We are halfway through this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival. Our Ambassador Ritchie Po shares, “For serious cineastes, we are the point at which we have viewed many of our previously published 2024 VIFF Hit List of selections and are now looking into adding more films to our schedules. This often happens because we hear about other recommended films, find time to attend more, or the festival has added more screenings.”
Folio.YVR has asked Ritchie to revisit his list of must-sees, and if you still have not decided what to watch, if something is sold out, or have just heard about a great film, here is a list of his ten ‘hidden gems’ to catch before VIFF 2024 wraps.
Ari’s Theme
A Telus Original film, this is a moving documentary about an extraordinary individual. Chosen as this year’s opening night gala screening, this film documents the journey of Victoria-based composer Ari Kinarthy, who was born with a degenerative muscular disease and not expected to live beyond his teenage years. He is still creating music in his 30s and is celebrated in this compassionate, powerful, and emotionally charged must-see.
The End
Joshua Oppenheimer‘s epic musical dramedy is about a wealthy family whose businesses caused such massive pollution and environmental destruction that when the world ends, they are the only people left, hidden (from what?) in a luxurious bunker, writing their memories (but who shall read them?). Oppenheimer is known for his shattering documentary The Act of Killing and makes his fictional feature debut with this entry, starring Michael Shannon and Oscar winner Tilda Swinton.
Flow
One of the favourites of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, this animated film is about a cat that survives a tsunami and makes animal friends while navigating the splashy ocean world. And do not worry about subtitles: this film has no dialogue but delivers a great story using only sight and sound. This is for you if you loved last year’s Oscar-nominated Robot Dreams (also a VIFF selection). Flow is this year’s Latvian entry for Best International Feature Film at this year’s Academy Awards.
Brief History of a Family
Lin Jianjie‘s nail-biter makes its Canadian premiere at VIFF. An incident at a local high school leads to a bond between the only son of a well-to-do family and his introspective classmate. Just as the shy student becomes more involved with his new friend, another incident takes viewers to an unexpected place! This Chinese thriller debuted at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.
I’m Still Here
The newest, by Brazil’s celebrated director Walter Salles, is a memoir of a family living through that country’s military dictatorship in the 1970s. The Golden Osella for Best Screenplay at last month’s Venice Film Festival is among its numerous accolades. I am Still Here has been selected as Brazil’s official entry for Best International Feature Film at this year’s Academy Awards.
Luther: Never Too Much
Luther Vandross was always one of our go-to artists for those who grew up on “quiet storm” soul / R&B in the late 1980s and through the New Jack Swing era of the 1990s. This new documentary sheds light on his career highs and lows and addresses the inner struggles and demons that plagued the multiple Grammy-winning singer. Dawn Porter‘s latest film is co-produced by superstar Jamie Foxx.
Rumours
It would not be a genuinely Canadian film festival without at least one entry from Winnipeg’s own Guy Maddin, co-directing with Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson. A raucous speculative comedy about a fictionalized G7, this bonkers (to put it mildly) comedy boasts an impeccable cast headed by Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett. This is a truly original new entry by one of our most innovative directors.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
A gripping thriller about what happens when an Iranian investigator’s handgun goes missing during the Women, Life, Freedom rebellion. Sounds like a classic whodunit, right? This tense mystery caused such a sensation at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival that it won the prestigious FIPRESCI Prize and garnered a Special Jury Prize in the main competition. Friends at other festivals have told me this is “unmissable.”
Secret Mall Apartment
You heard the title correctly the first time. This is the true story of Michael Townsend, who, together with his art friends, created and lived in a secret apartment hidden in a corner of Rhode Island’s Providence Mall in 2003. Unbelievably, they lived in that space for four years and went almost undetected. This is a fun documentary that reflects the nature of what a home is and what society’s obligations to its citizens should be.
A Traveler’s Needs
The Canadian premiere of South Korean director Hong Sangsoo. This is his latest collaboration with legendary French actress Isabelle Huppert. This film earned the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, the second most prestigious prize after the Golden Bear winner Dahomey (which is also playing at VIFF this year).
Please note that a few of these films may already be sold out by the time this article is published, but there are still opportunities to see them if you wait in the standby line and keep a look out for additional showtimes. And if you cannot get into your first choice, please support independent cinema and VIFF by seeing one of the still-available titles.
The 43rd Vancouver Film Festival is on now until October 6, 2024.
Author Profile
- Helen Siwak is the founder of EcoLuxLuv Marketing & Communications Inc and publisher of Folio.YVR Luxury Lifestyle Magazine, PORTFOLIOY.YVR Business & Entrepreneurs Magazine, and digital women's lifestyle magazine EcoLuxLifestyle.co. She is a prolific content creator, consultant, and marketing and media strategist within the ecoluxury lifestyle niche. Post-pandemic, she has worked with many small to mid-sized plant-based/vegan brands to build their digital foundations and strategize content creation and business development. Helen is the west coast correspondent to Canada’s top-read industry magazine Retail-Insider, holds a vast freelance portfolio, and consults with many of the world’s luxury heritage brands. Always seeking new opportunities and challenges, you can email her at helen@ecoluxluv.com.
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