Tickets for this year’s slightly smaller Vancouver International Film Festival are now on sale – at least for those who have a Visa credit card.
Film buffs will be able to pay cash starting September 19 and the festival’s paper catalog is expected to be available September 23.
The 29th annual festival will include 359 films, down from the 375 films it screened last year (See “VIFF aims to profit from economic downturn” – issue 1040; September 29-October 5, 2009).
The festival, which runs September 30 to October 15, has long been known for programming more Asian fare than any other film festival outside Asia.
But media director Ellie O’Day told Business in Vancouver the festival has a claim to fame that few realize given all the hype around the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
“We exhibit more Canadian films to more Canadians than any other festival anywhere in the world,” she said of the 38 Canadian flicks her festival will screen. “I looked at the difference between TIFF and us for Canadian-made films and it’s a substantial difference – I think we had 15 more features than they did.”