SPARK ANIMATION FESTIVAL: If you’re an animation professional, student, or enthusiast, you’ll probably want to make time this week for the 2016 edition of the SPARK Animation Festival. Studio executives, animation legends, directors, and innovators will converge to explore and celebrate this thriving arm of the film industry. The fest includes screenings of groundbreaking animated films (including Harmony, Dofus – Book 1: Julith, and Psychonauts, the Forgotten Children), masterclasses, panels, networking opportunities, a job fair, and a business symposium. This year’s business symposium will focus on the timely topic of women artists and executives in the industry with a bill of trailblazing guests including Brenda Chapman, the first women to win an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film (for Brave; her other credits include The Prince of Egypt, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid), Marge Dean (co-President of Women in Animation LA), and Sarah Haasz (Director of Original Programming for DHX Media). SPARK runs Oct. 20-22. Details at http://sparkfx.ca.
TRAVELERS ARRIVES: The locally shot Travelers received a warm reception from fans and critics alike earlier this week when it premiered on Showcase. The sci-fi series – which stars Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) and Mackenzie Porter (Leap 4 Your Life) – follows a group of future humans who discover how to send consciousness back into people of the 21st century; these travelers assume the lives of seemingly random people, while secretly doing whatever they can to save humanity from a terrible future. The series also stars Nesta Cooper, Jared Abrahamson, Reilly Dolman, Patrick Gilmore, and Leah Cairns. If you live beyond the reach of Showcase, fear not: Travelers will arrive on Netflix in December. And if you live in Canada but missed the first episode, you can watch it right here.
VANCOUVER ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL: Film festival season continues with the return of the Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF), which celebrates its 20th birthday with 35 feature-length and short films of all genres from the local and international Asian diaspora. This year’s packed line-up – which includes four world premieres, two North American premieres, 10 Canadian premieres, and six Vancouver premieres – were programmed under the banner theme of “homecoming,” and showcase stories that touch on some aspect of the concept of “from there, to here.” Highlights include The Last Smile from Indo-American director Shankey Srinivasan; Ken Wu’s indie neo-noir directorial debut Heartfall Arises; The Tiger Hunter, a dramedy that stars Danny Pudi (Community) as a young Indian who travels to America to become an engineer; and the locally made Leo Award-winning thriller The Bleeding Edge, about the global black market for human organs. All films are in English or include English subtitles. VAFF takes places Nov. 3-6 at Cineplex Odeon International Village Cinemas. Schedule and tickets at festival.vaff.org.
VAN HELSING RENEWED: Van Helsing hasn’t even finished airing its first season yet, but SyFy has already announced that the Vancouver-shot series will return for a second season. Van Helsing stars Kelly Overton (True Blood) as a resurrected vampire hunter in a post-apocalyptic near-future where vampires have risen and taken control. The series is executive produced by playwright Neil LaBute and Continuum showrunner Simon Davis Barry, and also stars Jonathan Scarfe, Christopher Heyerdahl, Rukiya Bernard, David Cubitt, Vincent Gale, Hilary Jardine, Trezzo Mahoro, Aleks Paunovic, and Alison Wandzura.
JUDY GREER GETS PUBLIC SCHOOLED: The creative duo behind indie hit Eadweard – writer-director Kyle Rideout and writer-producer Josh Epstein – have a lead for Public Schooled, their upcoming coming-of-age comedy: Judy Greer, the prolific American actress whose lengthy list of credits includes Two and a Half Men, Arrested Development, What Women Want, and The Wedding Planner. Public Schooled is slated to go to camera in November, with Rideout in the director's chair and Epstein producing.
COMMON THREADS: Reel Causes presents Common Threads – Short Films from the Heart of Our City, a program of shorts from established and youth filmmakers that delve into the theme of intersections within communities. The evening includes the Vancouver premiere of Victory Square, Jacquie Gould's award winning short drama about a newbie officer (portrayed by Camille Sullivan) whose rotation takes her to the DTES; Kate Green’s documentary Not a Stranger, which explores how individuals can build human connections in a disconnected city; shorts from the local indie social justice filmmaking team, Love Intersections, whose films focus on the queer community intersecting with First Nations and refugee communities; and short works by participants in Intersections Media Opportunities for Youth Society, a TELUS Innovation Award-winning project that offers digital media and life skills programs and work experience opportunities for youth facing multiple barriers to employment. Oct 20 at SFU Woodward's Djavad Mowafaghian Theatre. Tickets at www.reelcauses.org or at the door.
VIFF’S BIG WINNERS: The 35th Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) capped off its milestone edition on Oct. 14 by handing out four audience awards. The awards were announced immediately preceding a sold-out screening of the highly anticipated closing film, Terence Malick’s Voyage of Time. Festival opener Maudie (dir. Aisling Walsh) won the Super Channel People’s Choice Award;
Most Popular International Feature went to UK/France/Belgium co-production I, Daniel Blake (dir. Ken Loach), with the Iran/France co-production The Salesman (dir. Asghar Farhadi) a close runner-up;
Most Popular International Documentary went to Human (dir. Yann Arthus-Bertrand); and locally made film Spirit Unforgettable (dir. Pete McCormack) – about Spirit of the West lead singer John Mann’s battle with early onset Alzheimer’s – received the award for Most Popular Canadian Documentary. Also announced at the award ceremony: Women in Film and Television’s Artistic Merit Award, presented to a Canadian feature film at VIFF written and/or directed solely by a woman. This year's award winner is Vancouver director Nettie Wild for KONELĪNE: our land beautiful. The 35th VIFF screened 300 films from 73 countries from Sept. 29 to Oct. 14.
VANCOUVER WELCOMES NEW FILM COMMISSIONER: Vancouver now has its very own Film Commissioner and a new Film & Media Centre. Representatives from the City of Vancouver and Vancouver Economic Commission announced at an Oct. 17 press conference that David Shepheard – formerly London’s film & TV sector lead – will serve as Vancouver’s first Film Commissioner. At the same time, they announced the creation of a new Film & Media Centre, mandated to (according to the press release) “raise the profile of Vancouver on the global stage, advocate on behalf of the Vancouver industry and work towards attracting investment to the city.” The release quotes Mayor Robertson as follows: “As one of Vancouver’s high growth industries, Film and Media has been a big contributor to our nation-leading economic growth and has tremendous positive impact in our City. David Shepheard's expertise and experience – coupled with the new Film & Media Centre – will take our Digital Entertainment industry, already the 3rd largest film production centre in North America, to the next level on the international stage.” More at www.vancouvereconomic.com/filmmediacentre
WHAT’S FILMING: The industry’s busy streak continues; keep up to date on what’s filming in Vancouver via Creative BC’s handy production list. Peruse it here.
