Long one of the most hopeful aspects of our homegrown, always engaging and utterly moving Vancouver International Film Festival arises on the days when VIFF makes its awards announcements, two of which came today.
B.C. Emerging Filmmaker Award | VIFF 2021
Winner of the 2021 VIFF B.C. Emerging Filmmaker Award: Director and tyro Indigenous filmmaker Trevor Mack who, according to the synopsis on the VIFF website for Mr. Mack’s winning film, Portraits of a Fire, “delivers an accomplished, open-hearted first feature both made about and in collaboration with his First Nations community of Tl’etinqox (Chilcotin) Nation.
Special Mention: First-time filmmaker Elizabeth Lazebnik, for her psychologically rich and uniquely immersive film, Be Still .
B.C. Best Film Award 2021 | Vancouver International Film Festival
Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux & Kirk Thomas’ Handle With Care: The Legend of the Notic Streetball, the homegrown story about the legendary basketball collective that changed the game forever through their impressive arsenal of tricks and moves, even in the face of racism, rejection, and conformity. The film’s world première : 9pm on Friday, October 8th, at the Vancouver Playhouse.
