There’s a reason that VIFF’s BC Spotlight series breaks box office records every year: homegrown cinema reflects the hometown crowd, and we like to see our own stories unfold on the big screen.
Dynamic and daring, the 11 BC-made documentaries and narrative films in this year’s fest easily stand with the best of the rest:
Charlotte’s Song
Think Pan's Labyrinth meets Carnivale, and you'll still be unprepared for this Dust Bowl-era reimagining of The Little Mermaid.
The Devout
After his terminally ill daughter claims to have had a past life as an astronaut, a Christian teacher experiences a profound crisis of faith.
Eadweard
Michael Eklund stars as photographer Eadweard Muybridge, the godfather of cinema and the last American to receive a justifiable homicide verdict.
Fractured Land
Caleb Behn – a Dene lawyer locked in a battle with industry – may become one of this generation’s great leaders, if he can reconcile the fractures within himself and the world around him.
Hadwin’s Judgement
A docudrama about Grant Hadwin, the logging engineer who cut down a sacred tree to protest rampant logging.
Haida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World
This visually stunning paean to Haida Gwaii and the spirited people who populate it won Best Canadian Feature Documentary at Hot Docs 15.
My Good Man’s Gone
A brother and sister from the big city arrive in Story, Arkansas (pop. 89) to settle their father's estate in this dramedy from the screenwriter of That Burning Feeling.
Ninth Floor
Debut documentary from award-winning filmmaker Mina Shum explores the Sir George Williams Affair, which was sparked by allegations of faculty discrimination against black students.
No Men Beyond This Point
In a world where women procreate asexually, male babies have become passé, and an entire gender faces extinction, what's a guy to do?
The Sandwich Nazi
Lewis Bennett’s documentary about the Lebanese male escort who ended up serving gigantic sandwiches in Surrey.
Tricks on the Dead: The Story of the Chinese Labour Corps in WWI
Docudrama about the 140,000 Chinese labourers who, during WWI, were secretly shipped to the Western Front to clear the dead.
• Vote for your favourite BC Spotlight films at MustSeeBC.VIFF.org; the winning film receives an award and a special red carpet screening.
