SPARK FWD
Some of the most eye-popping visual effects (VFX) on film are created right here in the 604, so it makes sense that Vancouver plays host to one of the most exciting annual visual effects festivals on the planet. Showcasing innovations in the VFX scene, SPARK FWD shines the spotlight on this dynamic industry through conference panels, lectures, screenings, and presentations. Highlights for the 2015 fest include a 30th anniversary panel and screening of Back to the Future, with behind-the-scenes insight from director of photography Dean Cundey, DeLorean Time Machine designer and special effects supervisor Kevin Pike, and original BTTF storyboard and concept artist Andrew Probert; a job fair; interactive sessions with the VFX visionaries who created masterful effects and images for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Interstellar, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies, Guardians of the Galaxy, Paddington, and more; and a Late Night Snacks shorts program of local and international films. Jan. 29-31 at Vancity Theatre (1181 Seymour). Registration and schedule at SparkFX.ca.
A DECADE OF WOMEN IN FILM
Billed as a celebration of “the best of cinema created by women,” The 10th annual Vancouver International Women in Film Festival screens feature-length films and shorts representing an array of viewpoints and techniques. Shonali Bose’s Margarita, with a Straw – a critical darling of the Toronto International Film Festival – will kick off the fest, which will also screen Lady Be Good (USA), A 5-Star (Iran), Behind Closed Doors (France), The Lesson (Bulgaria), Seguir Viviendo (Mexico), Highway of Tears (Canada) and Relative Happiness (Canada). Also on the jam-packed schedule: an awards ceremony and screenings of local shorts (including the Crazy 8s crowd-pleaser Bedbugs: A Musical Love Story, and Through the Pane, which scooped up several awards at the recent Vancouver International Short Film Festival). March 4-7 at Vancity Theatre (1181 Seymour). Tickets and schedule at WomenInFilm.ca.
GET SEX(ED)
For anyone who ever suffered through a droning lecture on ovaries and the uterus, or rolled a condom over a banana, this is the film for you. DOXA Documentary Film Festival’s Motion Pictures Film Series presents the Greater Vancouver premiere of Brenda Goodman’s film Sex(ed): The Movie. Using clips from an astounding array of sex ed films, featuring everyone from Donald Duck to Marcia Brady, Goodman examines how sex education has changed over the years. From masturbation to same-sex attraction to STIs, sex is a complicated business, with business being the operative word. Feb. 6 at the Richmond Cultural Centre (7700 Minoru Gate). For further information, call DOXA at 604-646-3200.
