Photo courtesy of Stock Xchng
Vancouver International Film Festival opens on September 26 and runs through October 11. With the closure of the historic Granville 7 cinemas, VIFF found a new home at several venues, including the Vancouver Playhouse and The Centre for the Performing Arts. Festival screenings also returned to previously used theatres, such as The Rio on Commercial Drive and Cineplex Odeon International Village.
New venues allow the festival to branch out of downtown core to three neighbourhoods: Granville and Davie, Commercial and East Broadway, and Gastown. There are over three hundred films in ten series to choose from in this year’s VIFF run.
The choices may be overwhelming, which is why The Link came up with few recommendations.
All the Wrong Reasons
Directed by Gia Milani. Canadian Images series.
Late Glee star Cory Monteith plays James, a store manager who is struggling to keep a relationship with his wife Kate (Karine Vanasse), while also being interested in the new cashier, Nicole (Emily Hampshire). Canadian filmmaker Gia Milani explores the poignancy of interpersonal relationships within a small but complicated department store universe. As one of Monteith’s last roles, the film would be intriguing for many audience members. For those unfamiliar with his work, there’s plenty of workplace dynamics to relate to.
Zentai
Directed by Hashiguchi Ryosuke. Dragons & Tigers series.
Zentai is a Japanese term for a skin-tight full-bodysuit. Think Green Men. Think Halloween costumes. Ryosuke’s comedy focuses on a group of zentai fetishists, who don these stretchy suits to transform into less-inhibited versions of themselves. The comedy consists of six chapters; the viewers are invited to guess which characters from the first few chapters have zentai alter-egos in the last two chapters. Laughs are guaranteed; cosplay is optional.
Antisocial
Directed by Cody Calahan. Altered States.
Something wicked this way comes – comment, like, and share this with your friends. In Antisocial, five university students lock themselves in a dorm room to protect themselves from an unknown evil raging outside. They soon realize that danger lies within their smartphones and laptops. Finally, a horror movie about social networking. Everyone saw it coming, but Calahan is the first filmmaker to force his characters from the Internet-dependent generation to survive unplugged. Watch, enjoy and take notes (just in case).
The Kill Team
Directed by Dan Krauss. Nonfiction series.
In 2010, a group of U.S. soldiers murdered several unarmed Afghan civilians, including a 15-year-old boy, in staged combat situations. The group referred to themselves as the “Kill Team”, and went as far as taking pictures with the bodies of victims. Adam Winfield, a soldier from the same battalion, told his father about the murders over Facebook chat, and was later framed for one of the murders. He pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter due to the failure to stop others from committing the war crime. Dan Krauss spoke with Winfield and his family, as well as other members of the Kill Team, to put together a chilling account of men at war.
