The Vancouver International Film Festival Program Guide 2018 by Vancouver International Film Festival

PLAY IT F RWARD

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Contents How to VIFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Impact

Festival Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Sponsors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Sustainable Production Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Insights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Donors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Letters of Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Galas & Special Presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Special Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Master Classes & Creator Talks . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Festival Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Next VIFF Immersed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 VIFF AMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Gateway Gateway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Dragons & Tigers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

VIFF LIVE Kid Koala presents Satellite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 RZA: Live from the 36th Chamber . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Panorama Contemporary World Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Spotlight on France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Focus on Italy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Vanguard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Sea to Sky BC Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Totally Indie Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

M/A/D M/A/D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 ALT Altered States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 PIXL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Short Films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 MODES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Indexes Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

True North True North . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Films with Screening Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Future//Present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Editor Curtis Woloschuk Associate Editors Jack Vermee, Mike Archibald Database Publishing Sandy Gow Graphic Design Steve Chow Cover Design Zak Printing Mitchell Press Published August 30, 2018 in Vancouver, BC, Canada, by the Greater Vancouver International Film Festival Society.

About VIFF The Greater Vancouver International Film Festival Society is a non-profit, taxexempt, educational and cultural society incorporated and registered under The Society Act of British Columbia, and a federally registered charity under the Canadian Income Tax Act. Charitable Registration Number 118946821RT0001.

1181 Seymour Street • Vancouver, BC • V6B 3M7 Canada t (604) 685-0260 • f (604) 688-8221 • www.viff.org

How to VIFF

How to VIFF Pick your films or events

Save time with e-Tickets!

Check out our hundreds of films and events in this guide or online at viff.org.

When you order your tickets online, the following delivery options are available:

Please note: All films are shown in their original language with English subtitles.

Buy your tickets

Email: This will send you a PDF attachment containing your tickets. You can print off the PDF at home, or show the PDF on your smartphone to gain entry. If you’re printing your tickets, make sure you don’t distort the barcode – we need to scan that to let you in!

Planning on seeing multiple films? A ticket pack or pass might be a great option for you! Turn to Page 4 for more information. Otherwise, you can buy individual tickets:

Pick up at Venue: Tickets can also be picked up from the screening or event venue. Make sure you allow plenty of time for this option in case there’s a line up.

Online at viff.org

If you’ve ordered a VIFF Pass, you’ll receive an order confirmation email followed by instructions on how to pick up your physical pass. Ticket Packs are credits on your account and you’ll be able to choose how to receive each ticket as you redeem them.

24 hours a day, 7 days a week In Person Before the Festival Vancity Theatre (1181 Seymour Street – at Davie): Thursday 13 September until Thursday 27 September HOURS Mondays-Saturdays: Noon–7pm; Sundays: 2pm-7pm Theatre Box Offices During the Festival From Thursday, September 27 – Friday October 12, all of our theatres serve as box offices, where you can buy tickets for any film in the festival. Box offices open 30 minutes prior to the first screening of the day at that theatre, and close after the theatre’s last screening of the day has started. Within 60 minutes of the start of the event you want to attend, tickets are only available at that event’s box office.

For full information about VIFF’s Code of Conduct, please visit goviff.org/code-of-conduct If you have any concerns you would like to raise during the festival, please email feedback@viff.org or speak to a volunteer or festival staff member.

Stay in the know with instant updates Subscribe to daily email updates during the festival:

viff.org Follow @viffest on: Download the VIFF App from the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play Store (Android)

Enjoy yourself! VIFF’s mission is to celebrate excellence in screen-based storytelling and we pride ourselves on offering our guests unique and unforgettable experiences. With this in mind, we all have a part to play in ensuring that our members, volunteers, guests and staff are treated with respect. This includes allowing audience members to view a film without disruptions from conversations or phones and ensuring that everyone experiences a festival free of any kind of harassment or discrimination. VIFF takes our responsibility to create an inclusive and welcoming environment seriously and we appreciate your support.

Speak to a friendly, well-informed volunteer on the festival Infoline:

604 683 3456

Our Infoline Volunteers can help you with film and venue questions, ticketing enquiries and website walkthroughs, enabling you to get the most out of your festival experience. September 6 – October 12: Noon-6pm

Locations

The Cinematheque • 1131 Howe

ORPH

STADIUMCHINATOWN STATION

GRANVILLE STATION

PLAY

GEORGIA VANCOUVER PUBLIC LIBRARY

PARKING Metered street parking • ENTRANCE Street

PLAY

Metered street and underground paid • Street level • WHEELCHAIR 4-5 spaces • WASHROOMS Fully accessible

ORPH BEATTY

SMITHE

CAMBIE

The Vancouver Playhouse • 600 Hamilton PARKING

ANN

HAMILTON

level • WHEELCHAIR 2-4 spaces • WASHROOMS Fully accessible

NELSON MAINLAND

VCT

CENT ROBSON

HOMER

Vancity Theatre • 1181 Seymour

ENTRANCE Street

Metered street and paid lots • ENTRANCE At Smithe Street entrance • WHEELCHAIR 10 spaces in Orchestra • WASHROOMS Fully accessible at Orchestra / 3rd Floor

VANCOUVER ART GALLERY

PARKING

Orpheum Theatre • 603 Smithe

DUNSMUIR

RICHARDS

Underground (free while seeing a film) • level and/or elevator • WHEELCHAIR 4-6 spaces • WASHROOMS Fully accessible

VICTORY SQUARE

SEYMOUR

Cineplex International Village • 88 W Pender 1st Floor (Box Office), 2nd Floor (Lineups), 3rd Floor (Cinema)

W.PENDER

GRANVILLE

IN08 IN09 IN10

Metered street and nearby hotels • ENTRANCE Ramp at street level • WHEELCHAIR 4 spaces • WASHROOMS Fully accessible PARKING

W.HASTINGS

HOWE

CINE

Metered street and paid lots • ENTRANCE Due to construction, only the courtyard entrance will be available this year. There is a ramp from the courtyard and an elevator • WHEELCHAIR 4-6+ spaces • WASHROOMS Fully accessible

PARKING

Metered street and paid lots • ENTRANCE Street level & elevator • WHEELCHAIR 6-10 spaces • WASHROOMS Fully accessible PARKING

SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts 149 W Hastings 2nd Floor (Box Office), 3rd Floor (Cinema)

The Centre for the Performing Arts • 777 Homer CENT

PARKING

Metered street and paid lots • ENTRANCE Street level • WHEELCHAIR 4-6 spaces • WASHROOMS Limited accessibility

RIO

PARKING Metered street and paid lots • ENTRANCE Elevator to 2nd floor • WHEELCHAIR 3 spaces • WASHROOMS Fully Accessible

WATERFRONT STATION

W.CORDOVA

Rio Theatre • 1660 E Broadway

ANN

Annex • 823 Seymour

ENTRANCE

HELMCKEN

PARKING

See viff.org for more information on VIFF Immersed venues.

CINE DAVIE

VCT

YALETOWNROUNDHOUSE STATION

Buy tickets and read full film descriptions at viff.org

Festival Info

Tickets

Ticket Packs Student or Senior 5-Ticket Pack..............................................$60

Platinum Pass ...............................................................................$900

6-Ticket Pack.....................................................................................$84

Festival Pass...................................................................................$420

10-Ticket Pack ..............................................................................$135

Festival Pass (Senior)..................................................................$330

20-Ticket Pack............................................................................... 260

Festival Pass (Student)...............................................................$330

30-Ticket Pack............................................................................... 375

Weekday Matinee .......................................................................$160

Plan on seeing multiple films during VIFF? Have a group who all want to see the same film? Ticket Packs are your chance to buy more and save more.

Passes offer flexibility, the freedom to move between screenings and potentially the greatest savings of all. Passholders are the first people through the doors at each screening and are allowed entry until the generous passholder allotment of seats has been filled.

Evening Weekday Weekend Matinee Special Gala Holiday (before 5pm) Presentations Screenings

Adults

Student (18+/19+)

Senior (65+)

Accessible

Youth

Ticket Packs

Included

2 upgrade

7 upgrade

$ $

Membership & Age Restrictions

There are no restrictions on the number of tickets from your pack that can be used per screening. For example: If you buy a 6-Ticket Pack, you can use all 6 tickets for one screening, or individual tickets for multiple screenings.

• VIFF presents many films that have not been classified by Consumer Protection BC. By law, anyone wishing to watch films at the festival must be a member of the VIFF society.

Ticket Packs can be redeemed for Special Presentations and Gala Screenings by paying an upgrade fee of $2 or $7 per ticket, respectively.

• A standard $2 membership can be purchased when you buy your tickets online or at any VIFF venue. Alternately, an enhanced VIFF+ Membership will provide you with discounts during the festival and year-round. More details can be found at goviff.org/plus

Ticket Packs work like credits on your viff.org online account; they can only be redeemed by the original purchaser. If you are considering purchasing a Ticket Pack as a gift, please purchase a gift card instead. Ticket Packs cannot be redeemed for “VIFF Repeats” screenings held after the festival closes on October 12. They are also not eligible for FILMS+ events.

• Following the festival, your 2018 Membership Card may be used to attend VIFF Year Round screenings at Vancity Theatre until the expiry date on the card. • Because the majority of our films have not been classified, you must be aged 18+ to attend most films at VIFF. Due to its liquor license, the Rio Theatre can only admit attendees aged 19+.

Platinum passholder seats are held until 5 minutes before showtime. Festival and Weekday Matinee passholder seats are held until 20 minutes before showtime. All passes are strictly non-transferable and photo ID may be requested at the theatres. Passes are available for purchase online now at viff.org or in person at the Vancity Theatre box office (1181 Seymour Street) starting at noon on Thursday, September 13. Please note that other VIFF Venues will not be able to print your pass. Passes include your annual VIFF Membership. After the festival, you can exchange your pass for a Year Round Membership Card. FILMS+ Events Evening Weekday (excluding Weekend Matinee Special Special Gala Holiday (before 5pm) Presentations Screenings Events)

• Every year, a selection of VIFF films is classified so that film lovers under 18 can experience the festival. Check out the Youth stream on viff.org. Discover more about our High School Program on Page 73.

Platinum

Festival

Senior

Student discounts are available for those aged 18+ and enrolled in full-time education. Valid student ID required.

Student

Weekdays, before 5pm.

Senior discounts are available for those aged 65+. Valid ID required.

Passes

Weekday Matinee

All passholder entry is subject to seat availability.

Festival Info

AMP + Totally Indie Day + SPF + Immersed 2 Day Pass................................................................................ $149 1 Day Pass................................................................................... 96 $

2 Day Student Pass (ID Required) .................................. $96 1 Day Student Pass (ID Required) ................................. $70 Creator Talks and Master Classes (each)................. $25 VIFF Live events are individually priced; see each event for details.

AMP The two-day VIFF AMP summit includes panels, workshops and networking opportunities with music supervisors, agents, executives and other key industry leaders. With conference delegates attending from Los Angeles, Toronto, Chicago and other cities across North America, this promises to be an informative, inspiring and potentially transformative event.

Totally Indie Day Totally Indie Day invites independent content creators to benefit from a dynamic day designed to provide invaluable insights and advice from top experienced industry pros and rising new talent.

SPF Sustainable production is the future of filmmaking. The screen-based storytelling community can further the global conversation about sustainability and shift business-as-usual practices. As the world’s leading conference focused on advancing the greening of the motion picture industry, the Sustainable Production Forum provides a platform to explore and drive change at all levels of the creative ecosystem.

Immersed VIFF Immersed will transport attendees into the new mediums of VR, AR and MR, with key insights from some of the most respected futurists in the world through a conference and workshop from leading VR creators, companies, technologists and distributors.

What is Standby?

Accessibility

You can tell how busy a screening is expected to be by checking the availability indicator next to each film or event online at viff.org. The best idea is to plan ahead in order to avoid disappointment and arrive at the theatre early.

Members requiring Accessible tickets are not charged the $1 per ticket service charge online.

However, if advance tickets are sold out for a screening, don’t despair!

QSC has supplied VIFF venues with a hearing assistance system. A signal is fed directly from our audio system to the supplied hearing assistance device. The user of the device can either wear it like headphones, or hook it into their hearing aid device. These devices are available at VIFF concierge tables free of charge.

These screenings will show as being in Standby on viff.org but, in all likelihood, some Standby Tickets will be available at the venue just before showtime. These are usually passholder seats that haven’t been taken, or unfilled seats we can release for sale. If you want to explore this option, arrive at the theatre early and join the Standby Line. Be advised: When this line is admitted, it will be one ticket per person – you won’t be able to buy tickets for anyone who isn’t present.

Box Office + Service Charges Once the festival commences, tickets can be purchased up to 60 minutes prior to showtime online at viff.org or at any VIFF venue box office. Within 60 minutes of showtime, tickets are only available at the screening venue, subject to availability.

Hearing Assistance

Courtesy Seating Courtesy chairs are available while you wait in line if you experience difficulty or discomfort standing for extended periods of time. VIFF Volunteers or VIFF Staff will be happy to help you.

Venues VIFF Screening venues have accessible entrances and wheelchair spaces which will be subject to availability. With the exception of The Rio, all washrooms are fully accessible. At The Rio, space in the washroom is limited and there is a small step to access the facilities. See page 3 for full venue information.

Passes: There is a $4 service charge per pass. Ticket Packs: There is a $2 service charge on the 6-Ticket Pack and the Student/Senior 5-Ticket Pack. A $4 service charge applies for Tickets Packs of 8 or larger. Tickets: There is a $1 service charge per ticket ordered online, up to a maximum charge of $4 per order. This service charge does not apply to Accessible tickets. Exchange Fees: Exchanges are permitted on purchased tickets. Tickets can be exchanged free of charge by calling the Festival Infoline (604-683-3456). Should you choose to exchange tickets in person at any VIFF box office, there will be a $1 exchange fee for each ticket. All exchanges must be made at least 60 minutes prior to the screening you no longer want. Exchanges cannot be made for missed screenings or complimentary tickets.

Whether you see a few films or dozens, there is a VIFF+ Membership for you! Our wonderful customer loyalty program offers discounts and perks during the festival, as well as year-round at the Vancity Theatre. All VIFF+ Members enjoy reduced ticket prices for all regular VIFF festival films. Silver and Gold VIFF+ Members receive a 15% or greater discount on ticket packs and passes. Discover more with VIFF+. goviff.org/plus

Civic Theatres Facility Fee: A fee of $3.25 per ticket applies for some special Films+ events taking place at Civic Theatres venues (Annex, Playhouse, Orpheum). All sales are final. VIFF only offers refunds in cases of technical failure.

Buy tickets and read full film descriptions at viff.org

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The Greater Vancouver International Film Festival Society

Board of Directors

Films+ Curators

Chair

Creator Talks & Totally Indie Day

Dave Hewitt

Frances Bergin

Chair Emeritus Michael Francis

Sustainable Production Forum

AMP

Board Members

Colin Browne, Kevin Campbell, Scott Dunlop, Joan Elangovan, Mathew Handford, Blair Miller, Lucille Pacey, Farnaz Riahi, Liz Shorten, Terry Whitehead, Michelle Yung Festival Founder

Leonard Schein

Zena Harris/Green Spark Group

Rob Calder/Secret Study Immersed

Storytech ® Immersive Brian Seth Hurst, Caitlin Burns, Irena Cronin VIFF LIVE

Rob Calder, Kyle Fostner, Ken Tsui

Operations

Guest Services

Director of Operations

Guest Services Manager

Kyle Fostner

Logistics Manager

Jenny Lee Craig

Guest Travel Coordinator

Sean Wilson

Gregory Adams

Controller

Guest Hospitality Coordinator

Linda Gorrie Business Administrative Coordinator

Ruthie Tabata Bookkeeper

Irene Lee

Tallulah

Guest Support Coordinator

Leandro Matos

Hospitality Caterer

Zoe Currelly

Vancity Theatre Operations Manager

Executive Director Jacqueline Dupuis

Programming Associate Director of Programming

Curtis Woloschuk

Director of International Programming

Alan Franey

Program Manager & Senior Programmer

PoChu AuYeung

Year Round Programmer

Sponsorship Director of Corporate Partnerships

Colin Jarvis

Sponsorship Manager

Morgaine Jennings

Grant & Foundations Manager

Kristin Cheung

Sponsorship & Development Coordinator

Andrea Cheng

Individual Giving Coordinator

Ashleigh Withall

Mark Peranson

International Shorts Programmer

Sandy Gow

Future//Present Programmer

Adam Cook

Quebec Cinema Programmer

Dan Karo

MODES Programmer & International Program Coordinator

Tammy Bannister

Canadian Program & Guest Coordinator

Melanie Lemaire

Films+ Logistics Coordinator

Caroline Ballhorn

Saul Zetler

Gala Producer

AMP Coordinator

Reegan Evans

Lydia Hol

Transportation Assistants

Jeffrey Lee

Chris Kirby, Ryan Wagner

Marketing Coordinator

Exhibitions

Print Logistics

Exhibitions Manager

Print Logistics Assistants

Renee Sutton

Aaron Mchattie, Amanda Thomson

Box Office Coordinator

Print Transporters

Georgina Chaplin Ellyn Hadley

VIFF+ Manager

Ashleigh Withall

Gouri Bose

Elizabeth Zvonar

Social Media Coordinator

Heather Gunn

Exhibitions Coordinator

Tyson Storozinski

Digital Production Producer

Sepehr Samimi

Warren Chan, Georgina Chaplin, Vivian Chen, Morgaine Jennings Marketing Interns

Jannik Rösgen, Tiffany Tam

Cinema Salon Programmer

Publicity & Communications

International Programming Consultants

Kei Baritugo

Director of Public Relations

Mike Archibald, Tammy Bannister, Tom Charity, Michael Falter, Pavol Hell, Alissa Simon, Jack Vermee

Senior Publicists

International Screening Committee

Publicity Coordinator

Sonja Baksa, Susan Buie, Josh Hamm, Brie Koniczek, Melanie Lemaire, Janos Sitar, Amanda Thomson

Distribution Coordinator

Digital Communications Coordinator

Alysha Seriani

Canadian Screening Committee

Rachelle Jones

Kevin Bredeson

Youth Engagement Coordinator

Andree Faucher, Josh Hamm, Ray Lai, Lori Strong

Special Projects Coordinator

Lora Haber

IT Consultant

Lainé Slater

Canadian Documentary Consultant

International Shorts Screening Committee

Robert Wilson

Infoline Coordinator

Transportation Manager

Graphic Designers

Tania Alekson, Michelle Bjornson, Jorge Ignacio Castillo, Iuliana Constantinescu, Venay Felton, Ann Marie Fleming, Melanie Friesen, Michael Ghent, Dylan Griffiths, Paul Hancock, David House, Robert Ingram, Gretchen Ingram, Patrycja Kamska, Meagan Lum, Joel Martineau, Giancarlo Moro, Anil Patade, Graham Peat, Jonathan Stonehouse, Lili Vieira De Carvalho, Donna Welstein, Keith Yoshida

Films+ Production Manager

Shawn Brazeau, Howie Rabey

Sandy Gow

Director of Marketing

Leah Fladgate

Melanie Friesen

Facilities

Transportation

Digital Production Coordinator

Josh Cabrita

Ken Tsui

Database Administrator

Marketing

Shelly Kraicer, Maggie Lee

Canadian Programming Consultant

Films+ Producer

Kathy Evans

Joe Liang

Gateway, Dragons & Tigers Programming Consultants

Milena Salazar

Films+

Year Round Tech Coordinator

Festival Information Technology Coordinator

Tom Charity

Programming Associate

J Bradford

Helen Yagi, Andrew Poon, Owen Cameron Nargis Dhirani

Exhibitions Volunteer Coordinator

Veronika Tkacova

Exhibitions Supervisors

Daphne Andrews, Frances Fee Venue Captains

Venue Managers

Brent Coate, Paul Denis, Elizabeth Glancy, Alex Henderson, Francisca Lau, Pat Leong, Veronica Maynard, Kaen Seguin, Rodney Stewart, Wayne Stewart, Jonathan Stonehouse, Jennifer Tennant, Vincent Turnida, Madeline Wahl, Sasha Van Wie, Vanessa Yip Lindsie Arbeiter, Kelvin Chan, Christian Díaz Durán, Marco Fratarcangeli, Chris Howarth, Brian Hum, Denice Jagic, Amy Leyte, Laura Mcewan, James Narvey, Wade Nott, Neelam Prasad, Nitsa Provias, Stephen Tweedale, Lina Salah, Shelley Vidal, Graham Wong

Ticketing & Sales Coordinator

Volunteer Engagement Manager

Savannah Kemp

Brie Koniczek

Volunteer Department Assistants

Sirin Gargili, Tilmann Heinicke, Parker O’Brian, Hanna-Lena Pieper, Michael Scoular, Janice Walter

Accreditation Assistant

Brian Hum

Ticketing & Logistics Volunteer

Alicia Kubusch

Festival Publications Editor

Curtis Woloschuk Associate Editor

Jack Vermee

Associate Editor & Copywriter Cashiers

Volunteer Programme

Ticketing & Accreditation Coordinator

Jesse August, Jurgen Beerwald, Bruno Benedetto, Andy Buxton , Selina Crammond, Alexis Douglas, Kevin Eagle, Rich Eiboff, Kathy Evans, Tim Fernandes, Marshall Freund, Brian Iankovs, Ali Jones, Dave Jones, Matt Kunau, Ron Lacheur, Ingrid Lae, Clement Llobet, Ciara Odonnell, Orlano Ruiz, Peter Schweiger, Graeme Scott, Damien Scully, Garth Wiens

Peter Quin-Conroy, Zoe Peled

Ticketing Systems Jane Harrison

Technical Crew

Onboarding team

Lucia Benavides (Lead), Ya’el Campbell, Sabrina Heise, Joel Kaplan, Colleen Wong, Kathleen Wright, Kai Zmuda

Mike Archibald

Publications, Programming & Scheduling Assistant

Josh Cabrita

Publications Proofreader

Melanie Lemaire

Database Publishing

Sandy Gow

Graphic Designer

Steve Chow | chowdesign.ca Contributing Writers

Mike Archibald, Tammy Bannister, Josh Cabrita, Jorge Ignacio Castillo, Tom Charity, Adam Cook, Sandy Gow, Lawrence Garcia, Dylan Griffith, Josh Hamm, Dan Karo, Shelly Kraicer, Maggie Lee, Paloma Pacheco, Mark Peranson, Milena Salazar, Jack Vermee, Curtis Woloschuk Buy tickets and read full film descriptions at viff.org

Sponsors

Supporting Partners

ACFC WEST, LOCAL 2020 UNIFOR

Media Partners

the evolution of

Community Media Partners

Consulate and Cultural Funders

Technical Sponsors and Official Suppliers

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Buy tickets and read full film descriptions at viff.org

Awards

True North Awards Best Canadian Film

Best Canadian Documentary

$10,000 award presented by the Directors Guild of Canada.

15,000 prize presented by the Rogers Group of Funds.

Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film $2,000 + Roundtrip Flight anywhere Delta Air Lines flies. Presented by Gary Harvey and Delta Air Lines.

Emerging Canadian Director

Best Canadian Short Film

$2,000 award presented by the Directors Guild of Canada.

$15,000 colour grading and/or VFX services credit supplied by Side Street Post & VFX.

Sea to Sky Awards Sea To Sky Award

BC Emerging Filmmaker Award

BC Short Film Award

Presented by TELUS, this award will recognize the outstanding work of one female key creative on a BC-produced feature or short. The significant $20,000 prize money can be used for a future production or towards customized training that will further advance the creator’s career.

This award includes a $7,500 cash prize sponsored by the Union of BC Performers/ACTRA and Actra Fraternal Benefits Society and $10,000 equipment credit supplied by William F. White International Inc. This award is open to narrative features that are signatory to a UBCP/ACTRA agreement.

Presented by VIFF - $5000 cash prize

Best BC Film Award Presented by Creative BC and Encore by Deluxe. $10,000 from Creative BC and $15,000 post-production services credit supplied by Encore (Deluxe Ent Services Group).

Impact Awards

Audience Awards

VIFF Impact Award

Super Channel People’s Choice Award

$5,000 award presented by the Lochmaddy Foundation

Presented by Super Channel. VIFF festival-goers will determine the winner of the Super Channel People’s Choice Award. The results of this balloting will also determine the winner of several other audience awards.

VIFF Most Popular International Feature VIFF Most Popular International Documentary VIFF Most Popular Canadian Feature VIFF Most Popular Canadian Documentary

Donors

Private Foundations

Annual Donors Patrons Circle Visionary $5000

Patrons Circle Innovator $500

Sim International

Jeff Armstrong

Collin Koo & Kevin Smith

Maggie Deegan

Nurit Barkan-Ascher

Rachel & Derek Langer

Eileen Mate

Patrons Circle Luminary 1000

Paul Bennett & Catherine Olsen

John LeBlanc

Lucille Pacey

Patrick & Erin Audley

Robert Caspick

Julie Molnar

Terry Whitehead

Melina Buckley

Peter Cheng

Jayeson Nicols

Mike & Kathy Gallagher

Jack Dlugan

James Quinn

Diane & Robin Macqueen

Pat Forrester

Farnaz Riahi

Eileen Mate

Don Gardiner

Steven Savitt

Gladys Reinarz

David & Dana Hewitt

Manoj Shankar

Isaac IntilĂŠ

Shieh Harvey Family

Selwyn Jacob

Patricia & Ken Shields

Joseph Jones

Vincent Wheeler

Reet Kana

Michelle Yung

Individual Gifts $500+

Filmmaker participation is vital to the festival experience and Canadian films are crucial to our festival. All funds raised will put Canadian Filmmakers in front of VIFF audiences to share their stories in person. Raising Canadian Voices at VIFF!

Individual Gifts $1000+ Patty Burn Walter Daroshin & Tina Thorndycraft

goviff.org/donate

Buy tickets and read full film descriptions at viff.org

Hospitality Partners

Thank You to VIFF’s Hospitality Partners Special thanks to these partners for generously supporting VIFF’s BC Spotlight Party, Media Office, Guest Office and Hospitality Suite. VIFF Official Host Hotel

VIFF Official Host Restaurant

Thank You VIFF Volunteers 1000+ dedicated supporters of the arts commit their time and enthusiasm to make VIFF possible. Our amazing team stands out in a crowd and not just because of their bright orange shirts. Let’s hear it for VIFF Volunteers!

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Letters of Welcome

A Message from the Prime Minister of Canada

A Message from the Premier of British Columbia

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the 37th Annual Vancouver International Film Festival.

As Premier of the Province of British Columbia, it is my pleasure to welcome everyone to the 37th edition of the world-renowned Vancouver International Film Festival.

For the last 37 years, artists from across our country and around the world gather in Vancouver to experience this incredible event. This festival provides an opportunity for new and established filmmakers to showcase their dynamic and vibrant artistry. As you share these moments with colleagues and new friends, it is my hope that you come away from this event with a smile on your face.

Arts and culture play an integral role in reflecting back to us the conditions and circumstances of our societies, and film is a powerful medium to provide this mirror. VIFF has created a worldclass platform for us to immerse ourselves in film culture and explore the expansive range of Canadian and international films.

Thank you to the organizers of this amazing event and to all of you who are in attendance to this remarkable festival. Please accept my warmest welcome and best wishes for a memorable Vancouver International Film Festival.

I would like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the Greater Vancouver International Film Society for bringing decades of stellar programming and project opportunities to film fans and filmmakers from near and far. VIFF plays a vital role in fostering, facilitating, and bringing together all aspects of film culture and its contribution to the entertainment, business, and tourism sectors is to be applauded. Please accept my best wishes for another successful festival season!

The Rt. Hon. Justin P. J. Trudeau, P.C., M.P.

The Honourable John Horgan

Letters of Welcome

A Message from the Mayor of Vancouver On behalf of the City of Vancouver and my colleagues on City Council, I want to extend my warmest greetings to everyone attending the 37th Annual Vancouver International Film Festival. The Vancouver International Film Festival is one of the largest showcases of Canadian films in the world, but the event also has a decided international flavour, screening films from over 70 countries. This is a credit to the founders, organizers and thousands of volunteers who have worked so hard over the years to make the Film Festival such a success. Film exposes us to new realities, emotion, social and cultural experiences, like nothing else is able to do. We are drawn to the images on the screen for entertainment and insight. I want to congratulate all those who bring this wonderful event to life on the screen. I want to thank the filmmakers and artists taking part in this year’s festival for sharing your craft with us and to the audiences attending the festival, I trust you will be both entertained and enlightened.

A Message from the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism Welcome to the 37th annual Vancouver International Film Festival! The diverse lineup of films at this year’s VIFF is a great reminder of the power of arts and culture. Our government believes that the arts are an ideal way to build strong bonds among Canadians and bring our communities together. This is why we are pleased to support the Vancouver International Film Festival, which offers some of the best contemporary films from this country and beyond. This major celebration of cinema continues to make an outstanding contribution to Vancouver’s cultural and economic vitality as it provides audiences with oneof-a-kind artistic experiences. As Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism, I thank everyone who helped make VIFF 2018 such a success. I would also like to congratulate all of this year’s award nominees and recipients. Enjoy the films!

Yours truly,

Pablo Rodriguez

Gregor Robertson

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Letters of Welcome

A Message from the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture

A Message from the Executive Director, Telefilm Canada

A Message from the Chief Executive Officer of Creative BC

As Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, it is a pleasure to welcome everyone to this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF), one of the largest film festivals in Western Canada.

Festivals play a vital role in ensuring that Canadian films from all regions of our country are discovered and enjoyed, and that Canadian talent is in the spotlight. The Vancouver International Film Festival provides a unique opportunity to do just that!

Creative BC is excited to welcome you to the 37th annual Vancouver Film Festival!

With outstanding talent, great locations and stunning scenery, British Columbia has emerged as a formidable presence in the global creative economy. Vancouver’s creative industries have rightly garnered significant attention both here in Canada and abroad.

Canadian films are brought to the screen by vibrant teams that care deeply about creating the best possible product and reaching audiences at home and abroad.

In addition to featuring some of the best in world cinema, this event is a valuable opportunity for British Columbians working in Vancouver’s creative sector to hear and learn from industry leaders. The profile and attention generated by the Vancouver International Film Festival means our home-grown film industry benefits and that, in turn, helps our communities and the creative economy in our province. Congratulations to VIFF on their 37th year! I would like to thank the Greater Vancouver International Film Festival Society for once again organizing another outstanding festival. I would also like to acknowledge volunteers, artists, community partners and audience members whose support is an integral part of this festival’s success.

At Telefilm Canada, we are committed to seeing even bigger; and are supported in this endeavour by a growing number of public and private partners, both Canadian and foreign. We are also counting on your commitment so that our talent and their stories may take their rightful place. Our focus is on diversity, a great Canadian asset. We encourage the next generation to dare to make their first feature films. Indigenous filmmakers now enjoy more support, and we have seen our industry come together to support the shared goal of gender parity. We know that these voices will revitalize Canada’s rich cultural heritage and ensure its bright future. I would like to thank and congratulate all those who work to bring our diversity to the screen.

We are thrilled once again to partner and support VIFF – one of the world’s most prominent film festivals and a leading contributor to our province’s rich and distinctive film culture. Creative BC is the provincial organization devoted to uniting and championing the economic success of BC’s creative industries. As the provincial film commission, it is with great pride that we support and collaborate with the dynamic, diverse and internationally recognized creative community that delivers this festival each year. One of North America’s largest film festivals, VIFF is an eagerly anticipated highlight of this city’s fall season. From audiences and storytellers to industry and community, VIFF connects and supports BC on many levels – socially, economically, culturally and more. Heartfelt congratulations to the fantastic team at VIFF – especially to the participating filmmakers, organizers and volunteers. Thank you for your dedication, creativity and vision. Because of your hard work, we’re able to gather and experience the best in local and international filmmaking for 2018. Together again, let’s enjoy the show!

Sincerely, Christa Dickenson

Prem Gill Lisa Beare

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Opening Gala

True North / Canada

The Hummingbird Project KIM NGUYEN, CANADA, 2018, 111 MIN.

THU, SEP 27 SUN, SEP 30

7:00 PM 1:00 PM

CENT PLAY

Having previously transported us to the heart of a war zone with the Oscar-nominated Rebelle, Kim Nguyen now immerses us in even more hostile territory: the world of highfrequency stock trading. Jesse Eisenberg and Alexander Skarsgård play Vincent and Anton Zalesky, respectively, working-class cousins who are intent on creating a 1,000-mile-long fibre-optic cable that’ll allow them to shave a millisecond (or “one flap of a hummingbird’s wing”) off of New York Stock Exchange transactions. This seemingly slight competitive advantage could easily result in millions in additional profits. While Anton is undoubtedly the brains of the operation, Vincent is the mouth, making rash promises and enemies with equal frequency. The gob-smacking scale of their project ensures that it’s beset by myriad challenges. But the geographic obstacles impeding their progress can’t hold a candle to the wrath of their outraged former boss (Salma Hayek, having a field day as a villainess) who’s made their personal and professional ruin her top priority.

Cast Jesse Eisenberg, Alexander Skarsgård, Salma Hayek Exec Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Fred Berger, Marie-Gabrielle Stewart, Heidi Levitt, Kim Nguyen Prod Pierre Even Cam Nicolas Bolduc Ed Arthur Tarnowski, Nicolas Chaudeurge Prod Des Emmanuel Fréchette Mus Yves Gourmeur Prod Co Item 7, Belga Productions Dist/Print Elevation Pictures Selected Filmography Rebelle; Two Lovers and a Bear; Eye on Juliet

While Nguyen’s sharply written drama has much to say about technology’s penchant for making us more distant and isolated, it’s also a wildly entertaining affair that comes by its comparisons to The Social Network honestly and frequently flirts with becoming an outright caper flick in the vein of an Ocean’s film. Ultimately a cautionary tale about ambition running afoul of reality, The Hummingbird Project wings its way to a poignant, poetic close.

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PR O U D S P O N S O R O F

VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

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Closing Gala

Panorama / USA

The Front Runner JASON REITMAN, USA, 2018, 113 MIN.

FRI, OCT 12

6:30 PM

CENT

In 1988, Senator Gary Hart was the odds-on favourite for the Democratic presidential nomination. In the space of three fateful weeks, his political career imploded thanks to monkey business and muckraking. As the film opens, Hart’s (Hugh Jackman) campaign has amassed considerable momentum thanks to him possessing “the hair” (the cameras practically swoon) and a progressive platform. The only thing holding him back would seem to be his reluctance to play the P.R. game or delve into his personal life. Murmurs of strained relations with his wife, Lee (Vera Famiga), serve as kindling for subsequent raging rumours about an extramarital affair (with Sarah Paxton) that began on a pleasure craft all too fittingly christened Monkey Business.

Cast Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga, J.K. Simmons, Alfred Molina, Mamoudou Athie, Sarah Paxton, Kevin Pollak Exec Michael Beugg, Matt Bai, Jay Carson, Jason Blumenfeld, George Wolfe, Steven Thibault, Brenda Gilbert, David Gendron, Ali Jazayeri, Jason Cloth, Chris Conover, Edward Carpezzi Prod Jason Reitman, Helen Estabrook, Aaron L. Gilbert Scr Matt Bai, Jay Carson, Jason Reitman Cam Eric Steelberg Ed Stefan Grube Prod Co Bron Studios, Right of Way Dist/Print Sony Selected Filmography Thank You for Smoking; Juno; Up in the Air

Working from Matt Bai’s All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid, director Jason Reitman (Up in the Air) maintains a wonderful directorial control as Hart and his handlers (led by the delightfully surly J.K. Simmons) desperately try to fend off the various breeds of journalistic wolves outside their door, including the opportunistic (Kevin Pollak) and the conflicted (Mamoudou Athie). In detailing the calculated damage control that unfolds during such crises, The Front Runner also serves notice that privacy died long before the rise of the internet.

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Testing the limits

of human endurance In This Mountain Life, a mother-daughter team attempt a six month winter traverse of the Coast Mountains Range

Rare documentary archive and contemporary underwater photography reveal the life and legacy of legendary free-diver Jacques Mayol in Dolphin Man

Special Presentations

True North / Canada

Panorama / USA

ANTHROPOCENE: The Human Epoch

Boy Erased JOEL EDGERTON, USA, 2018, 118 MIN.

SAT, OCT 6

JENNIFER BAICHWAL, NICHOLAS DE PENCIER, EDWARD BURTYNSKY, CANADA, 2018, 87 MIN.

FRI, SEP 28 SUN, SEP 30

1:45 PM 6:30 PM

SFU CENT

This characteristically masterful collaboration between documentarians Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier and legendary photographer Edward Burtynsky isn’t so much eyeopening as mind-blowing as it essays our unprecedented impact on the Earth to stunning effect. A companion piece to Manufactured Landscapes (VIFF 06) and Watermark (VIFF 13), this enthralling piece of experiential cinema transports us around the globe to pay witness to the irreparable changes that humanity has wrought on our planet. While it’s one thing to be apprised of the alarming fact that humans move more sediment than all of the world’s rivers combined, it’s another proposition entirely to lay eyes on what that actually entails through the graces of Burtynsky’s trademark aerial tableaux. The staggering images captured here are at once surreal and sobering: landfill sites staffed by thousands... mountains of elephant tusks aflame... concrete seawalls lining China’s coastline... monolithic machines hell-bent on terraforming their surroundings... potash mines that evoke a bad drug trip… Filmmaking of the highest order that unfolds on a dizzying, almost inconceivable scale, ANTHROPOCENE will forever change the way you see the world.

9:15 PM

PLAY

“Fake it ’til you make it,” is the philosophy (taken from AA) espoused at the gay conversion therapy centre where 19-year-old Jared (Lucas Hedges) is sent by his Baptist minister father (Russell Crowe) and god-fearing mom (Nicole Kidman). “You cannot be born a homosexual. It’s a choice,” they tell him. But the only choice Jared can see is whether he should live a lie or lose the love of his family and friends. Based on the memoir by Garrard Conley, this powerful, sensitive film is written and directed by Joel Edgerton (The Gift), who also appears as the head of the conversion program. Declining to caricature religious conservatives, Boy Erased makes it clear just how hard it is for everybody concerned when something as fundamental as religious beliefs come up against a person’s sexual identity. Lucas Hedges (who can also be seen in Ben Is Back at this year’s VIFF) is the movie’s emotional lynchpin, and he’s ably supported by the rest of the outstanding cast, which also includes Canada’s Xavier Dolan and South African born actor and singer Troye Sivan. Cast Lucas Hedges, Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Joel Edgerton, Cherry Jones, Troye Sivan Prod Kerry Kohansky-Roberts, Steve Golin, Joel Edgerton Scr Joel Edgerton Cam Eduard Grau Ed Jay Rabinowitz Prod Des Chad Keith Mus Danny Bensi, Saunder Jurriaans Dist/Print Universal Films Canada/NBC Universal Canada Filmography The Gift

Exec Nicholas de Pencier, Edward Burtynsky, Daniel Iron, Nicholas Metivier Prod Nicholas de Pencier Scr Jennifer Baichwal Cam Nicholas de Pencier Mus Norah Lorway, Rose Bolton Dist/Print Mongrel Media Inc. Selected Filmography (Jennifer Baichwal) Manufactured Landscapes; Watermark; Long Time Running; (Nicholas de Pencier) Four Wings and a Prayer; Black Code; Long Time Running; (Edward Burtynsky) Watermark

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BOSA CENTRE FOR FILM & ANIMATION Bosa Centre for Film & Animation is a leading-edge facility and home to the School of Motion Picture Arts at Capilano University. FILMMAKING • Bachelor of Motion Picture Arts • Documentary Certificate • Indigenous Independent Digital Filmmaking Diploma ANIMATION • 2D Animation and Visual Development Diploma • 3D Animation for Film and Games Diploma • Animation Fundamentals Citation VISUAL EFFECTS • Digital Visual Effects Diploma COSTUMING • Costuming for Stage and Screen Diploma SUMMER PROGRAMS • Lighting for Digital Imaging and Film • Grip Work for Digital Imaging and Film

CAPILANOU.CA/FILM BOSA CENTRE FOR FILM AND ANIMATION Capilano University 2055 Purcell Way North Vancouver, BC

Special Presentations

Panorama / USA

Panorama / Poland

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Cold War Zimna Wojna

MARIELLE HELLER, USA, 2018, 107 MIN.

SAT, OCT 6

8:45 PM

CENT

Star comedienne Melissa McCarthy proves her dramatic range in this smart true-life literary caper from director Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl). Before turning to the criminal life by running a one-woman forgery scam out of an Upper West Side studio, shared with her tortoiseshell cat, and dodging the FBI, Lee Israel enjoyed a celebrated reputation as an author. When her writing career suddenly took a turn for the worse, she conceived of the astonishing literary scheme that fooled even many of the experts. Forging hundreds of letters from such collectible luminaries as Dorothy Parker, Noël Coward and Lillian Hellman—and recreating their autographs with a flourish—Israel sold her “memorabilia” to dealers across the country, producing a collection of pitch-perfect imitations virtually indistinguishable from the voices of their real-life counterparts. Still, buyers became suspicious at the sudden glut in the market, exacerbated when Lee’s friend Jack (Richard E. Grant) comes up with his own crude variation on the scam, stealing actual letters from library archives and reselling them… With a screenplay by Nicole Holofcener (Enough Said) adapted from Israel’s memoir of the same name, Can You Ever Forgive Me? bears all the hallmarks of the real deal: a sharp comic drama for grown-ups. Cast Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant, Jane Curtin, Jennifer Westfeldt, Dolly Wells Exec Jawal Nga, Pamela Hirsch, Bob Balaban Prod Anne Carey, Amy Nauiokas, David Yarnell Scr Nicole Holofcener, Jeff Whitty Cam Brandon Trost Ed Anne McCabe Prod Des Archer Gray Mus Nate Heller Dist/Print Fox Searchlight Pictures

PAWEL PAWLIKOWSKI, POLAND/UK/FRANCE, 2018, 88 MIN.

TUE, OCT 2 TUE, OCT 9

6:30 PM 8:45 PM

CENT CENT

The title of Pawel Pawlikowski’s film, his first since 2013’s Oscar-winning Ida, is a double reference: to the great postwar conflict and to a relationship of similar toxicity on a smaller scale. Poland, 1949: while scouting players for his folk troupe, Wiktor (Tomasz Kot) comes across the rambunctious Irena (Agata Kulesza) and is immediately taken with her misanthropic charm. What follows is a narrative that takes in two decades of cultural and political history with these capricious protagonists in the foreground, transitioning from folk to jazz, assuming new identities and more while they fall in and out of love. Cold War was among the most acclaimed films at this year’s Cannes, where it won the Best Director award, and it’s easy to see why. Pawlikowski has made a masterful anti-romance, shot in magnificent monochrome that recalls Ida and powerfully, even zealously, portraying the dread of a generation that lived through WWII but was never quite able to move past it. This is a remarkable achievement—the most intoxicating, lively and sophisticated feel-bad movie we’re likely to see for some time. “The lovingly handpicked soundtrack, ranging from darkly mesmerizing folk curiosities to torchy blues standards to a climactic, ethereal wave of Glenn Gould-interpreted Bach, is perhaps the most invaluable below-the-line contribution to a film crafted with almost eerie exactitude…” —Guy Lodge, Variety Best Director, Cannes 18

Filmography The Diary of a Teenage Girl Cast Joanna Kulig, Tomasz Kot, Borys Szyc, Agata Kulesza, Cédric Kahn, Jeanne Balibar Exec Nathanaël Karmitz, Lizzie Francke, Rohit Khattar, John Woodward, Jeremy Gawade, Daniel Battsek Prod Tanya Seghatchian, Ewa Puszczynska Scr Pawel Pawlikowski, Janusz Glowacki Cam Lukasz Zal Ed Jaroslaw Kaminski Prod Co Opus Film, Apocalypso Pictures, MK Prods. Dist/Print Mongrel Media Inc. Selected Filmography Last Resort; My Summer of Love; Ida

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Special Presentations

Panorama / UK

Panorama / Spain

Colette

Everybody Knows Todos lo saben

WASH WESTMORELAND, UK, 2018, 112 MIN.

SAT, SEP 29 WED, OCT 3

3:00 PM 6:00 PM

CENT CENT

B:10.5” T:10.25” S:9.5”

Keira Knightley gives the performance of her professional career in Wash Westmoreland’s sparkling look at the early life of Sidonie-Gabrielle Collette, the French writer and feminist icon who turned fin de siècle Paris upside down with her lifestyle and work. Co-starring a perfectly cast Dominic West as Colette’s libertine first husband, the charming rogue and writer known only as “Willy” who took credit for Colette’s first four novels while sharing a lover with her, Westmoreland’s biopic traces the writer-actor’s life from her provincial upbringing to her halcyon days scandalizing the salons and vaudeville theatres of Paris. The core of the film, however, is her fraught relationship with Willy and how the constraints and slights she faced ended up engendering a writing career that made her one of France’s most beloved artists. This is a heady, champagne cocktail of a film made all the more delightful by Knightley’s bravura turn. “No, not another biopic about a writer! Ugh, Keira Knightley’s in a corset again! Get all of that out of your system now because I’m here to tell you that Wash Westmoreland’s Colette is exhilarating, funny, inspiring and (remember: corsets!) gorgeous, too… Colette’s life is deserving of nuance and care, and that’s what she gets in this film. She also gets Keira Knightley in top form: luminous, clever, sexy and sympathetic.”—Jordan Hoffman, Guardian Cast Keira Knightley, Dominic West, Denise Gough, Fiona Shaw, Eleanor Tomlinson Prod Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon, Michel Litvak, Gary Michael Walters. Executive producers: Svetlana Metkina, Norman Merry, Mary Burke Scr Richard Glatzer, Rebecca Lenkiewicz Cam Giles Nuttgens Ed Lucia Zucchetti Mus Thomas Adès Prod Co Bold Films, BFI Film Fund, HanWay Films, Killer Films, Number 9 Films Dist/Print Elevation Pictures Filmography Quinceañera; The Last of Robin Hood; Still Alice

ASGHAR FARHADI, SPAIN/FRANCE/ITALY, 2018, 130 MIN.

FRI, SEP 28

9:00 PM

CENT

In the 15 years since his first feature, Iranian director Asghar Farhadi (A Separation, The Salesman) has consistently proven himself one of cinema’s most incisive and observant dramatists. The sun-dappled Everybody Knows, which takes place in Spain and is Farhadi’s second film to be made outside of Iran (the first was 2013’s Paris-set The Past), has all of the qualities and hallmarks we have come to expect from this world-class filmmaker. Making the most of a powerhouse cast that includes Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, and Ricardo Darín, Farhadi weaves a convoluted web of mistrust and deceit. When Laura (Cruz) returns to her native Spain for her sister’s wedding, leaving her husband Alejandro (Darín) back in Argentina to search for work (the first of many lies to come), she is reunited with a longtime family friend (Bardem)--a bristly man with whom she was once romantically involved. As if this tense situation wasn’t fraught enough, Farhadi adds wood to the fire: Laura’s daughter suddenly vanishes from the wedding reception and is nowhere to be found... “The outer threat, the inner wound and the mystery in between. These are the determinant factors in Asghar Farhadi’s intimately painful and powerfully acted kidnap drama… Such flair, such muscular confidence… Farhadi’s storytelling has overpowering force.” —Peter Bradshaw, Guardian Cast Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Ricardo Darín, Eduard Fernández, Bárbara Lennie, Inma Cuesta Prod Alexandre Mallet-Guy, Álvaro Longoria Scr Asghar Farhadi Cam José Luis Alcaine Ed Hayedeh Safiyari Prod Des Clara Notari Mus Javier Limón Dist/Print Universal Films Canada/ NBC Universal Canada Selected Filmography About Elly; A Separation; The Salesman

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VIFF 2018

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Special Presentations

Panorama / Ireland

True North / Canada

The Favourite

The Grizzlies

YORGOS LANTHIMOS, IRELAND/UK/USA, 2018, 121 MIN.

TUE, OCT 2

9:00 PM

MIRANDA DE PENCIER, CANADA/USA, 2018, 104 MIN.

CENT

Canadian Premiere. Greek iconoclast Yorgos Lanthimos (Alps, VIFF 11; The Lobster, VIFF 15; The Killing of a Sacred Deer, VIFF 17) continues his dissection of the human condition with this blackly humorous period piece set in the sumptuous court of Queen Anne (as played, hilariously, by a rouge-cheeked Olivia Colman) in 18th-century England. As the semimad queen frivolously spends her days conducting duck races even while her country is in the midst of war with France, her most trusted advisor, Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough (a wickedly good Rachel Weisz), and the Duchess’ new servant (Emma Stone) themselves go to war over just who will secure the role of queen’s favourite and, by proxy, exert control over the whole of England… Lanthimos, characteristically, turns the tropes of the powdered-wig period drama upside down, playing what would be taken deadly seriously by other directors for laughs, and delivering comic set-pieces with a solemnly straight face. Drawing comparisons to both Barry Lyndon, for Robbie Ryan’s (American Honey; I, Daniel Blake) gorgeous cinematography, and Marie Antoinette, for the way it reinvents the period piece for a modern audience, The Favourite continues Lanthimos’ ongoing quest to uphold the Modernist creed and “make it new!” “[The] trio of truly brilliant performances is the dynamo that powers Lanthimos’s top-tobottom reimagining of the costume epic, in which the visual pageantry of court life in 18thcentury England becomes not just a lushly appointed backdrop but an ironically heightened counterpoint to the primal conflict unreeling behind closed doors.”—New York Film Festival Cast Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, Nicholas Hoult, Olivia Colman Exec Daniel Battsek, Deborah Davis, Rose Garnett, Ken Kao, Andrew Lowe Prod Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Yorgos Lanthimos, Lee Magiday Scr Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara Cam Robbie Ryan Ed Yorgos Mavropsaridis Art Dir Fiona Crombie Dist/Print Fox Searchlight Pictures

MON, OCT 1 MON, OCT 8

6:30 PM 1:00 PM

PLAY PLAY

Boasting arctic conditions and North America’s highest suicide rates, remote Kugluktuk, Nunavet, isn’t the sort of place that’s conducive to dreaming big. When first-year teacher Russ Sheppard (Ben Schnetzer) is airlifted in, he’s intent on paying down his student loan and inspiring the Inuit youth in the process. It takes only days for him to witness the extent of the serious issues facing the community but significantly longer to recognize his own ignorance. Even after introducing his students to lacrosse—a personal passion—in a bid to boost morale, Russ must slowly accept that the restoration of pride can only come from within the community rather than courtesy of an outsider. As the decidedly rag-tag team trains for a tournament in far-flung Toronto, it’s evident that producers Stacey Aglok MacDonald (a former Kugluktuk resident) and Alethea ArnaquqBaril (Angry Inuk) have scored a rousing victory by teaming up with director Miranda de Pencier to bring this 1998-set true story to the big screen. And while the cross-cultural approach to the film’s production is undeniably laudable, it wouldn’t carry much weight if the end result wasn’t so involving and uplifting. With a cast composed of both established Indigenous performers and remarkable new discoveries (including Paul Nutarariaq and Emerald MacDonald, both based in Nunavut), The Grizzlies is a stirring tale of collective rebirth. Cast Emerald MacDonald, Ben Schnetzer, Paul Nutarariaq, Ricky Marty-Pahtaykan, Booboo Stewart, Tantoo Cardinal Exec Jake Steinfeld, Frank Marshall Prod Stacey Aglok MacDonald, Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, Miranda de Pencier, Damon D’Oliveira, Zanne Devine Scr Graham Yost, Moira Walley-Beckett Cam Jim Denault Ed Ronald Sanders, James Vandewater Prod Des Zazu Myers Dist/Print Mongrel Media Inc.

Selected Filmography Dogtooth; The Lobster; The Killing of a Sacred Deer

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Special Presentations

Panorama / UK

Panorama / France

The Happy Prince

Non-Fiction Doubles vies

RUPERT EVERETT, UK/BELGIUM/ITALY/GERMANY, 2018, 104 MIN.

TUE, OCT 2 FRI, OCT 5

3:15 PM 6:45 PM

PLAY PLAY

Actor Rupert Everett writes, directs and stars in this honest and powerfully empathetic chronicle of the last years of legendary Irish writer Oscar Wilde. After spending two years in prison for his homosexuality—”gross indecency” was the official conviction—Wilde exiled himself to Paris, where he continued his self-destructive lifestyle while living in penury. Buoyed only by occasional contact with old friends Reggie Turner (Colin Firth) and Robbie Ross (Edwin Thomas), and with his wife (Emily Watson) and two sons far away, he’s a desperately lonely man who assuages his pain with alcohol, drugs and a succession of young men… Everett was born to play Wilde, and his open, deeply felt film both honours his idol and conveys the essence of a man who, deprived of the things that make life worth living, maintained his ironic sense of humour until the end. “Everett has made the film of his career. The Happy Prince is a heartbreaking gem… There’s so much to admire here. Everett has wrung every last penny out of a modest budget to evoke an enjoyably convincing sense of period and place… While this may be a film about how Wilde’s life—and genius—were cruelly curtailed by the stigma of his homosexuality, it’s also about lives lived, enduring friendships and the relentless passing of time.”—Matthew Bond, Daily Mail Cast Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Colin Morgan, Emily Watson, Edwin Thomas Prod Sébastien Delloye, Philipp Kreuzer, Jörg Schulze Scr Rupert Everett Cam John Conroy Ed Nicolas Gaster Prod Des Brian Morris Mus Gabriel Yared Dist/Print Mongrel Media Inc.

OLIVIER ASSAYAS, FRANCE, 2018, 106 MIN.

SAT, OCT 6 THU, OCT 11

3:00 PM 6:15 PM

CENT CENT

After working with her on Summer Hours and Clouds of Sils Maria (VIFF 08 and VIFF 13, respectively), Vancouver fave Olivier Assayas—12 of his films have played the festival, ranging from A New Life, VIFF 93, to Personal Shopper, VIFF 16—teams up once again with the great Juliette Binoche, this time for a gimlet-eyed and very funny relationship comedy cum social critique, set in the publishing world, in which our obsession with social media and all things digital is the source of much of the humour and human folly on display... Binoche plays a successful actress married to a stressed-out publisher (Guillaume Canet), and she has grown mildly bored on both fronts. Hubby, on the other hand, confronted by the so-called “death of print,” is jumping wholeheartedly into the new disruptive age—which includes hiring a young woman to handle his publishing house’s transition to digital. Throw into the mix an obnoxious novelist (Vincent Macaigne), whose marriage to a political operative (Nora Hamzawi) is also under duress, demanding that his latest manuscript be rushed into print, and all the trappings are in place for a wicked comedy of manners as witty as it is pungent and pertinent. Assayas has always made intelligent films for thinking adults, and Non-Fiction is of a piece with the rest of his oeuvre. It says a lot about the way we live now and does so with verbal style and visual panache to spare. Cast Juliette Binoche, Guillaume Canet, Vincent Macaigne, Nora Hamzani, Christa Théret, Pascal Greggory Exec Ky Ly Nha Prod Charles Gillibert Cam Yorick Le Saux Ed Simon Jacquet Prod Des François-Renaud Labarthe Prod Co CG Cinema, Vortex Sutra, Arte France Cinéma Dist/Print Axia Films Inc. Selected Filmography Irma Vep; Clouds of Sils Maria; Personal Shopper

Buy tickets and read full film descriptions at viff.org

Special Presentations

Panorama / USA

The Old Man & The Gun

A Private War

DAVID LOWERY, USA, 2018, 93 MIN.

SAT, SEP 29

MATTHEW HEINEMAN, USA/UK, 2018, 106 MIN.

6:00 PM

CENT

Robert Redford has announced that this will be his final film as an actor, and, as such, David Lowery’s (Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, VIFF 13; the terrific A Ghost Story) charming comedic caper, based on David Grann’s New Yorker profile of spiffy bank robber Forrest Tucker, serves as a fitting capper to a legendary career. Tucker, who died in prison in 2004, is a legend, too: he was an amiable and quiet-spoken septuagenarian whose last heist happened when he was 78 years old, completing a career that made him one of the most infamous bank robbers of the last century. That he was also one the world’s greatest prison escapologists—he told Grann that he had escaped successfully 18 times and failed in 12 other attempts—adds another layer to this irresistible figure, and Redford draws on all his charm to tell the story of a lifelong criminal who even the police came to regard as a gracious gentleman of style. Oscar-winner Sissy Spacek is also winning as the last love-interest in Tucker’s life, while Casey Affleck, a begrudging smile of admiration eventually crossing his face at Tucker’s sheer audacity, essays the police officer who has sworn to put Tucker behind bars. The rest of the stellar cast includes Elisabeth Moss, Danny Glover, Tom Waits, Tika Sumpter and Keith Carradine, all doing fine work here. But, of course, the screen belongs to Mr. Redford... Cast Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek, Casey Affleck, Danny Glover, Tom Waits, Tika Sumpter Exec Patrick Newall, Lucas Smith, Julie Goldstein, Tim Headington, Karl Spoerri, Marc Schmidheiny Prod James D. Stern, Dawn Ostroff, Jeremy Steckler, Anthony Mastromauro, Bill Holderman, Toby Halbrooks, James M. Johnston, Robert Redford Scr David Lowery Cam Joe Anderson Ed Lisa Zeno Churgin Prod Des Scott Kuzio Mus Daniel Hart Prod Co Endgame Entertainment, Condé Nast Entertainment, Sailor Bear Film, Identity Films, Tango Productions, Wildwood Enterprises Dist/Print Fox Searchlight Pictures Selected Filmography Ain’t Them Bodies Saints; Pete’s Dragon; A Ghost Story

WED, OCT 10

8:45 PM

CENT

Canadian Premiere. While the majority of Fifth Estate members feel embattled at the moment, few have ever had an actual grenade go off in their face and then simply walked it off. Such is the unflagging determination of Marie Colvin, the celebrated war correspondent played here with a winning combination of prickliness and principles by Oscar nominee Rosamund Pike. While her Queens accent leaves Marie standing out like a sore working-class thumb in the London offices of The Sunday Times, she truly distinguishes herself with her penchant for fearlessly rushing to the frontlines of war zones. After an encounter with an explosive in Sri Lanka leaves her wearing an eyepatch, she seems to use the new accessory as an excuse to amplify her maverick tendencies. Continuing to seek out conflicts, she finds her true calling in giving a voice to the innocents caught in the crossfire. Pike is a force of nature here, proving equally convincing going toe-to-toe with tyrants in strife-plagued nations—where her celebrated photographer Paul Conroy (Jamie Dornan) rides shotgun—or tipping back a martini amidst London’s elite. Oscar-nominated director Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land) brings a gritty in-the-trenches documentary style to his narrative debut, harnessing the considerable powers of legendary cinematographer Robert Richardson (Inglourious Basterds) to illustrate the chaos Colvin routinely imbedded herself in. It’s then left to Pike to skillfully convey how someone could face such devastation and yet retain their faith in humanity. Cast Rosamund Pike, Jamie Dornan, Stanley Tucci Exec Jonathan Fuhrman, Wayne Marc Godfrey, Robert Jones, Peter Lawson, Erica Lee Prod Matthew George, Matthew Heineman, Basil Iwanyk, Marissa McMahon, Charlize Theron Scr Arash Amel Cam Robert Richardson

Buy tickets and read full film descriptions at viff.org

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Special Presentations

Gateway / China

Impact / Canada

Shadow

Sharkwater Extinction

Ying

ROB STEWART, CANADA, 2018, 88 MIN.

ZHANG YIMOU, CHINA, 2018, 116 MIN.

SAT, OCT 6 MON, OCT 8

5:45 PM 3:00 PM

CENT CENT

Zhang Yimou is back. The man who gave us Hero and House of Flying Daggers now delivers Shadow, another kinetic feast for the eyes. Period spectacle, palace intrigue and fantastic martial arts share the screen in this tale of a kingdom, its military leader and his mysterious double. Deng Chao plays the general as well as his “shadow”--a well-trained look-alike who can fool even the king (Zheng Kai). Also on our hero’s side is his graceful wife, played by the beautiful Sun Li. Add an enemy kingdom to the mix, and the stage is set for explosive confrontation--and a master class in big-budget filmmaking. From his beginnings as a cinematographer to his overseeing of the Olympic ceremonies in Beijing, Zhang has come a long way; his knack for visual splendour has served him well. Here he brings something new to his body of work: bright colours have been replaced by moody grays and menacing darkness. But the energy is still there: once again, the director has made a bravura crowd-pleaser. Cast Deng Chao, Sun Li, Zheng Kai, Wang Qianyuan, Wang Jingchun Scr Li Wei, Zhang Yimou Cam Zhao Xiaoding Ed Zhou Xiaolin Prod Des Ma Kwong Wing Mus Lao Zai (Loudboy) Prod Co Perfect Village Entertainment HK, Le Vision Pictures, Shanghai Tencent Pictures Culture Media Dist/Print Perfect Village Entertainment HK Limited Selected Filmography Hero; House of Flying Daggers; Coming Home

FRI, SEP 28 SUN, SEP 30

6:30 PM 2:00 PM

CENT IN10

With 2006’s monumental Sharkwater, documentarian and conservationist Rob Stewart not only illustrated the importance of endangered sharks to underwater ecosystems but also motivated a generation of viewers to believe that it was within their power to effect change. It’s a testament to Stewart’s commitment and character that he recognized that no single documentary could ever completely turn a destructive tide. As this follow-up opens, he’s racing across the globe to document the rampant corruption that’s ensuring that sharks remain imperiled. In these moments, Stewart’s infectious passion for his cause is rivalled only by the sense of urgency to his clandestine operations. And understandably so: over the last 40 years the global shark population has dropped by an almost inconceivable 90%. What Stewart demonstrates in every immaculately shot scene is a keen understanding that activism is always a rush against the clock. If your objective is saving the world, there’s never a moment to waste. Tragically, Sharkwater Extinction marks Stewart’s final film, as he perished in a diving accident during its production. (His devoted team ensured its completion.) Employing stunning underwater 6K cinematography to tremendous effect, it ensures that Stewart leaves a legacy of inspiration in his wake. So much more than a call-to-arms, this film encourages all of us to look at the world with a newfound sense of wonder that encourages us to ignore stigmas and overcome our fears. Featuring Rob Stewart, Regi Domingo, Brock Cahill, Madison Stewart, Will Allen Exec Patrice Théroux, Alexandra Stewart, Shannon O’Leary Joy, Shari Sant Plummer Prod Rob Stewart, Sandra Campbell, Brian Stewart Cam Rob Stewart Ed Nick Hector Mus Jonathan Goldsmith Dist/Print D Films Filmography Sharkwater; Revolution

Buy tickets and read full film descriptions at viff.org

EAR L TIC Y BIRD KET O OCT N SAL S E OB ER 1ST

SFU Woodward’s Holiday tradition

Directed by RENAE MORRISEAU Starring JIM BYRNES

BAH HUMBUG! An Eastside Christmas Carol featuring over 30 live music numbers

DECEMBER 6 – 17 | EVENINGS & MATINEES SFU’S GOLDCORP CENTRE FOR THE ARTS 149 W. HASTINGS STREET, VANCOUVER TICKETS & INFO AT

WWW.SFUWOODWARDS.CA

Image Richard Tetrault, Alley Variation #3, woodcut and metal print 2012, with photo of Jim Byrnes by David Cooper.

Special Presentations

Gateway / Japan

Panorama / France

Shoplifters

The Sisters Brothers

Manbiki Kazoku

JACQUES AUDIARD, FRANCE/BELGIUM/ROMANIA/SPAIN, 2018, 120 MIN.

KORE-EDA HIROKAZU, JAPAN, 2018, 121 MIN.

SUN, SEP 30 MON, OCT 1

3:30 PM 6:00 PM

CENT CENT

VIFF favourite Kore-eda Hirokazu (Still Walking, After the Storm) is back with the top prizewinner at Cannes 2018. Also a smash hit in his native Japan, Shoplifters is a film about love and crime. When a little girl (Sasaki Miyu) is found alone in the cold by Osamu (Lily Franky) and his young companion Shota (Jyo Kairi), Osamu brings her home for a hot meal; when signs point to her being an abuse victim, he decides she should stay. And so she joins the Shibata family, which also includes wife Nobuyo (Ando Sakura), teenager Aki (Matsuoka Mayu) and “grandma” Hatsue (Kiki Kilin). To all appearances, they’re a caring and contented bunch, but they’re also very poor, and they have ways of getting by that “respectable” society frowns on—most notably, theft. Can their happiness last? Kore-eda is a filmmaker of exquisite sensitivity, attuned to the small moments of significance that so many movies seem designed to make us forget about. One by one, he adds those moments, building ever so patiently to revelation and heartbreak. With its gestures of love, subtle visual grace, superb acting and rich human portraiture this is a very generous film— powerfully sad, but with a lot of beauty to take with you as you leave the theatre. “A thrilling, beautiful tale... This is a film that steals in and snatches your heart.”—Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph Palme d’Or, Cannes 18 Cast Lily Franky, Ando Sakura, Matsuoka Mayu, Kiki Kilin Exec Ishihara Takashi, Tom Yoda, Nakae Yasuhito Prod Yose Akihiko, Taguchi Hijiri, Matsuzaki Kaoru Scr Kore-eda Hirokazu Cam Ryuto Kondo Ed Kore-eda Hirokazu Prod Des Mitsumatsu Keiko Mus Hosono Haruomi Dist/Print Mongrel Media Inc. Selected Filmography Still Walking; Like Father, Like Son; After the Storm

SAT, SEP 29 SUN, OCT 7

8:30 PM 5:30 PM

CENT CENT

Kicking off with a spectacularly staged shootout in which bullets and profanities fly with equal velocity, The Sisters Brothers serves notice that Jacques Audiard (Dheepan, Rust and Bone) feels right at home on the range. Adapted from a novel by British Columbia-born Patrick deWitt, set in Oregon circa 1851 and pitched in a darkly comic register, this is the tale of Eli (John C. Reilly) and Charlie Sisters (Joaquin Phoenix). Routinely drunk but deceptively deadly, these professional men of violence have been charged with assassinating a gold prospector (Riz Ahmed) who’s purportedly betrayed their cold-blooded benefactor (Rutger Hauer). Little do they realize that a detective (Jake Gyllenhaal) is also on their quarry’s trail and perhaps ready be swayed to his cause. Trust a modern French master to make the most of some of the more intriguing faces in American movies. As captured by cinematographer Benoît Debie (who also shot VIFF 18 selection Climax), their countenances are as striking to behold as the imposing landscapes they traverse. In their eyes and sour expressions, we witness hardened men coming to grips with the realization that their age is coming to a close. With the frontier spawning new communities overnight, barbarism is ceding to civilization. And while the Sisters Brothers seem intent on going out in a blaze of glory, the fates seem to have other plans. Fortunately, they also have a wicked sense of humour, ensuring that this Western is a Gold Rush of melancholic comedy. Cast Joaquin Phoenix, John C. Reilly, Riz Ahmed, Jake Gyllenhaal, Rutger Hauer Exec Chelsea Barnard, Sammy Scher, Fernando Victoria de Lecea, Tudor Reu, Delphine Tomson Prod Pascal Caucheteux, Grégoire Sorlat, Michel Merkt, Megan Ellison, Michael De Luca, Alison Dickey, John C. Reilly Scr Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain Cam Benoît Debie Ed Juliette Welfling Prod Des Michel Barthélémy Mus Alexandre Desplat Prod Co Why Not Productions Dist/Print Elevation Pictures Selected Filmography A Prophet; Rust and Bone; Dheepan

Buy tickets and read full film descriptions at viff.org

Special Presentations

Special Event

Special Events

VIFF Tribute Award: Jean-Marc Vallée TUE, OCT 2

6:00 PM

PLAYHOUSE

VIFF is thrilled to have this opportunity to celebrate the storytelling accomplishments of Jean-Marc Vallée, an Oscar nominee and one of our country’s finest directors. This special event will see Jean-Marc receive a VIFF Tribute Award. When we screened his debut feature, Black List, in 1995, it was already evident that he possessed rare talent. Ten years later, he returned to the festival with C.R.A.Z.Y. and confirmed that he’d fulfilled his potential, demonstrating a deft ability to interweave stunning visuals and impeccably curated music through meticulous editing in order to evoke characters’ emotions and memories. VIFF was honoured to open the 2014 festival with Wild, set along the neighbouring Pacific Crest Trail. Since then, we’ve cheered his every success, including winning an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie or a Dramatic Special for Big Little Lies. This special event will commence with an encore screening of the series premiere of Sharp Objects, the acclaimed adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s bestselling book by Marti Noxon that had Vallée at the helm for every episode. In the series premiere, “Vanish”, Camille Preaker (Amy Adams), a reporter for the St. Louis Chronicle, is sent to her rural hometown of Wind Gap to file a story about two missing girls, one of whom was found dead and presumed murdered. Trying to put together a psychological puzzle from her own past, she finds herself identifying with the young victims a bit too closely. The ‘in conversation’ event is presented by the Directors Guild of Canada and hosted by Tim Southam, President.

Also screening at VIFF 2018:

Dallas Buyers Club Jean-Marc Vallée, USA, 2013, 117 min.

WED, OCT 3

4:00 PM

SFU

Director Jean-Marc Vallée will introduce this retrospective screening of his multiple Oscarwinning drama. Playing a Texas homophobe who contracts HIV in the 80s, Matthew McConaughey is transfixing as a cadaverous cowboy who refuses to go down without a fight — or without making a quick buck peddling unauthorized meds. “A fierce celebration of the unpredictable power that belongs to the outcast, the despised, the pariah. That’s not a story of the ‘80s, it’s a story of always.”—Salon Cast Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Jared Leto Prod Robbie Brenner, Rachel Winter

38 38

Special Events

Special Event

An Evening with Jane

Film screening and conversation with Dr. Jane Goodall Following the screening of Jane, there will be a 45-minute Q&A with Dr. Goodall who will discuss her ground breaking work—which revolutionized our understanding of nature and humanity—and her hopes for the future. This is a special charity event to help raise funds for the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada, which promotes the understanding and protection of chimpanzees, as well as other great apes, and their habitats.

Jane

Brett Morgen, USA, 2017, 90 min.

THU, OCT 4

6:30 PM

CENTRE

In 1960, at the age of 26 and with little academic training, Jane Goodall set off into the forests of what is now Tanzania to study the relatively unexamined life of the chimpanzee. Her discoveries led to a lifelong fascination with our primate kin, and she went on to transform the world’s view of them. During the filming of this feature, Oscar-nominated director Brett Morgen unearthed 16mm footage shot by Hugo van Lawick in the 1960s. It is this gorgeous archival material--plus the energetic presence of Goodall herself--which elevates Morgen’s portrait to the highest level of biographical documentary. The film delivers a powerful and uplifting portrayal of Goodall, a supremely intelligent woman who has transformed our relationship to the animals more like humans than any other creature--and is still, as an octogenarian, fighting the good fight on behalf of ecologists everywhere. “Fascinating… The colour-saturated footage has a lush, heightened quality, which is complimented by a tumbling score by Philip Glass. But the film’s main asset is undoubtedly the magnificent Goodall, as poised, articulate and engaged in her 80s as she was in her fearless 20s, living alongside animals who, as Morgen bluntly points out, could have ripped her face off.”--Wendy Ide, Guardian

Bethune: The Making of a Hero Phillip Borsos, Canada/China/France, 1990, 118 min.

FRI, OCT 5

6:00 PM

VCT

When Phillip Borsos’ epic depiction of Canadian icon Dr. Norman Bethune’s work with the Chinese Communist forces during the Second Sino-Japanese War was released in 1990, some critics looked askance at its big budget, foreign setting, and huge ambition. Shortly after its initial release, it all but disappeared from the festival and repertory circuit. VIFF is very happy to report that it has now returned to its rightful place on the big screen, its scope undiminished and its bold conception of what a Canadian film can be still serving as an example for filmmakers across the land. Donald Sutherland gives a towering performance as Bethune, a driven and cantankerous man whose convictions lead him to remotest China in support of his fellow comrades. As he tends to the wounded and spends his spare time treating civilians, his stature grows in the eyes of Mao and the Chinese people; by the time of his early death from blood poisoning, in 1939, he is a secular saint. The film’s grand opening has thousands mourning his death before the story flashes back to show the man in all of his contradictions. (His wife Frances Penny Bethune--played here by Helen Mirren--recalled that he promised to “make my life miserable, but he would never bore me.”) Despite its troubled production history, Borsos’ film remains true to its complicated protagonist. As Borsos’ frequent producer Peter O’Brian said, “The number one thing for Phillip was to find the point of true origin. It couldn’t be good unless it was honest. He was faithful to that every day that he worked.” Cast Donald Sutherland, Helen Mirren, Helen Shaver, Colm Feore, James Pax Prod Nicolas Clermont, Pieter Kroonenburg

Featuring Jane Goodall Prod Brett Morgen, Bryan Burk, James Smith, Tony Gerber

Buy tickets and read full film descriptions at viff.org

TITLE DESIGN TRAILERS BEHIND THE SCENES MEDIA PACKAGES POST PRODUCTION SERVICES

PostPro Media Group Inc. 217 West 6th Avenue Vancouver BC Canada 604 688 8786 postpro.MEDIA

Master Class Series + Creator Talks

DGC Master Class

Patricia Rozema

Paris Barclay

Director/Writer, Mouthpiece MON, OCT 1

Directors Guild of Canada

Building on the momentum of VIFF’s year-round Directors Guild of Canada Master Class Series, VIFF is delighted to welcome our first guest speakers for the 2018 edition. The series invites award-winning directors from celebrated films and television series to educate and inspire emerging and established creators alike. Plus: These sessions are also open to the general public, offering them unique insights into the creative process.

ALT

VCT

Join us for a fascinating session with Patricia Rozema, one of Canada’s most acclaimed filmmakers, as she take us behind the scenes of Mouthpiece, her latest feature. Patricia burst onto the scene with her internationally celebrated debut, I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing, which scored the Prix de la Jeunesse at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight. Other critically acclaimed credits include When Night is Falling, Mansfield Park, the Yo-YoMa/Bach film Six Gestures and Into the Forest. Her TV credits include Anne with an E and Mozart in the Jungle. Host: Jem Garrard, writer/director, Android Employed.

Master Class Series

Creator Talks

6:00 PM

Director, Scandal

In these exclusive sessions, audiences will be inspired by some of the world’s leading creators and innovators as they share expertise on their craft. M/A/D

SAT, OCT 6

3:00 PM

CINE

Paris Barclay is one of television’s most successful and honored directors. Throughout his illustrious career, he’s directed over 155 episodes of television including NYPD Blue, Glee, ER, The West Wing, Lost, The Good Wife, Sons of Anarchy, Scandal, Empire, Pitch and Station 19. He is a two-time Emmy award-winner and has received an additional six Emmy nominations. Paris was honored with the Robert Aldrich Award in 2007, which is given for providing extraordinary service to the Directors Guild of America. Paris was elected President of the DGA in June 2013, and served two terms before stepping down in June of 2017.

COMMUNITY PARTNER

ALT

Veena Sud

Michael Schur

Creator/Executive Producer, The Good Place SUN, SEP 30

1:00 PM

RIO

Join us for an entertaining and enlightening session with one of comedy’s best TV writers. Michael Schur knows all the sitcom rules and how to break them! The creator and executive producer of NBC’s award-winning comedy The Good Place, Schur is also a co-creator and executive producer of beloved series Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Parks and Recreation. He not only wrote and produced the Emmy Award-winning hit The Office but also turned in appearances as Dwight Schrute’s bearded, beet-farming cousin, Mose. Host: Tim Goodman, Chief TV Critic, The Hollywood Reporter.

Meet the Showrunners WED, OCT 3

6:00 PM

VCT

A spike in the number of scripted series and available outlets has changed both the nature of television and the way we consume it. Our featured showrunners will share their insights on making it in the “Peak TV” era — getting green-lit, hiring a writers’ room, working with directors and keeping up with social media! Guests: Amy Berg (Counterpart), Veena Sud (Seven Seconds), Sarah Dodd (Cardinal), Hart Hanson (Bones), Dennis Heaton (The Order), Simon Barry (Ghost Wars), Graeme Manson (Orphan Black) and Graham Yost (Sneaky Pete). Host: Tim Goodman, Chief TV Critic, The Hollywood Reporter. Presented by Pacific Screenwriting Program.

Paul Austerberry

Production Designer,The Shape of Water THU, OCT 4

6:00 PM

VCT

Paul is a critically acclaimed Canadian production designer who most recently won an Oscar for his work on Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar-winner The Shape of Water. He is also the recipient of a Critics’ Choice Award and a BAFTA. Paul has designed extensively for feature film with credits including 12/24, 30 Days of Night, Pompeii, The Liberator, Deadfall, The Three Musketeers, Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Death Race and Men With Brooms. Paul is currently designing Andy Muschietti’s It: Chapter 2. Host: Nathalie Atkinson, Culture and Film Critic.

RZA

Composer/Writer/Director TUE, OCT 9

6:00 PM

RIO

The multi-talented RZA is, first and foremost, a hip-hop producer and leader of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan. Born Robert Diggs in Brownsville, Brooklyn, he was inspired by martial arts movies at a young age, and he and his fellow Clan members would later incorporate these themes into their music. They shook the rap world with their debut Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), and since then RZA has, while remaining loyal to hip-hop, moved into the film world. After scoring a number of films, he wrote and directed his own: The Man with the Iron Fists (2012). He has also acted in numerous films and TV series.

PRESENTED BY PRESENTED BY

Buy tickets and read full film descriptions at viff.org

Photos: AJ Korkidakis

CO-PRESENTED WITH

In Kid Koala’s latest live innovation, the master Canadian DJ empowers his audience, drawing them into a communal experience of light and sound. The audience collaborates in groups of four at stations equipped with a turntable, an effects box and a small crate of colour-coded records. Through subtly coloured lighting changes in the room, they’re cued to play along — DJs in a spontaneous collective, collaborating to create an “ambient vinyl orchestra.”

FRI. OCT 5 FRI. OCT 5 SAT. OCT 6 SAT. OCT 6 SUN. OCT 7 SUN, OCT 7

6:30 PM 9:00 PM 6:30 PM 9:00 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM

ANN ANN ANN ANN ANN ANN

An innovator from his first days as a turntablist, Kid Koala has moved beyond hip-hop into the realm of radical experimentation. With this show, he’s making participatory music on a high level—an interactive symphony in which the line between listener and composer is erased. The lowbrow word for this kind of experience is “trippy”; but more appropriate would be “sublime.” The show works its wonders on neophytes and DJ-music addicts alike. You could call it an equal-opportunity mind-blower, for as much as the music or the visuals, that’s what it’s about: equality. We’ve come a long way in music— from classical to rock and hip-hop, and now to wonders like this. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? Ask Kid Koala: he’s probably working on it.

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RZA brings the ruckus! The award-winning musician, film director and leader of rap group Wu-Tang Clan comes to live-score the Kung-fu flick that’s been one of his biggest influences: Lau Kar-leung’s The 36th Chamber of Shaolin. Using a Wu-Tang catalog over two decades deep, he drops beats from opening scene to closing credits, amplifying the action of this martial arts classic. Long before he was a rapper and producer, RZA was an obsessive fan of movies like Lau’s. He first saw The 36th Chamber of Shaolin on TV at the age of 12, and he’s now come full circle to combine two loves of his life: the aggressive instrumentals of hip-hop and the wild kinetics of martial arts. As you might guess, the combination is explosive — a real-time orchestration that will have your

head nodding even as you can’t take your eyes off the screen. RZA has scored films before, but the achievement here is on another level. Hip-hop heads, Kung-fu film fans and anybody who wants to see some electrifying innovation, this is for you. TUE, OCT 9

8:15 PM CO-PRESENTED WITH

MEDIA SPONSORS

ORPHEUM

“36th Chamber to me has had a strong spiritual connection… The history of black America was from slavery, oppression, civil rights, and you felt kind of isolated as an entity in our country. But then this film showed me that oppression was worldwide. Here I am seeing the Manchurians oppressed, and it was a bunch of college kids standing up, trying to get involved with the revolution, risking their lives, destroying the school, and then this kid now has find a way to get revenge to uplift the people.”-RZA

Buy tickets and read full film descriptions at viff.org

USA

Ben Is Back

PETER HEDGES, USA, 2018, 103 MIN.

SUN, OCT 7 THU, OCT 11

Panorama The world’s boldest creators and their

3:00 PM 9:00 PM

CENT CENT

Rising star Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea, Lady Bird, Three Billboards, and also starring in Boy Erased at VIFF this year) is remarkable here, as the prodigal son returning home for Christmas Day after a stint in rehab. His mom, Holly (Julia Roberts), couldn’t be happier. But the rest of the family is not so sure. Over the next 24 hours there will be heartbreak and hilarity, recrimination and reconciliation: a Christmas to remember. Cast Julia Roberts, Lucas Hedges, Courtney B. Vance, Kathryn Newton Prod Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Teddy Schwarzman, Peter Hedges Filmography Pieces of April; Dan in Real Life; The Odd Life of Timothy Green

exceptional works. The year’s most anticipated international films and new discoveries curated specifically for VIFF audiences. Iran

Bulgaria

3 Faces

Ága

JAFAR PANAHI, IRAN, 2018, 100 MIN.

WED, OCT 3 WED, OCT 10

Contemporary World Cinema A spectacular collection of narrative films from around the globe, featuring both today’s masters and tomorrow’s visionaries.

9:15 PM 3:45 PM

PLAY PLAY

Despite the ban imposed upon him by the Iranian authorities, Jafar Panahi continues to find ways to make masterful films. His latest is a deceptively simple tale wherein he and actress Behnaz Jafari—both playing themselves—travel to a remote village to investigate the veracity of a video Panahi received, in which a teenage girl with show-business dreams seems to kill herself… “This is Jafar Panahi… turning a deeply respectful, artful and compassionate eye outward, to the struggles of others…”—Variety Best Screenplay (ex-aequo), Cannes 18 Cast Behnaz Jafari, Jafar Panahi Prod Jafar Panahi Selected Filmography Offside; This Is Not a Film; Jafar Panahi’s Taxi

SERIES PRESENTER

MILKO LAZAROV, BULGARIA/GERMANY/FRANCE, 2018, 96 MIN.

TUE, OCT 9 THU, OCT 11

6:30 PM 4:00 PM

IN09 IN09

North American Premiere. Nanook (Mikhail Aprosimov) and his wife Sedna (Feodosia Ivanova) are Inuits living in Siberia. The titular character (Galina Tikhonova) is their daughter, who has left the family; Nanook has never forgiven her for an earlier transgression, but Sedna is now gravely ill and yearns for the two to reconcile. Milko Lazarov directs with an eye for wintry beauty, and the film’s theme of nostalgia is conveyed with wonderful grace. Fans of Atanarjuat take note: this will be right up your alley. Cast Mikhail Aprosimov, Feodosia Ivanova, Galina Tikhonova, Sergey Egorov, Afanasiy Kylaev Prod Veselka Kiryakova Filmography Otchuzhdenie

Panorama

Germany

Sweden

Denmark

Czech Republic

All Good

Amateurs

Barefoot

EVA TROBISCH, GERMANY, 2018, 93 MIN.

GABRIELA PICHLER, SWEDEN, 2018, 102 MIN.

JAN SVERÁK, CZECH REPUBLIC, 2017, 104 MIN.

Alles ist gut

TUE, OCT 2 FRI, OCT 5

Amatörer

2:00 PM 7:00 PM

IN10 IN10

WED, OCT 3 FRI, OCT 5

SFU SFU

All is definitely not good in Eva Trobisch’s seriously impressive, incredibly incendiary debut. Assaulted by a former classmate at a reunion, Janne (Aenne Schwarz) refuses to report the incident due to her pride and the fear it might impact her job prospects. Trobisch’s gripping drama examines the complications that arise when business and personal relationships grow entangled and one actually starts to believe delusional adages like, “If you don’t see any problems, you don’t have any.”

Desperate to lure a corporate chain store to their Swedish town, the local council recruits a group of youngsters to shoot a video about the place at its best. When they’re fired from the project, the nascent filmmakers decide to make their own movie—a considerably more honest one... Gabriela Pichler’s movie is warm, witty, smart and truly invigorating. “[M]agical... wonderfully touching... just as essential for an international audience as for a Swedish one.... “—RogerEbert.com

Best First Feature, Locarno 18; New talent, Best Director, Best Actress, Munich 18

Best Nordic Film, Goteborg 18

Cast Aenne Schwarz, Andreas Döhler, Hans Löw, Tilo Nest, Lisa Hagmeister, Lina Wendel Prod Trini Götze, David Armati Lechner

USA

Filmography Eat Sleep Die

6:00 PM 3:45 PM

CENT PLAY

Ann Patchett’s best seller comes to the screen in a remarkably smooth and assured adaptation. Julianne Moore is the opera singer caught up in a South American hostage siege and gradually falling in love with a fellow captive, a Japanese industrialist (Ken Watanabe). Both a suspense-drama and a romance, this movie explores cultural and political themes with insight and passion. The fine cast includes Sebastian Koch, Ryo Kase, and Christopher Lambert, with Renée Fleming supplying Moore’s singing voice. Cast Julianne Moore, Ken Wantanabe Prod Anthony Weintraub, Caroline Baron, Lizzie Friedman Selected Filmography About a Boy; Being Flynn; Grandma

SAT, OCT 6 MON, OCT 8

Unga Astrid

11:00 AM 9:15 PM

Canadian Premiere. Jan Sverák (Kolya, Dark Blue World) returns with a prequel to his Oscar-nominated The Elementary School; it portrays life during WWII as seen through the eyes of eight-year-old Eda (ball-of-energy Alois Grec), a city boy exiled to the countryside. For Eda, this new life is one big adventure… “An able touch of sardonic East European humour keeps things smart and light… [The film] describes the experience of war from a bold, unfamiliar perspective: through the eyes of innocents.”—Hollywood Reporter Cast Tereza Voriskova, Ondrej Vetchý, Jan Tríska, Zdenek Sverak, Oldrich Kaiser, Hynek Cermak Prod Jan Sverák

Lebanon

Capernaum

CRISTINA GALLEGO, CIRO GUERRA, COLOMBIA/ DENMARK/MEXICO, 2018, 125MIN.

NADINE LABAKI, LEBANON, 2018, 120 MIN.

6:30 PM 4:00 PM

PLAY SFU

Beginning in 1968 and spanning 12 years, Ciro Guerra and Cristina Gallego’s terrific drama focuses on one desert-dwelling indigenous Waayu family and its rise and fall in the early days of the Colombian drug trade. Structured around five chapters and replete with Waayu traditions and costumes, this is a crime story like you’ve never seen before. “A textured and utterly unique re-imagining of the family crime saga [that] offers… a fascinating glimpse into a little-understood community.”—Sight & Sound Cast Carmiña Martínez, José Acosta, Jhon Narváez, Natalia Reyes, Jose Vicente Cotes, Greider Meza Prod Katrin Pors, Cristina Gallego Filmography (Ciro Guerra) Wandering Shadows; The Wind Journeys; Embrace of the Serpent

SUN, SEP 30 TUE, OCT 9

9:00 PM 3:30 PM

CENT PLAY

Astrid Lindgren is famous the world over for creating the indefatigable Pippi Longstocking, and Pernille Fischer Christensen’s vibrant biopic chronicling Lindgren’s (Alba August) difficult years between the ages of 16 and 21 in 1920s Sweden--when the ever-questioning young woman did the unthinkable and had a child out of wedlock—shows that Pippi’s moxie was not created out of whole cloth… “Gorgeous… Christensen takes to period filmmaking like a duck to water, and brings to it an uncommon energy.”—Variety Cast Alba August, Maria Bonnevie, Magnus Krepper, Henrik Rafaelsen, Trine Dyrholm Prod Maria Dahlin, Anna Anthony, Lars G Lindström Selected Filmography A Soap; A Family; Someone You Love

Carmen and Lola

Capharnaüm

FRI, OCT 5 MON, OCT 8

PERNILLE FISCHER CHRISTENSEN, DENMARK, 2018, 123 MIN.

Spain

Birds of Passage SUN, OCT 7 THU, OCT 11

SFU PLAY

Selected Filmography Kolya; Kooky; Three Brothers

Pájaros de verano

PAUL WEITZ, USA, 2018, 102 MIN.

MON, OCT 8 THU, OCT 11

Cast Zahraa Aldoujaili, Fredrik Dahl, Yara Aliadotter Prod Anna-Maria Kantarius

Colombia

Bel Canto

Becoming Astrid

Po strništi bos

10:45 AM 9:00 PM

Contemporary World Cinema

Carmen y Lola

4:00 PM 8:45 PM

ARANTXA ECHEVARRÍA, SPAIN, 2018, 105 MIN.

SFU CENT

MON, OCT 8 WED, OCT 10

9:15 PM 4:00 PM

IN09 IN09

In the slums of Beirut, hardened 12-year-old Zain (Zain Al Rafeea, amazing) sues his parents for bringing him into the world. Beginning with that shocking scene, Nadine Labaki then flashes back to show the poverty and turmoil that have been a constant in Zain’s life. In the process, she crafts a deeply empathetic melodrama that is as moving as anything you’ll see this year. “Fired by furious compassion and teeming with sorrow, yet strewn with diamond-shards of beauty, wit and hope.”— Daily Telegraph

Teenage Lola (Zaira Romero) is about to be married off to a man she doesn’t know in Madrid’s Roma community. But then she meets the brash and sexy Carmen (Rosy Rodríguez)… Coming of age as a lesbian in a closed, conservative and decidedly patriarchal culture is a difficult thing, and Arantxa Echevarría’s debut handles this subject matter with grace and poignancy. “This energetic first feature… combines a vibrantly realized sense of place… with assured work with a cast of non-professional actors.”—Screen

Jury Prize, Cannes 18

Cast Carolina Yuste, Moreno Borja, Rafaela León, Rosy Rodriguez, Zaira Romero Prod Eduardo Santana

Cast Zain Al Rafeea, Yordanos Shiferaw, Boluwatife Treasure Bankole, Kawthar Al Haddad, Nadine Labaki Prod Khaled Mouzanar, Michel Merkt

Filmography 7 from Etheria

Filmography Caramel; Where Do We Go Now?

Buy tickets and read full film descriptions at viff.org

ACCESS TO IT ALL.

THAT’S A PLUS. You’ll have Sky Priority® boarding access, more legroom and complimentary premium drinks in Delta Comfort+.®

@DO

NTOWN

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Panorama

Brazil

Tunisia

The Dead and the Others

Dear Son MOHAMED BEN ATTIA, TUNISIA/BELGIUM/FRANCE/ QATAR, 2018, 100 MIN.

JOÃO SALAVIZA, RENÉE NADER MESSORA, BRAZIL/ PORTUGAL, 2018, 114 MIN.

9:00 PM 4:00 PM

RIO IN10

Canadian Premiere. João Salaviza and Renée Nader Messora lived with the indigenous Krahô people in northern Brazil before making this beautifully modulated drama. Young Ihjãc (Henrique Ihjãc Krahô) resists voices from the spirit world insisting that he become a shaman. He falls ill and decides to visit a doctor in the “outside” world… The glory here is in the visual detail and the way we’re immersed in the lush natural settings. “Great visual poetry, with an impeccable balance of drama and intrigue.”—Cineuropa Special Jury Prize, Un Certain Regard, Cannes 18

THU, OCT 4 THU, OCT 11

USA

Diamantino

Weldi

Chuva é cantoria na aldeia dos mortos

MON, OCT 8 TUE, OCT 9

Portugal

4:00 PM 8:45 PM

SFU IN09

Tense and poignant, Mohamed Ben Attia’s film is the story of an ordinary family—or so it seems at first. Riadh (Mohamed Dhrif) and Nazli (Mouna Mejri) are a Tunisian couple approaching their senior years. One day their son Sami (Zakaria Ben Ayed) disappears, and when they discover where to, and why, they’re horrified. This is certainly a topical film, but it hits especially hard as a story of parental powerlessness... “Superbly controlled.”—Screen Cast Mohamed Dhrif, Mouna Mejri, Zakaria Ben Ayed, Imen Cherif, Taylan Mintas, Tarik Copty Prod Dora Bouchoucha, Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Nadim Cheikhrouha Filmography Hedi

GABRIEL ABRANTES, DANIEL SCHMIDT, PORTUGAL/ FRANCE/BRAZIL, 2018, 92 MIN.

SAT, SEP 29 WED, OCT 3

Contemporary World Cinema

4:00 PM 9:45 PM

SFU IN10

Diamantino (Carloto Cotta), a Cristiano Ronaldo-like football star, is hoodwinked into participating in an anti-EU terrorist plot… And that is only the bare outline of this wildly entertaining first feature from Gabriel Abrantes and Daniel Schmidt; it’s a pastiche that scores satirical bull’s-eyes on everything from the vapidity of fame to Brexit to gender fluidity. “[The directors] rustle up one of the year’s most singular debuts with this winningly bizarre, genre-melding political satire.”—Variety Grand Prize, Critics’ Week, Cannes 18 Cast Carloto Cotta, Cleo Tavares, Anabela Moreira, Margarida Moreira Prod Justin Taurand, Maria João Mayer, Daniel van Hoogstraten

Cast Henrique Ihjãc Krahô, Raene Kôtô Krahô Prod João Salaviza, Renée Nader Messora, Ricardo Alves Jr., Thiago Macêdo Correia

Diane

KENT JONES, USA, 2018, 95 MIN.

FRI, SEP 28 SAT, SEP 29 THU, OCT 4

3:30 PM 9:15 PM 1:30 PM

IN08 CINE VCT

Canadian Premiere. Seventy-year-old widow Diane (the marvelous Mary Kay Place) appears selfless in her dedication to others. She visits the sick and feeds the homeless. If she could appease whatever demons are haunting her grown, drug-addicted son, Brian (Jake Lacy), she would do that too, but in this her efforts seem doomed. The first dramatic feature from critic and documentarian Kent Jones is a deceptively modest character study, yet this intensely absorbing, acutely observed piece cuts to the very quick. Best US Narrative Feature, Best Screenplay, Best Actress, Tribeca 18 Cast Mary Kay Place, Jake Lacy, Estelle Parsons, Andrea Martin Prod Luca Borghese, Ben Howe, Caroline Kaplan, Oren Moverman Filmography A Letter to Elia; Hitchcock/Truffaut

Filmography (João Salaviza) Montanha

Portugal

Russia

Djon África

FILIPA REIS, JOÃO MILLER GUERRA, PORTUGAL/CAPE VERDE/BRAZIL, 2018, 95 MIN.

TUE, OCT 9 THU, OCT 11

9:45 PM 11:15 AM

IN10 IN10

After coming into a little money, likeable Lisbon slacker Miguel (Miguel Moreira)—he prefers the nickname Djon África—goes back to his roots on the islands of Cape Verde, off Africa’s northwest coast, in search of his father. Filipa Reis and João Miller Guerra’s loose and lovely film makes great use of island locations and a cast of non-professional actors as it follows our hero’s picaresque path. “Charming… Unobtrusively conjure[s]… a pleasant mood of seductive sensuality.”—Hollywood Reporter Cast Miguel Moreira Prod Pedro Pinho Selected Filmography Orquestra Geração; Cama de Gato; Triângulo

Iran

Dovlatov

ALEXEY GERMAN JR., RUSSIA/POLAND/SERBIA, 2018, 126 MIN.

TUE, OCT 9 WED, OCT 10

11:00 AM 6:30 PM

IN09 SFU

Poland

Dressage

Fugue Fuga

POOYA BADKOOBEH, IRAN, 2018, 95 MIN.

WED, OCT 3 FRI, OCT 5

6:30 PM 2:00 PM

IN09 IN10

Canadian Premiere. Sturdily crafted and nimbly performed, Alexey German Jr.’s account of six pivotal days for Sergei Dovlatov (Milan Maric), a marginalized writer in the 70s-era Soviet Union, is a potent, poetic reminder that rebellion can assume myriad forms. Unwilling to toe the party line and consequently incapable of getting published, Dovlatov bands together with Joseph Brodsky (Artur Beschastny) in a bid to preserve their integrity and expressiveness in the face of oppression. “Visually enthralling...”—Variety

North American Premiere. First-time director Pooya Badkoobeh’s tale of a 16-year-old girl who participates in a robbery, gets away with it and then faces unexpected consequences serves as an indictment of the Iranian middle and upper classes, which seem to be more interested in acquiring money and luxury goods than in anything else. As the young protagonist Golsa, newcomer Negar Moghaddam is a dazzling presence. “Expertly acted and lensed, Dressage has a quiet authority that goes beyond most first films.”—Hollywood Reporter

Silver Bear: Artistic Contribution, Berlin 18

Best First Film, Fajr 18

Cast Milan Maric, Danila Kozlovsky, Helena Sujecka, Artur Beschastny, Anton Shagin Prod Dariusz Jablonski, Isabella Wojcik, Wioleta Kaminska, Miroslav Mogorovich

Cast Negar Moghaddam, Ali Mosaffa, Shabnam Moghaddami, Yasna Mirtahmasb, Baset Rezaei Prod Samira Baradari, Roohollah Baradari

AGNIESZKA SMOCZYNSKA, POLAND, 2018, 100 MIN.

SAT, OCT 6 WED, OCT 10

6:00 PM 2:00 PM

RIO IN10

Canadian Premiere. After a two-year absence due to amnesia, a battered woman (Gabriela Muskala, riveting) emerges from the wilds and returns to her forgotten family as a completely different person. This is the jumping-off point for Agnieszka Smoczynska’s (The Lure) psychological mystery, a chilling and subversive feminist drama. “Its controlled expansiveness of tone, psychology and camera mark its [director]—invaluably aided by writerstar Gabriela Muskala—as a stylist of considerable, unpredictable finesse.”—Variety Cast Gabriela Muskala, Lukasz Simlat Prod Agnieszka Kurzydlo, Karla Stojáková, Jonas Kellagher Filmography The Lure

Selected Filmography Garpastum; Bumazhnyy soldat; Under Electric Clouds

Buy tickets and read full film descriptions at viff.org

GermanFilmsVIFF2016_Artwork 18.08.16 12:47 Seite 1 Contemporary World Cinema

Panorama

Czech Republic

Denmark

Garden Store: Suitor

The Guilty

Napadnik

GUSTAV MÖLLER, DENMARK, 2018, 85 MIN.

JAN HREBEJK, CZECH REPUBLIC, 2017, 113 MIN.

FRI, OCT 5 FRI, OCT 12

3:30 PM 6:30 PM

IN09 PLAY

North American Premiere. It’s the late 1950s, Czechoslovakia is under communism’s sway and a yawning chasm has opened between the prewar and postwar generations. Surviving occupation is one thing; parenthood is a far more daunting prospect. With kids wanting to live—and love—like there’s no tomorrow and parents intent on orchestrating perfect matches and promising futures, the stage is set for a winning romantic tragicomedy... Jan Hrebejk’s film pulses with the sort of youthful energy that fueled the Czech New Wave. Cast Anna Fialová, Ivan Lupták, Tereza Hálová, Ana Geislerová, Martin Finger Prod Viktor Tauš

SUN, OCT 7 FRI, OCT 12

4:00 PM 9:30 PM

RIO PLAY

This taut thriller from debuting director Gustav Möller gives us an ex-cop (Jakob Cedergren, onscreen throughout and masterful) relegated to the emergency services call room, where he takes a call from a kidnapped woman. As he races against time to save her—while never leaving the confines of the room—the camera stays at his side, and we become him… “Möller masterfully ratchets up tension without the benefit of the usual visual aids… [but] with chillingly effective results.” —Hollywood Reporter Audience Awards, Sundance 18; Rotterdam 18 Cast Jakob Cedergren, Jessica Dinnage, Johan Olsen, Omar Shargawi Prod Lina Flint

Selected Filmography Divided We Fall; Up and Down; The Teacher

Iran

Paraguay

The Heiresses

Hat-Trick

Las herederas

Hattrick

RAMTIN LAVAFI, IRAN, 2018, 92 MIN.

FRI, OCT 5 SUN, OCT 7

8:30 PM 1:45 PM

IN09 IN10

North American Premiere. After a leaving a fancy party, two young, quibbling couples strike something in the road with their car. Afraid to investigate, they take off to one of their homes to discuss what to do. Thus the stage is set for Ramtin Lavafi’s disquisition on the Iranian middle class and its moral bankruptcy. As the four discuss and argue through the night, secrets come out and lives are changed forever... “A taut, four-character drama… Well-crafted… Its ensemble cast makes a suspenseful quartet.”—Hollywood Reporter Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Fajr 18 Cast Amir Jadidi, Parinaz Izadyar, Mahour Alvand, Saber Abar Prod Majid Motallebi Filmography Be Calm and Count to Seven; Berlin -7º

MARCELO MARTINESSI, PARAGUAY/GERMANY/ BRAZIL/URUGUAY/NORWAY/FRANCE, 2018, 95 MIN.

SAT, OCT 6 TUE, OCT 9

1:30 PM 6:30 PM

SFU PLAY

Canadian Premiere. With her partner (Margarita Irún) imprisoned for fraud, Chela (Ana Brun) commits her own transgression to make ends meet. Starting an unlicensed taxi service for affluent women, Chela encounters Angy (Ana Ivanova), whose alluring candor and fiery bearing shake her from her stupor. Marcelo Martinessi crafts a stirring tale of empowerment, and Brun delivers an absolutely stunning performance punctuated by stolen glances and telling gestures. “Full of gentle wit and playful observations...”—Guardian Silver Bear: Alfred Bauer Prize, Silver Bear: Best Actress (Ana Brun), Berlin 18 Cast Ana Brun, Margarita Irún, Ana Ivanova Prod Sebastian Peña Escobar, Marcelo Martinessi

Panorama

Iran

Denmark

Hendi and Hormoz

Holiday

Hendi va Hormoz

1:45 PM 9:45 PM

IN10 IN10

FRI, SEP 28 SAT, SEP 29

6:45 PM 4:30 PM

ULRICH KÖHLER, GERMANY, 2018, 120 MIN.

IN10 IN10

North American Premiere. Abbas Amini’s movie tells the story of a 13-year-old girl, a 16-year-old boy and their arranged marriage. Hendi (Zohreh Eslami) is fiery, proud and most unhappy with her situation; Hormoz (Hamed Alipour) is awkward, proud and unhappy as well, if in a different way. As he searches for employment, they slowly grow close, only to find danger lying in their path at exactly the worst moment… Set on an island marked with blood-red rocks and tides, this is a beautiful, ballad-like film.

Canadian Premiere. Isabella Eklöf’s directorial debut—an unsparing and bold study of the gilded prison inhabited by the girlfriend of a drug dealer—packs a wallop. In a lavish Turkish villa, Sascha (Victoria Carmen Sonne) is allowed a life of leisure, but only if she adheres to rules laid down by gangster boyfriend Michael (Lai Yde). When she starts flirting with another man (Thijs Römer), the consequences are shattering. “Astonishing… Holiday is a fearless work anchored by Sonne’s bold, subtle performance…”—IndieWire

Cast Hamed Alipour, Zohreh Eslami, Asma Danehchin, Mohammad Banouj Prod Abbas Amini, Pouria Heidary

Cast Victoria Carmen Sonne, Lai Yde, Thijs Römer Prod David B. Sørensen

USA

Gali Guliyaan

TUE, OCT 2 FRI, OCT 5

9:30 PM 11:15 AM

IN10 IN10

Canadian Premiere. In Dipesh Jain’s haunting thriller, Khuddoos (Manoj Bajpayee) is a man with an obsession: audiovisual surveillance. He neglects his job, shuts himself in with his elaborate equipment and watches an outside world he’s afraid to join. One day he picks up on something the old-fashioned way: through the wall of his dwelling. The boy next door (Om Singh) is being beaten by his father, and suddenly Khuddoos has a higher purpose in life--one that will lead him to a place he never thought he’d reach... Grand Prix, Mumbai 17 Cast Manoj Bajpayee, Ranvir Shorey, Neeraj Kabi, Shahana Goswami, Om Singh Prod Shuchi Jain, Dipesh Jain, Lena Vurma

SFU SFU

A sad-sack TV cameraman by trade, Armin (Hans Löw) wakes up one day and, without explanation, the Earth’s population has disappeared. What will he do now? What kind of man will he become? What does it mean to be independent? And what happens when someone else arrives on the scene? Taking inspiration from “last man on Earth” stories, director Ulrich Köhler has forged an intelligent, fascinating identity study of what happens when a man is forced to redefine himself and his relation to his environment. Cast Hans Löw, Elena Radonicich, Michael Wittenborn, Ruth Bickelhaupt, Emma Bading Prod Christoph Friedel, Claudia Steffen

TUE, OCT 2 WED, OCT 3

1:15 PM 7:00 PM

SAT, SEP 29 MON, OCT 1

In den Gängen

THOMAS STUBER, GERMANY, 2018, 125 MIN.

SAT, OCT 6 MON, OCT 8

9:00 PM 1:00 PM

IN09 RIO

North American Premiere. Toni Erdmann’s Sandra Hüller and Victoria’s Franz Rogowski turn in great performances in Thomas Stuber’s hugely engaging tale of love in the workplace. In a giant East German supermarket, abused wife Marion (Hüller) is a confectionary clerk with an eye for the new forklift driver, ex-con Christian (Rogowski). Stuber’s gliding camera gives the monster-sized setting a surreal feel, while the two leads shine as emotional misfits trying to connect. “Utterly engrossing and richly humane.”—Guardian Cast Franz Rogowski, Sandra Hüller, Peter Kurth, Andreas Leupold, Michael Specht Prod Jochen Laube, Fabian Maubach Filmography Teenage Angst; A Heavy Heart

Leto

JON JONES, UK, 2018, 97 MIN.

IN09 IN10

In the Aisles

Russia

Last Summer

BILL OLIVER, USA, 2018, 100 MIN.

DIPESH JAIN, INDIA, 2017, 117 MIN.

4:00 PM 9:00 PM

Jonathan

In the Shadows

FRI, SEP 28 MON, OCT 8

Filmography Bungalow; Montag kommen die Fenster; Sleeping Sickness

Filmography Valderrama

India

Germany

In My Room (Germany)

ISABELLA EKLÖF, DENMARK/SWEDEN/ NETHERLANDS/TURKEY, 2018, 93 MIN.

ABBAS AMINI, IRAN, 2018, 88 MIN.

TUE, OCT 9 THU, OCT 11

Germany

Contemporary World Cinema

6:30 PM 4:15 PM

KIRILL SEREBRENNIKOV, RUSSIA, 2018, 126 MIN.

IN09 IN10

Canadian Premiere. When we first meet Jonathan (Ansel Elgort), his life seems pretty mundane. In fact, he’s keeping—or rather sharing—a deep secret. This film about identity, brotherhood and betrayal features Elgort doing a fantastic job, and the film’s central premise, once revealed, makes for fascinating and moving psychological drama. First-time feature director Bill Oliver is a name to mark down; he’s made a character study you won’t soon forget. “[I]ntelligent, absorbing... [a] quietly involving drama...”—Variety

World Premiere. Here is a movie about childhood that captures both its magic and the awful intrusions of the adult world upon it. Set in rural Wales in the 70s, Jon Jones’ drama evokes the pleasure of summer for children— so wonderfully, in fact, that it’s all the more devastating when mortal violence fractures it. Noa Thomas is superb as Davy, a kid who values friendship enough to take on the adult world, and there are other great performances from boys Gruffydd Weston, Rowan Jones and Christopher Benning.

Cast Ansel Elgort, Suki Waterhouse, Douglas Hodge, Patricia Clarkson Prod Randy Manis, Ricky Tollman

Cast Noa Thomas, Gruffydd Weston, Rowan Jones, Christopher Benning Prod Katherine Lannon, Cerise Hallam

FRI, SEP 28 THU, OCT 4

1:00 PM 9:15 PM

IN09 PLAY

Leningrad rocks! This biopic, set in the early 80s, surveys the Russian rock scene of the time, through the experiences of rock legend Viktor Tsoi (Teo Yoo). Great cinematography and an eclectic soundtrack push the movie to a tour de force level as it depicts a subculture that serves as a form of rebellion. And speaking of rebellion: director Kirill Serebrennikov, a truly subversive artist, is now under house arrest on dubious charges. May he be freed to make more superb movies like this one. Cast Teo Yoo, Irina Starshenbaum, Roman Bilyk, Filipp Avdeev, Alexandr Gorchilin Prod Pavel Burya, Georgy Chumburidze, Mikhail Finogenov, Murad Osmann, Ilya Stewart Filmography Playing the Victim; Yuri’s Day; The Student

Buy tickets and read full film descriptions at viff.org

Contemporary World Cinema

Panorama

Brazil

Serbia

Poland

Mexico

Liquid Truth

The Load

Mug

CAROLINA JABOR, BRAZIL, 2017, 90 MIN.

OGNJEN GLAVONIC, SERBIA/FRANCE/CROATIA/IRAN/ QATAR, 2018, 98 MIN.

MALGORZATA SZUMOWSKA, POLAND, 2018, 91 MIN.

Aos Teus Olhos

SAT, SEP 29 TUE, OCT 2

9:45 PM 11:00 AM

Teret

IN10 IN09

Canadian Premiere. A handsome, arrogant lifeguard (standout Daniel de Oliveira) in a provincial Brazilian town finds his self-centred life turned upside down when the parents of a young boy accuse him of kissing the pre-teen. Director Carolina Jabor and screenwriter Lucas Paraizo cleverly add a critique of how social media can be used to insidious ends in this intelligent, “did he or didn’t he?” drama. “De Oliveira gives an impressively complex performance… This is a bold piece of work with a lot to say.”--Eye for Film Audience Award, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Rio 17 Cast Daniel de Oliveira, Marco Ricca Prod Leonardo M. Barros, Renata Brandão, Maria Amelia M. P. Leão Teixeira

SUN, OCT 7 FRI, OCT 12

6:00 PM 5:15 PM

IN08 VCT

Kosovo, 1999: the UN bombing campaign continues. Against this backdrop, a lone trucker (Leon Lucev) carrying a deadly secret cargo makes his way across a landscape strewn with obstacles... Ognjen Glavonic’s tense fiction feature debut draws on his documentary background to present a mesmerizing critique of wartime atrocities. “Harshly intelligent and uncompromisingly spare... [T]his impressive new filmmaker illuminates a painful truth that inculpates more of us than we’d like to believe…”—Variety Cast Leon Lucev, Pavle Cemerikic, Tamara Krcunovic, Ivan Lucev Prod Dragana Jovovic, Stefan Ivancic, Ognjen Glavonic, Sophie Erbs Filmography Zivan Makes a Punk Festival; Depth Two

Filmography Good Luck

Czech Republic

Spain

Tátova volha

JAIME ROSALES, SPAIN/FRANCE/DENMARK, 2018, 107 MIN.

JIRÍ VEJDELEK, CZECH REPUBLIC, 2018, 90 MIN.

MON, OCT 1 TUE, OCT 9

9:45 PM 4:15 PM

IN10 IN09

North American Premiere. Sorting through her late husband’s things, Eva (Eliška Balzerová) makes a seemingly innocuous discovery that soon suggests some major indiscretions. At her daughter’s (Tatiana Vilhelmová) insistence, the two set off on a cross-country trek in their vintage Volga GAZ 21, leaving no stone unturned or ex-lover uninterrogated as they try to assemble a more honest family history. Jirí Vejdelek demonstrates why he’s one of the Czech Republic’s most beloved filmmakers with this heartfelt and poignant comedy. Cast Eliška Balzerová, Tatiana Vilhelmová, Martin Myšicka, Emília Vášáryová Prod Tomáš Hoffman, Jirí Vejdelek Selected Filmography Václav; Tender Hope; Women in Temptation

THU, OCT 4 SAT, OCT 6

FRI, SEP 28 SUN, SEP 30

Nadie sabrá nunca

9:30 PM 11:00 AM

SFU IN09

Canadian Premiere. Jacek (Mateusz Kosciukiewicz), a longhaired metalhead in a small Polish town, has an accident while working on the construction of a 33-metre-high concrete Jesus and has to have Poland’s first face transplant. Thus does Malgorzata Szumowska (Body) set the stage for a pithy and occasionally scathing skewering of Polish hypocrisy and prejudice. “Scabrous and strangely affecting… a drama that puts you inside its extended community with a mix of robust realism and a streak of fantasy comedy.”—Guardian Silver Bear: Grand Jury Prize, Berlin 18 Cast Mateusz Kosciukiewicz, Agnieszka Podsiadlik, Malgorzata Gorol, Anna Tomaszewska Prod Jacek Drosio, Malgorzata Szumowska, Michal Englert

4:45 PM 6:30 PM

IN09 IN09

JESÚS TORRES TORRES, MEXICO, 2018, 102 MIN.

MON, OCT 1 WED, OCT 3

1:30 PM 6:00 PM

IN09 RIO

Comforting fictions are what make life tolerable for Lucia (a terrific Adriana Paz) and her son Braulio (Luciano Marti). Husband Rigoberto (Jorge A. Jiménez) is not exactly enlightened, and to make matters worse, he opposes his wife’s dream of moving to the city. This film maintains a beautiful but sad tone—until one night, when Rigoberto is absent, a stranger arrives and things take a magical turn. Jesús Torres Torres has made a film of wonder and tragedy—wistful, haunting and lovely to look at. Cast Adriana Paz, Jorge A. Jiménez, Luciano Marti, David Medel, Arcelia Ramírez Prod Ernesto Martínez Arévalo, Iliana Reyes Chávez

Selected Filmography 33 Scenes from Life; In the Name of; Body

Greece

Petra

Patrimony

No One Will Ever Know

Twarz

Palestine

Pity Oiktos

BABIS MAKRIDIS, GREECE/POLAND, 2018, 99 MIN.

MON, OCT 8 WED, OCT 10

6:30 PM 4:00 PM

RIO SFU

Canadian Premiere. Artist Petra (Bárbara Lennie) draws close to a dysfunctional family when she takes on the much older Jaume (Joan Botey) as a mentor. Jaume lives on an estate with various discontented members of his clan, including his son Lucas (Alex Brendemühl), with whom Petra flirts... To reveal more would spoil Jaime Rosales’ cunning mystery and powerful drama; let’s just say that Petra has a secret reason for her presence at the estate... “[A] sophisticated tragedy with classical undertones...”—Cineuropa

Canadian Premiere. A mordant black comedy that is played deadpan straight, Babis Makridis’ latest gives us a weak-willed lawyer (Yannis Drakopoulos) grieving over his comatose wife. When he realizes that he’s happier as a sad sack, he decides to stay that way… Co-written by Yorgos Lanthimos’ regular collaborator Efthimis Filippou, this film proves the Greek “Weird Wave” is still thriving. “A disturbing and oftentimes very funny satiredrama… about that complex, primal human craving called empathy…”—RogertEbert.com

Cast Bárbara Lennie, Alex Brendemühl, Joan Botey, Marisa Paredes Prod Bárbara Díez, José María Morales, Antonio Chavarrías, Jérôme Dopffer, Katrin Porsmikkel, Jersineva Jakobsen

Cast Yannis Drakopoulos, Evi Saoulidou, Nota Tserniafski, Makis Papadimitriou, Georgina Chryskioti Prod Amanda Livanou, Christos V., Konstantakopoulos, Klaudia Smieja, Beata Rzezniczek

Selected Filmography The Hours of the Day; Tiro en la cabeza; Beautiful Youth

Filmography L

The Reports on Sarah and Saleem MUAYAD ALAYAN, PALESTINE/NETHERLANDS/ GERMANY/MEXICO, 2018, 127 MIN.

SUN, OCT 7 THU, OCT 11

8:30 PM 4:30 PM

IN09 IN10

The adulterous affair between Palestinian deliveryman Saleem (Adeeb Safadi) and Israeli café manager Sarah (Sivane Kretchner) catches the attention of the authorities on both sides and threatens to destroy the couple’s lives. Set in Jerusalem, Muayad Alayan’s tale serves as a state-of-the-union report for a divided city. “Engrossing... This frequently taut psychosocial drama with political-thriller elements deftly conveys the tensions, both physical and mental, between West and East Jerusalem.”—Variety Audience Award, Rotterdam 18; Grand Jury Prize, Seattle 18 Cast Adeeb Safadi, Sivane Kretchner, Ishai Golan, Maisa Abd Elhadi Prod Muayad Alayan, Rami Alayan Filmography Love, Theft and Other Entanglements

Panorama

Switzerland

Diary of My Mind

The Valley

Shock Waves: Program 1&2 TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 130 MIN.

SAT, SEP 29 SAT, OCT 6

8:45 PM 10:45 AM

VCT IN10

India

Shock Waves: Program 3&4 TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 115 MIN.

SUN, SEP 30 SUN, OCT 7

9:00 PM 11:00 AM

VCT IN10

Shock Waves: Diary of My Mind

Shock Waves: Sirius

URSULA MEIER, SWITZERLAND, 2018, 70 MIN.

FRÉDÉRIC MERMOUD, SWITZERLAND, 2018, 64 MIN.

Shock Waves: First Name Mathieu

Shock Waves: The Valley JEAN-STÉPHANE BRON, SWITZERLAND, 2018, 51 MIN.

LIONEL BAIER, SWITZERLAND, 2018, 60 MIN.

Made for Swiss television, the four-part Shock Waves series examines one crime scenario per episode. “Diary of My Mind” is a classic take on the psychology of torment: when a pupil of hers commits murder, a French teacher is left to reflect on her possible complicity while knowing the issue will forever remain unresolved. The lucid, compassionate “First Name: Mathieu” examines a rape victim’s response to his violation; brave and inquisitive, he’s driven by an urge to speak with his unknown assailant...

Morocco

Germany

Sofia

MERYEM BENM’BAREK, MOROCCO/FRANCE/QATAR, 2018, 80 MIN.

TUE, OCT 9 THU, OCT 11

The brilliant Swiss series continues with two entries that lead us slowly into danger. “Sirius” is the portrait of a New Age cult whose leader is preparing his followers for their biggest endeavour yet. The episode is marked by its wealth of detail and scarcity of motive, and the combination gives it a horrible power. “The Valley” is a classic of suspense, following a sympathetic young car thief on a mission that takes him into the mountains, where he becomes a running, shivering target...

9:00 PM 1:45 PM

IN09 IN09

North American Premiere. In Casablanca, 20-year-old Sofia (newcomer Maha Alemi, excellent) has a baby out of wedlock and then must face the consequences from both her status-seeking family and Moroccan society at large, in which sex outside of marriage is still considered a crime. Meryem Benm’Barek’s very well-written and acted debut feature lays bare the sanctimony at the root of Morocco’s patriarchal culture. “Benm’barek’s lean, nuanced script astutely… picks apart class hypocrisy within Moroccan society.”—Variety Best Screenplay, Un Certain Regard, Cannes 18 Cast Maha Alemi, Lubna Azabal, Sarah Perles, Faouzi Bensaïdi, Hamza Khafif Prod Olivier Delbosc

The Snatch Thief El Motoarrebatador

ROHENA GERA, INDIA/FRANCE, 2018, 99 MIN.

9:30 PM 4:00 PM

PLAY IN10

This smart romantic drama from Rohena Gera has young widow Ratna (Tillotama Shome), who dreams of a career in fashion, moving from her village to Mumbai, where she gains employment as a servant to the scion of a rich family. A romance soon develops, but problems of class and caste—and patriarchal traditions that refuse to die—are a continuing threat to the young couple. “A delicately observed and attractive drama with some great Mumbai cityscapes and an excellent performance from Shome.”—Guardian Cast Tillotama Shome, Vivek Gomber, Geetanjati Kulkarni, Rahul Vohra Prod Brice Poisson, Thierry Lenouvel, Rohena Gera Filmography What’s Love Got to Do with It?

Germany

Styx

WOLFGANG FISCHER, GERMANY/AUSTRIA, 2018, 94 MIN.

THU, OCT 4 SAT, OCT 6

Argentina

Sir

SUN, OCT 7 MON, OCT 8

6:30 PM 12:45 PM

PLAY PLAY

AGUSTÍN TOSCANO, ARGENTINA, 2018, 93 MIN.

MON, OCT 8 FRI, OCT 12

4:00 PM 9:00 PM

RIO SFU

Canadian Premiere. Miguel (Sergio Prina) makes his living by driving a motorbike by people while his accomplice (Daniel Elias) grabs their belongings. It’s a dubious trade, to say the least, but the rottenness of it really hits home for our protagonist when a theft of his causes brutal injury to an old woman (Liliana Juárez). Miguel winds up concealing his identity and caring for her—an act that, it turns out, is not wholly altruistic. Prina and Juárez make a great screen pair in Agustín Toscano’s subtly tense film. Cast Sergio Prina, Liliana Juárez, León Zelarrayán, Daniel Elias, Camila Plaate Prod Natacha Cervi, Hernán Musaluppi, Georgina Baisch, Cecilia Salim

Ukraine

Transit

CHRISTIAN PETZOLD, GERMANY/FRANCE, 2018, 101 MIN.

SAT, SEP 29 MON, OCT 8

Contemporary World Cinema

9:30 PM 3:45 PM

PLAY PLAY

Both a parable about the West’s reaction to the refugee crisis and an exhilarating exercise in pure cinema, Wolfgang Fischer’s drama features Susanne Wolff (amazing) as a doctor who sets out on a solo ocean voyage. She soon encounters a sinking trawler full of refugees and radios the coast guard, who tell her to back off. What can she do? “This is All Is Lost with a spinning moral compass and a topical dimension that proves even more gripping than its brilliantly achieved visceral action.”—Variety

With occupying forces closing in, a haunted refugee (Franz Rogowski, Germany’s Joaquin Phoenix) assumes a dead writer’s identity— and transit papers—and flees to Marseille in hopes of sailing to safety. However, he soon becomes entangled in the lives of those who’ve been left behind, including the widow (Paula Beer) of the man he’s posing as. Christian Petzold (Phoenix) masterfully conjures a fever-dream-fuelled, noir-tinged romantic thriller that’s equally indebted to Casablanca and current affairs.

Cast Susanne Wolff, Gedion Oduor Wekes Prod Marcos Kantis, Martin Lehwald, Michal Pokorny

Cast Franz Rogowski, Paula Beer, Godehard Giese Prod Florian Koerner von Gustorf, Michael Weber

Filmography What You Don’t See

Selected Filmography The State I Am In; Barbara; Phoenix

Volcano

ROMAN BONDARCHUK, UKRAINE/GERMANY/ MONACO, 2018, 103 MIN.

SUN, OCT 7 TUE, OCT 9

8:45 PM 1:15 PM

SFU VCT

North American Premiere. City-boy interpreter Lukas (Serhiy Stepansky) gets separated from the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) bureaucrats he works with and finds himself very much in trouble in the badlands of Ukraine’s war-torn east. Roman Bondarchuk’s visually resplendent dark comedy brings to mind the visions of Lynch and Kafka as it follows its hapless hero. “A poetically surreal love letter to an untamed corner of the Wild East… rich in sumptuous visuals and lyrical strangeness.”— Hollywood Reporter Cast Serhiy Stepansky, Victor Zhdanov, Khrystyna Deilyk Prod Olena Yershova Filmography Euromaidan. Rough Cut; Dixie Land; Ukrainian Sheriffs

Buy tickets and read full film descriptions at viff.org

SEP 22 Aida Cuevas: Totalmente Juan Gabriel SEP 30 I’m With Her OCT 21 Goran Bregović and His Wedding and Funeral Band SOLD OUT NOV 13 Joshua Redman: Still Dreaming FEB 17 Bobby McFerrin: Circlesongs SOLD OUT MAR 2

Ladysmith Black Mambazo with Habib Koité and Bassekou Kouyate

APR 11 Cristina Pato Quartet APR 17 Mariza APR 27 Anoushka Shankar

Cristina Pato I’m With Her

Joshua Redman

Anoushka Shankar

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Vancity

SFU-GCA

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Playhouse

Intl Village 10

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Cinematheque

Centre for Arts

Sunday, September 30

Vancity

SFU-GCA

Rio

Playhouse

Intl Village 10

Intl Village 9

Intl Village 8

Cinematheque

Centre for Arts

Saturday, September 29

Vancity

SFU-GCA

Rio

Playhouse

Intl Village 10

Science Fair

11:00am 90min p78

13:00

10:30am 97min p74

Central Airport...

Bathtubs Ove...

14:00

9:30am 480min p67

Totally Indie Day

1:00pm 77min p72

Parallel

Fausto

1:00pm 104min p95

1:00pm 90min p41

CT: Michael Schur

1:00pm 111min p19

The Hummingbird Pr...

2:00pm 88min p35

15:00

Sharkwater: ...

1:15pm 93min p69

Firecrackers

Danger Signs

Mirai

1:30pm 98min p87

12:30pm 115min p61

Euforia

2:00pm 95min p91

17:00

3:30pm 108min p63

4:15pm 94min p68

Ray & Liz

Giant Little Ones

3:30pm 100min p60

Daughter of Mine

3:45pm 113min p90

4:15pm 96min p97

Maria by Callas

Virus Tropical

4:00pm 99min p87

Mori, The Artis...

3:30pm 92min p73

The Stone Speak...

Shoplifters

3:30pm 121min p37

16:00

4:00pm 92min p47

Diamantino

3:15pm 89min p79

Cuban Food S...

Holiday

20:00

6:00pm 129min p75

Clara

Samouni Road

6:30pm 105min p69

Splinters

6:00pm 95min p71

6:30pm 70min p65

6:45pm 95min p88

Finding B...

A Land Imagined

6:30pm 106min p88

Microhabitat

6:15pm 87min p72

Museum of Fo...

6:15pm 111min p63

Quantification Tri...

6:30pm 87min p23

ANTHROPOCENE...

19:00

Lost City of th...

6:15pm 100min p81

6:15pm 107min p85

6:45pm 94min p68

A Family Tour

5:45pm 88min p65

Kingsway

7:15pm 100min p60

Giant Little Ones

Fausto

21:00

9:15pm 117min p87

22:00

8:30pm 188min p57

9:00pm 115min p51

9:30pm 83min p64

Shock Waves: 3 & 4

Because We A...

Level 16

8:45pm 109min p95

The Wild Pear Tree

9:30pm 102min p81

Jinpa

23:00

Putin's Witnesses

9:30pm 87min p85

Escape Routes

N.O.N.

9:00pm 100min p65

Becoming Astrid

9:00pm 123min p45

8:45pm 96min p99

21:00

8:45pm 130min p51

Shock Waves: 1 & 2

No. 1 Chung Ying S...

Transit

9:30pm 101min p51 8:30pm 104min p95

Parallel

Liquid Truth

9:45pm 90min p50

Asako I & II

23:00

9:15pm 120min p85

9:15pm 86min p72

Diane

M/M

9:15pm 95min p47

8:30pm 120min p37

The Sisters Brothers

22:00

8:30pm 117min p88

Girls Always Happy

21:00

9:30pm 140min p94

Mug

9:30pm 91min p50

Under the Silver Lake

Firecrackers

23:00

9:30pm 93min p69

Euforia

9:15pm 115min p61

Ville Neuve

9:30pm 76min p71

9:00pm 130min p27

Everybody Knows

22:00

8:45pm 92min p74

Woman at War

Eldorado

9:00pm 101min p57

8:45pm 95min p91

Matangi/Maya/M....

8:45pm 116min p90

22:00

Bergman - A Year i...

21:00

8:30pm 77min p72

Daughter of Mine

Last Summer

6:30pm 97min p49

6:15pm 98min p75

The Oslo Diaries

6:30pm 104min p69

The Far Shore

6:00pm 93min p33

19:00 Old Man & The Gun

20:00

Bathtubs Ove...

6:45pm 87min p90

Freaks

6:30pm 105min p65

Holiday

6:45pm 93min p49

6:15pm 136min p59

A Paris Education

6:00pm 89min p73

Spice it Up

5:45pm 90min p91

18:00

20:00

6:15pm 129min p69

Genesis

6:30pm 88min p35

Sharkwater: ...

19:00

6:30pm 88min p102

6:30pm 96min p97

Garry Winogrand...

18:00

4:30pm 93min p49

Woman at War

4:00pm 101min p57

3:30pm 90min p91

17:00

Garry Winogrand...

Colette

16:00

Another Day ...

3:30pm 86min p97

4:00pm 120min p49

In My Room (Germany)

Asako I & II

4:00pm 120min p85

3:45pm 102min p81

Putin's Witnesses

3:30pm 95min p47

Diane

3:00pm 112min p27

Matangi/Maya/M....

Chris the Swiss

15:00

1:45pm 90min p78

Ville Neuve

14:00

1:15pm 85min p58

The Image Book

1:45pm 87min p23

ANTHROPOCENE...

1:00pm 76min p71

13:00

11:30am 99min p91

Splinters

1:30pm 95min p71

12:15pm 115min p100

Le Grand Bal

11:00am 91min p50

12:00

Mug

10:30am 87min p90

11:00

11:00am 70min p75

11:15am 117min p88

Girls Always Happy

11:00am 116min p90

Bergman - A Year i...

12:00

In My Roo...

11:00

10:30am 98min p75

The Oslo Diaries

Intl Village 9 1:00pm 126min p49

Leto

Intl Village 8 1:15pm 87min p85

Jinpa

Cinematheque

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Friday, September 28