The Rio Theatre’s Grind Film Festival isn’t your grandma’s film festival – unless your grandma is into splatter-horror, erotica, alternative action, animation, sci-fi and fantasy, in which case, this is totally your grandma’s film festival (and side note: your grandma is epic cool).
From Oct. 23-26, the little-cinema-that-could at Broadway and Commercial will be mile zero for a jam-packed line-up of genre features, shorts, and documentaries from an impressive array of local, national and international filmmakers.
At the top of the Grind Festival’s must-see list is Cannes Film Festival 2014 Grand Prix Winner The Tribe. This astounding film from Ukrainian director Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy focuses on a gang of deaf-mute students at a Ukrainian boarding school whose extra-curricular activities include robbery, prostitution and aggravated assault. Equally astounding is the fact that the film is free of spoken dialogue and subtitles.
There’s also Australian end-of-days thriller These Final Hours (Cannes Film Festival 2014, Director's Fortnight Official Selection) about a self-obsessed young man on the Earth’s last day.
Gore fans will want to make time for the BC premiere of The ABCs of Death 2, the follow-up to the 2012 smash-hit horror anthology that showcases work from some of the most daring genre filmmakers on the planet (as well as the alphabet and 26 ways to die; who says horror isn’t educational?).
The letter T is repped by an entry from Vancouver’s twin horror filmmakers, Jen and Sylvia Soska, entitled “T is for Torture Porn.” They filmed their segment locally, and you can ask them all about it at a post-show Q&A on Friday, during which they’ll be joined by local actress Tristan Risk (American Mary).
Other festival highlights include: The world premiere of the Vancouver-shot thriller Feed the Gods featuring Shawn Roberts from Resident Evil, Tyler Johnston from TV’s Supernatural, and Emily Tennant; Sion Sono’s “bloody funny” yakuza clan feud flick Why Don’t You Play in Hell?; a Saturday afternoon program of local and international short films; director David Gregory’s documentary about the disastrous production of the infamous 1996 remake of The Island of Dr. Moreau; the 40th anniversary remaster of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre; psychological body horror flick Starry Eyes, about a starlet who enters into a deadly agreement in exchange for fame and fortune; and so much more.
Your grandma’s going to love it.
Schedule and tickets at RioTheatre.ca.
