BC Vaccine Card proof that cinephile patrons have been vaccinated, before patrons will be granted access to the eight VIFF cinema venues.
VIFF executive director Kyle Fostner says he believes there’s a growing group of patrons who are ready to return to the theatre.
“Culturally, as an organization and as a community VIFF needs to have some kind of statement of intent around returning to cultural activity and to cinema,” Fostner says, pointing out that two local independent theatres, the Rio and the Cinematheque, have already been open for some time and attracting audiences.
Meanwhile, VIFF Expanded has partnered with two B.C. venues to present films in-cinema to British Columbians outside of the Lower Mainland, with 8 screenings scheduled at the Tillicum Twin Theatres in Terrace, and 12 VIFF films set to screen at the newly renovated Patricia Theatre in Powell River.
(Note: each film title — and more — throughout this column links to the VIFF website page)
Japanese-English director Will Sharpe’s The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, a whimsical Victorian biopic starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy, was selected by VIFF Associate programmer Curtis Woloschuk as VIFF’s opening night film — on Friday, October 1st, with Céline Sciamma’s exquisite Petite Maman — which débuted at the Berlinale earlier this year acclaim — and a favourite of Mr. Woloschuk’s, selected as VIFF’s closing night film, on Monday, October 11th.
The array of titles given special presentations assembles a collection of works by leading filmmakers spanning the globe, from …
One Second (China) by Fifth Generation filmmaker Zhang Yimou;
https://youtu.be/Ej7FSmzijNE
Memoria (Thailand/Colombia/U.K.) by Thai indie director Apichatpong Weerasethakul;
Drive My Car (Japan), Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s adaptation of a short story by author Haruki Murakami, available only as an in-person screening. A favourite of VIFF International Films programmer, Alan Franey;
Belfast (U.K.), an autobiographical film by British filmmaker Kenneth Branagh, recent winner of the Audience Award at the Toronto International Film Festival;
The Power of the Dog (Australia/New Zealand), the “other” Benedict Cumberbatch film at VIFF this year, and winner of the Silver Lion for Jane Campion as Best Director, at Venice 2021;
Bergman Island (France/Sweden) by French writer-director Mia Hansen-Løve;
“Seventeen VIFF films will be available as in-person screenings only,” VIFF’s International Films programmer Alan Franey told VanRamblings.
“And that includes Drive My Car, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s sombre drama about love and loss, that was for me an engrossing and exalting film experience, and a film not to be missed. Arising from concerns about piracy, I was unable to move various studios to release their films to our secure streaming VIFF Connect platform.”
As part of VIFF’s 40th anniversary celebrations, the festival will present a free online tribute talk. VIFF Leading Lights will spotlight Japanese auteur Kore-eda Hirokazu (Like Father, Like Son) in conversation with South Korean filmmaker Bora Kim (House of Hummingbird), whom Kore-eda chose as an emerging director to discuss filmmaking with.
Other speaking engagements at VIFF Talks will feature film professionals sharing their expertise, including documentary filmmakers Julie Cohen (My Name is Pauli Murray) and Jonas Poher Rasmussen (Flee).
On the industry side, online events include master classes with Mare of Easttown director Craig Zobel and The Suicide Squad editor Fred Raskin, as well as a talk by The Green Knight’s production designer Jade Healy.
Canadian productions receiving special presentations include the Indigenous sci-fi drama Night Raiders (Canada/New Zealand) by Cree-Métis director Danis Goulet, starring Vancouver’s Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, and All My Puny Sorrows (Canada), director Michael McGowan’s adaptation of Miriam Toews’ 2014 novel.
More VIFF 2021 highlights include VIFF AMP, the annual forum for music in film, which runs from October 8 to 10; VIFF Totally Indie Day on October 2nd, devoted to independent filmmakers and cinema; and the VIFF Immersed exhibition, October 1 to 11, to showcase virtual reality and augmented reality storytelling.
As has long been the case, VIFF will offer a wide array of different ticket packages and passes: patrons can purchase an all-festival, all-access in-person pass for $725, while the VIFF Connect pass will be available for $110 for a household, $80 for an individual, with a $60 student rate. The four-ticket in-person pass price is set at $48, seniors $44, students, $32. Regular in-person admission will cost $15 – $17.
In 2021, patrons may enjoy the big screen cinematic experience, or watch from the comfort of their home, or mix and match to create a personal festival journey.
“VIFF’s lineup offers a plurality of perspectives, with powerful narratives from Indigenous filmmakers, poignant stories from female perspectives, and bold work that confronts critical issues such as colonialism, racism, and the climate crisis,” says Woloschuk. “The films VIFF programmers have selected testify to the power of creativity, reminding us: even when it’s darkest, we can dream.”
“I think the minute I see a VIFF screening of 100 appreciative audience members rapt in attention watching a VIFF film in-cinema it will be a victory,” enthuses Fostner, who adds that despite the ravages of the pandemic, VIFF remains strong.
The Vancouver International Film Festival is presented on the traditional and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples, and the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil‑Waututh) Nations.
