In many ways, the 35th Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is strikingly different from its previous editions.
It’s got a brand new logo featuring bold and boxy letters that would look great emblazoned on the chest of any cinema-championing superhero.
It’s divided its more than 300 films into nine new separate streams – Panorama, Ignite, Impact, Next, Gateway, M/A/D, ALT, Youth, and True North – and introduced VIFF Hub, which will transform VIFF’s Vancity Theatre into the central location for interactive screen-based experiences, creator talks, networking, and late-night, post-film performances.
In other ways, VIFF at 35 is doing what it’s always done: presenting a line-up of the best, the boldest, and the most audacious filmmaking from around the world – including the largest showcase of Canadian cinema on the planet.
All the new stuff is the plus symbol in the festival slogan for 2016: “Film+: Discover More.”
“It’s an experiential model,” says Jacqueline Dupuis, VIFF’s executive director, in a recent phone interview. “We continue to program more than 300 films, [and schedule] 500 screenings, and in addition to that we do talks, we do exhibitions, we do workshops, we do events and awards, and all of that is how we showcase and engage creators.”
The changes to this year’s VIFF – which runs Sept. 29-Oct. 14 at venues around Vancouver, including Vancity Theatre, the Rio Theatre, Vancouver Playhouse, The Cinémathèque, and others – reflect the fest’s commitment to serving the ever-changing needs of local film lovers and people who work in the industry: intersecting groups that consume and create content in the third largest film production centre in North America and the third largest digital media production centre in the world.
“Vancouver is probably one of the most creative and innovative cities in the world, so you have to think about, what do these people want to engage with?” says Dupuis. “And I think it comes down to an experience.”
Nowhere will the VIFF+ experience be more evident than at VIFF Hub, which takes over VIFF’s Vancity Theatre for the first eight days of the festival. VIFF Hub’s schedule includes creator talks (speakers include showrunners Marti Noxon (UnREAL) and Simon Davis Barry (Van Helsing), as well as Orphan Black actress Tatiana Maslany, whose The Other Half screens at VIFF on Sept. 30), late-night video-music performances, opportunities for networking, and an entire day dedicated to the virtual reality industry.
“It’s about creating a central place for people to come and enjoy the film-plus experiences, and also to have somewhere to go after the screenings to celebrate and chat,” says Dupuis.
Dupuis is reluctant to pick her can’t-miss favourites for this year’s fest from the 300-plus films in the schedule, but when pressed, she offers up the following:
Maudie
Sally Hawkins portrays Canadian folk artist Maude Lewis in this biopic from director Aisling Walsh. Hawkins has already won acclaim for her portrayal of the celebrated self-taught artist, who contended with rheumatoid arthritis and became a leading figure in the Naïve Art movement. “It’s always a priority for us to open the festival with a Canadian film, and it had incredible accolades at Telluride [Film Festival], and it tells a beautiful story,” says Dupuis of the Canada/Ireland co-production. “It’s emotional, obviously, but hopeful in a really compelling way.” September 29, October 1 & 10
Spirit Unforgettable
Director Pete McCormack (Facing Ali) brings us the story of John Mann, lead singer of the iconic Vancouver band Spirit of the West, and his struggle with early onset Alzheimer's. Says VIFF’s press release: “McCormack has built a compelling and emotionally powerful narrative around archival clips and intimate interviews that reveal Mann, his wife Jill and his bandmates to be endlessly engaging and surprisingly candid.” Says Dupuis: “It’s one of the most inspiring films for me this year.” October 8 & 12
Franca: Chaos and Creation
Director Francesco Carrozzini is behind this intimate portrait of his mother, Franca Sozzani, the legendary editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia magazine since 1988. Encompassing both the ridiculous and the sublime, her astonishing but often controversial magazine covers have not only broken the rules but also set the high bar for fashion, art and commerce over the past 25 years. “The film is outrageous and extremely fascinating,” says Dupuis. “[Franca] revolutionized the way that photography and fashion co-exist, so it’s a really exciting one.” October 12 & 14
The Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience
The latest from Terrence Malick (A Thin Red Line) is billed as a celebration of life and the grand history of the cosmos, transporting audiences into a vast yet up-close-and-personal journey that spans the eons from the Big Bang to the dinosaur to our present human world (and – dun dun dun – beyond!). The 45-minute IMAX film was selected to close this year’s VIFF because “it was 35 years in the making, it’s our 35th birthday, and it was shot on 35mm, which is very unusual for these times,” says Dupuis. October 14
VIFF runs Sept. 29-Oct. 14. Tickets and schedule at VIFF.org.
