With the possible exception of the Leo Awards, the Vancouver International Film Festival is my most eagerly anticipated film event of the year. It’s only gotten sweeter since VIFF launched the BC Spotlight program, in which we can marvel at the creativity and ingenuity of our homegrown filmmakers.
I’ve dissected and digested the BC Spotlight line-up, and there isn’t a weak film in the lot. That said, if you only have time for a small sampling of local fare, I humbly suggest the following:
Preggoland
Directed by Jacob Tierney
This might just be the hit of this year’s VIFF. Written by Vancouver actress Sonja Bennett (Godiva’s; Random Acts of Romance), Preggoland stars its scribe as a 30-something woman who fakes a pregnancy to fit in with her peer group. As you can imagine, hilarity ensues. The film boasts a bevy of local stars as well as James (Sonny Corleone!) Caan and Danny Trejo (Machete). Preggoland had its world premiere at TIFF, with one reviewer calling it a career-defining performance for Trejo. I’m calling it a game-changer – and star-maker – for Bennett.
Everything Will Be
Directed by Julia Kwan
All cities pass through periods of accelerated change, and Vancouver is no different. We’ve been gripped by rapid transformation since long before the Winter Games. Chinatown, in particular, seems to be on the brink of morphing into something other than what it’s been. Julia Kwan is a Sundance award-winning director, and her latest project examines the shifting landscape in Vancouver’s Chinatown from the perspective of its oldest and newest community members.
Bloody Knuckles
Directed by Matt O’Mahoney
The trailer for this made my skin crawl in the best possible way. Comic book illustrator Travis (portrayed by Adam Boys) loses his drawing hand after he insults a gangster in the pages of his underground publication – but his disembodied hand has unfinished business. As a splatter-horror flick, Bloody Knuckles (get it? ‘Cause the hand’s alive?) isn’t for the weak-hearted, but gore lovers will likely cheer for Travis’ avenging hand as it wreaks havoc and dispenses justice.
Sitting on the Edge of Marlene
Directed by Ana Valine
There was a lot of buzz about Sitting on the Edge of Marlene at the 2014 Leo Awards. It garnered two Leo Awards, including one for best director – an impressive feat, considering this is Ana Valine’s first time directing a feature. Based on the Billie Livingston novella, the bittersweet, highly emotional drama details two years in the lives of a couple of grifters: 14-year-old Sammie (Paloma Kwiatkowski) and her pill-popping mother, Marlene (Suzanne Clément). It’s rich and heavy stuff.
Turbulence
Directed by Soran Mardookhi
It’s hard to muster up the courage to leave everything you’ve ever known to build a new life in a faraway country – and harder still when you’ve come from war and desperate circumstances, and you can’t shake the trauma you left behind. Turbulence is about one such immigrant journey. Writer-director Soran Mardookhi tells the story of new Canadian immigrant Sherzad (Kamal Yamolky), who worked as an electrical engineer in Iraqi Kurdistan, and his estranged young daughter, Jina, who turns to drugs to numb her childhood memories. Keep those tissues close by.
Bedbugs: A Musical Love Story
While not part of the BC Spotlight (it’s not a feature), this BC-made short film is still worth a viewing or three. Shot and locked earlier this year during the Crazy 8s festival, this little film – literally a musical love story involving a bedbug infestation – is a gem, which isn’t surprising considering it was directed by Matthew Kowalchuk, who took home the prize for Best Emerging Director for Lawrence & Holloman at last year’s VIFF. Check it out as part of the Canadian Images – Shorts program.
