Each year for most of the history of the Vancouver International Film Festival, the prestigious, heavily juried and much smaller New York Film Festival kicks off on the same date as VIFF, creating something of a logistical problem for the print traffic folks at Vancouver’s film festival (and New York’s, as well), arising from the fact that the respective film festivals generally share 15 films (out of a total of 25) — as is the case again this year — and the logistics of transporting the one-and-only “print” of the film back and forth can be, and has often proved to be, something of a terrible, pull-your-hair-out nightmare for the print traffic folks at both film festivals.
Thanks to VIFF “print logistics co-ordinators” extraordinaire, Jackie Hoffart and Amanda Thomson — with able assistance from Kathy Evans (who did the job for years, along with Selina Crammond in recent years) — all has generally proved well, the DVD’s on which the “films” are to be projected often set up at the last minute, just in time for the planned screening, the digital projection occurring on state-of-the-art equipment supplied and optimized by the on scene craftspersons at CHRISTIE Digital Cinema.
As was indicated above, 15 films currently screening at NYFF55 are also, near simultaneously, screening in Vancouver as part of VIFF2017. Here they are, with remaining VIFF screening times following each compilation of three films below. A bit of New York in the autumn in Vancouver. Enjoy!
BPM (Beats Per Minute). Has completed its run at VIFF2017. BPM (Beats Per Minute) may return as part of the VIFF ‘best of’ programme in the week following the end of the Festival. Or, VIFF / Vancity Theatre programmer Tom Charity could book BPM (Beats Per Minute) into the Vancity Theatre at some future point. And then there’s this: as BPM (Beats Per Minute) is France’s entry into the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar sweepstakes, BPM could even conceivably garner a run at your local Cineplex theatre.
Call Me by Your Name. There are three upcoming screenings, all at The Centre: Thursday, October 5th at 9pm (where you’ll find VanRamblings); Sunday, October 8th at 9pm; and Thursday, October 12th at 3:15pm.
Did You Wonder Who Fired the Gun? One and only screening completed.
Faces Places. An upcoming screening this Friday, October 6th, 6:45pm, at the Vancouver Playhouse.
Félicité. Screening twice next week, both times at Cineplex International Village, Cinema 10, on Tuesday, October 10th at 9:30pm, and the next day, Wednesday, October 11th, at 4:30pm.
The Florida Project. One Special Presentation screening upcoming, this Saturday, October 7th at 6pm.
Ismael’s Ghosts. Final screening: Wednesday, Oct. 11th, 10:45am at The Centre.
Lady Bird. A late addition to the VIFF line-up, the most talked about début film feature of 2017, a massive hit at both the Toronto and Telluride film festivals, and a lock for multiple Oscar nominations. Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird screens once, and only once, at VIFF 2017, on Monday, October 9th, 4pm at The Centre.
The Other Side of Hope. One of VanRamblings favourites at VIFF 2017, Aki Kaurismäki’s latest film screens twice more: next Monday, October 9th, 6:30pm at The Centre, and the final day of VIFF 2017, Friday, October 13th, 6:30pm at SFU Goldcorp.
A Skin So Soft. Alas, it’s gone. No more screenings.
The Square. Also gone. Good. We hated it.
Thelma. One more screening: Monday, October 9th, 6:30pm at the Vancouver Playhouse.
The Venerable W. One more screening, this Friday, October 6th, 6:15pm at Cineplex International Village, Cinema 8.
Western. A Bulgarian film VanRamblings quite liked (one of our favourites), probably too slow for many folks — be we thought that as a character study, Western worked. And that gorgeous countryside, and the Bulgarian people! Western’s two final screenings, both times at SFU Goldcorp: Wednesday, October 4th, at 6:15pm, and VIFF’s last day / last screening, on Friday, October 13th, at 9pm.
Wonderstruck. The VIFF 2017 Closing Gala film — if you want to go to the Gala and party afterwards, the screening takes place at The Centre, on Friday, October 13th at 7:30pm, but as for VanRamblings, we’ll take in Todd Haynes’ Wonderstruck the same night at The Playhouse, at 9:15pm.
Yes, that’s the trailer for Carla Símon’s début feature, Summer 1993, one of VanRamblings two very, very favourites at VIFF 2017, Spain’s nominee for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar set to screen for a final time on Thursday, October 5th at 7:15pm, at Cineplex International Village, Cinema 10. There ain’t no distributor in place, Netflix isn’t a-gonna be picking it up, so … see Summer 1993 on Thursday evening, or you’ll miss out on one of the most spectacular and utterly humane films to screen at VIFF this year.
Full VanRamblings coverage of VIFF 2017 is available by clicking here.
