Scully, Doc Brown, and Silent Bob are coming to Vancouver: Mark your calendars, lovers of sci-fi and fantasy (and gaming and anime and manga and horror and comic books): Fan Expo Vancouver is gearing up for its 2016 incarnation, and if recent guest announcements are any indication, it’s going to be the can’t-miss event of the year for local geeks. Gillian Anderson (The X-Files’ Agent Scully), Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy), Kevin Smith (Jay & Silent Bob), Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films), Karen Gillan (Doctor Who), John Barrowman (Torchwood), and Jewel Staite (Firefly) are among the genre guests who will sign autographs and interact with fans over the three-day event. Also on the schedule: panels, Q&As, and a massive marketplace full of geeky collectibles. Nov. 11-13 at Vancouver Convention Centre. FanExpoVancouver.com.
Chris Carter to be honoured at VIFF 2016: Speaking of Agent Scully, her creator – The X-Files showrunner Chris Carter – will be honoured on Oct. 7 as part of the 35th Vancouver International Film Festival. Carter (who brought The X-Files back to Vancouver in 2015 to film a six-episode event series) will receive the VIFF Industry Builder Award for Sustainable Production at a Greater Vancouver Board of Trade luncheon. On the same day, Carter will open the Sustainable Production Forum, presented by Creative BC, at the Vancouver International Film Centre. The one-day event will (according to the press release) “lay the groundwork for showcasing Vancouver as a world-class destination for sustainable screen-based industry production. In his keynote, Carter will address the importance of sustainable production and possibilities for the future.” The Sustainable Production Forum is a free event and registration is required; more information and registration will be available at viff.org on Sept. 8. Tickets for the VIFF Industry Builder Award luncheon (which will take place in a ballroom at the Fairmont Pacific Rim) are available for purchase at BoardOfTrade.com.
Vancouver Latin American Film Festival: VLAFF returned for its 14th edition last week. The annual fest celebrates cinema from the Latin American Diaspora, and this year’s packed line-up includes an abundance of films from Mexico, including Natalia Bruschtein’s Time Suspended, A Day in Ayotzinapa 43 (by Rafael Rangel), four short films, and the return engagement of the Vancouver-made documentary The Ballad of Oppenheimer Park by Mexican director Juan Manuel Sepulveda. Until Sept. 4. Schedule and tickets at VLAFF.org.
I Love You So Much It’s Killing Them: A short film that was a hit of the 2016 Crazy 8s moviemaking competition won an award in a horror film fest founded by geek icon Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead). I Love You So Much It’s Killing Them – a stylish horror-rom-com about a lovelorn serial killer whose three loves in life are math, accounting, and killing random people – took home the award for best short film at Bruce Campbell’s Horror Film Festival, which ran Aug. 18-21 in Chicago. Director Joel Ashton McCarthy tweeted on Aug. 27: “When a childhood hero of yours retweets something about a film you directed... @GroovyBruce [Campbell] you’ve made my day.” McCarthy also directed Taking My Parents to Burning Man and Whistler Film Festival alum Shooting The Musical (formerly After Film School).
BC shorts announced for VIFF: A couple of weeks after announcing its line-up of locally made feature films, the Vancouver International Film Festival has announced the BC-made short films that will screen at its 2016 fest. The list includes the boxing-centric Ganjy (by Leo Award-winning director Ben Ratner), Cabbie (dir. Jessica Parsons), The Cameraman (by The Devout director Connor Gaston), Cave of Sighs (Nathan Douglas), Clouds (Diego Maclean), Einst (Jessica Johnson), Four Faces of the Moon (Amanda Strong), Here Nor There (Julia Hutchings), and 10 more. VIFF 2016 runs Sept. 24-Oct. 14. The full line-up (including the opening and closing night films) will be announced at a press conference on Sept. 7. Bookmark VIFF.org and follow Reel People on Twitter (@sabrinarmf) for ongoing festival coverage.
Whistler Film Festival honorees: We’re still a few months out from the 2016 WFF (which runs Nov. 30-Dec. 4), but the self-described “Canada’s coolest film fest” has announced some of the honorees for its 2016 edition. Prolific actress Gabrielle Rose (The Birdwatcher) is the recipient of the Maven Award. The Talent to Watch Award goes to filmmaker Mary Galloway (a recent recipient of a $10,000 prize from the Kevin Spacey Foundation, and a 2016 Spotlight Award from Women in Film & Television Vancouver), while VFX legend Warren Franklin receives the Industry Toast. The BC Creates Toast goes to MPPIA, and the BC’s Got Talent Spotlight honoree is Allan W. Hopkins. Details and WFF ticket packages at WhistlerFilmFestival.com.
Big opportunity for short films: Got short? The Vancouver Short Film Festival is accepting BC-made short film submissions for its 2017 fest until Oct. 16. Submit at FilmFreeway.com/festival/vsff.
Screen stars on stage: Vancouver film and television actors can be found in a couple of stage productions this month. Reality Curve’s production of Bug – a thriller by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tracy Letts (August: Osage County) – stars Lori Triolo (Blackstone), Paul Piaskowski (iZombie), Rekha Sharma (The 100), Aleks Paunovic (Numb), and Andrew McIlroy (Battlestar Galactica) and is directed by Emmy-nominated casting director Stuart Aikins. (Sept. 14-18 at The Annex. Tickets at RealityCurve.com). And Beverley Elliott (Granny on ABC’s hit fantasy series Once Upon a Time) returns to the Vancouver Fringe Festival with Sink or Swim, a one-woman show featuring original songs and stories (Sept. 9-15 at Rio Theatre. Tickets at VancouverFringe.com).
Premiere dates for Vancouver-shot shows: Van Helsing (SyFy): Sept. 23; Once Upon a Time (ABC): Sept. 25; The Flash (The CW): Oct. 4; Arrow (The CW): Oct. 5; The Romeo Section: Oct. 5; Supergirl (The CW): Oct. 10; DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (The CW): Oct. 13; Supernatural (The CW): Oct. 13; Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (BBC America): Travelers: Oct. 17 (Showcase); Oct.22. Pro-tip: Keep up to date with what’s filming in Vancouver with Creative BC’s In Production list, updated weekly (www.creativebc.com/crbc-services/motion-picture-services/in-production).
Local actor goes to Homeland: Vancouver actor Patrick Sabongui (The Flash) will join Claire Danes and co. for the sixth season of Showtime’s hit thriller,Homeland, in a recurring role.
