40 Days at Base Camp movie still
Vancouver International Film Festival features over 360 Canadian films
-by Shadi Maceac
The Vancouver International Film Festival, one of North America’s largest film/cultural events, is back for its 30th year. The festival, which runs from Sept 29 to Oct 14, is expected to bring together 150,000 attendees over 600 screenings of 375 films from 75 countries.
VIFF is one of the biggest annual showcases of Canadian film in the world, with a special emphasis on B.C. films. Over 360 of the festival films this year are local. The Canadian Images line-up includes 17 dramatic and 12 nonfiction feature-length films, 36 shorts and one mid-length film. The lineup also includes 24 British Columbia productions. The selection showcases new works from some of Canada’s most well-respected and creative filmmakers, as well as upcoming talent.
Michelle Williams and Luke Kirby in Take This Waltz (2011)
Read below for a selection of Canadian films that will be screened at VIFF ’11.
40 Days at Base Camp (dir. Dianne Whelan, B.C.) – With only half the level of oxygen we have at sea level, to be at base camp on Mt. Everest is to be dying a little bit every day. Director Dianne Whelan brings a photographer’s eye and a storyteller’s ear to this inhuman environment
Watch – 40 Days at Base Camp (trailer):
Comforting Skin (dir. Derek Franson, B.C.) – One night Koffie gets a tattoo – a last-ditch attempt to imbue her life with excitement. But with the tattoo comes a mysterious connection that fills her life with taunting whispers and frantic desires. Director Derek Franson’s debut is a dark, intriguing psychological drama.
Watch – Comforting Skin (trailer):
Take This Waltz (dir. Sarah Polley ONT) – Set in the oppressive heat of a Toronto summer, director Sarah Polley’s colourful second feature – starring a radiant Michelle Williams – explores the contrasting rhythms of new and mature relationships, and how they alter our images of ourselves. (Canadian Images Opening Gala, September 30)
Watch – Take This Waltz (Teaser Trailer):
Inni: Sigur Rós (dir. Vincent Morisset, Iceland/UK/Canada) – Following on 2007′s successful Heima, this is Sigur Rós second live film and it shows them again as mesmerizing performers at the peaks of their abilities. Director Vincent Morriset weaves ten years of archival material into his ethereal live footage. Inni, he says, “leaves room for all those beautiful images come to our minds when we listen to their music.”
Watch – Inni: Sigur Ros (trailer):
More details can be found on the VIFF website.
