Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) presents its 42nd edition this month, the first fully in-cinema festival since 2019. This year’s lineup features roughly 140 feature films and 100 shorts, presented on 10 screens in seven Vancouver venues. Vancouverites will be able to explore film culture through an expanded program of live events, performances, and exhibitions.
The festival will officially open with award-winning Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves, a poignant comedy about two lonely souls who believe they’re meant for each other, which won the Jury Prize at Cannes. The closing film selection will be The Pot-au-Feu (La Passion de Dodin Bouffant) by Tran Anh Hùng, a look at a romantic, intuitive, and intimate partnership between a famed gourmand and his beloved cook, played by Juliette Binoche. The film earned Tran Best Director at Cannes, 30 years after his debut film The Scent of Green Papaya won the Camera d’or at the same festival.
The 2023 film lineup speaks to the themes that are most pressing in our daily lives today, from intimate meditations on motherhood and the dynamics of family to the extensive impacts of climate change on the world around us. VIFF Talks brings together industry leaders who share insights into some of today’s most popular and acclaimed films. VIFF Live breathes life into stories from the screen, combining live performance and cinema culture. VIFF Amp examines the role of music in film, laying the groundwork to foster new talent and nurturing connections between composers and directors. Signals, co-presented by VIFF and DigiBC, explores how new creative technologies are generating uncharted opportunities for storytelling.
“Vancouver is a city for filmmakers and cinephiles, and VIFF is the city’s festival. The past few years were challenging, but we’re back, fully in-cinema, with 11 days of celebration overflowing with powerful films and inspiring live performances to help our community reconnect with what makes this place so special,” says Kyle Fostner, Executive Director. “While this year’s festival falls at a tumultuous time for film industry workers, we’re excited to offer both audiences and industry professionals the opportunity to come together, and to experience the power and potential film can have as a healing, inspiring, and uplifting experience.”
Highlighted Films : Media Partner: The Afro News
Union Street
Dir. Jamila Pomeroy | Canada Mon. Oct 2, 8:45 pm, SFU-GCA | Sat. Oct 7, 3:30 pm, Rio
Goodbye Julia | Dir. Mohamed Kordofani | Sudan |Wed. Oct 4, 9:00 pm, International Village 9
Fri. Oct 6, 3:15 pm, SFU-GCA
