Ben Ratner
Director, Down River (VIFF 2013)
There's a documentary called Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict that I've got my eye on. A film about the love of visual art should be seen on the big screen, not an iPad.
Gary Hawes
Director, Leap 4 Your Life (VIFF 2013)
I love VIFF'S BC Spotlight program. I think we have some great talent in this province, and it's important we showcase their work. I'm looking forward to seeing Mark Sawers’ No Men Beyond This Point. He directed my favourite short film years back called Shoes Off, and I do enjoy a good mockumentary. And Patrick Gilmore as the youngest man on earth is icing on the cake. Count me in.
Jason Bourque
Director, Black Fly (VIFF 2014)
First is The Lobster: I really enjoyed Dog Tooth by the same director. Add in a dystopian near future, deadpan humor, scathing satire on relationships, and people who turn into animals, and I’m sold. Second is Crumbs, an Ethiopian science fiction fairytale. It looks like an insanely unique cinematic experience… [the] type of world cinema I would only get the chance to see at VIFF.
Julia Kwan
Director, Everything Will Be (VIFF 2014)
I’ve been a longtime fan of Hirokazu Koreeda’s, ever since Mabarosi and the brilliant Afterlife. His latest film Our Little Sister is about three sisters who take in a newly discovered half sister, and it looks like classic Koreeda material: A beautiful, gentle, and understated story about family. I’m also excited to check out Mina Shum’s provocative new NFB documentary, Ninth Floor, about the Sir George Williams University riot in Montreal. A timely documentary about Canadian race relations and police violence.
Matthew Kowalchuk
Director, Lawrence & Holloman (VIFF 2013)
At the top of my list is Kyle Rideout’s Eadweard. I love the challenges that these guys set for themselves. He and co-writer/producer Josh Epstein first adapted the story from a play (which I know from personal experience is no small task) and on a shoestring budget made a period piece with an epic scope, crafting what looks to be a stunningly beautiful film. Also: I have to see Sebastian Schipper’s Victoria, a German action-thriller shot in one continuous take that sounds simply incredible.
Tony Pantages
Co-Director, Three Days in Havana (VIFF 2013)
I’m a sucker for Asian crime films, conceptual dreamscapes, stylized features, the occasional doc, and any maverick filmmaker worth their salt. Picks for this year include The Assassin, The Forbidden Room, Haida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World, and Eadweard (Both my boys Michael Eklund and Christopher Heyerdahl in the same film? Brilliant!).
