“A PICNIC TABLE, AT DUSK tells the story of Ivy, played by Kelowna native Taylor Hickson, who is a grieving teenager who spends most of her days sitting at a picnic table at the park near her house. One day she decides to leave a message on the table, an angry shout into the void. […]
Author: Jason Whyte
VIFF 2018 Interview: WAITING FOR APRIL director Olivier Godin
“This film is about a man with a gorilla arm. This man, who also happens to play Jesus in a TV series, is in possession of a singing bone. All this is mysterious, I grant you, but that’s why Detective Haffigan is on the case. This policewoman, an enemy of gentleness and a strong believer […]
VIFF 2018 Interview: AKEDA director Dan Bronfeld
“My film Akeda follows a child as he is being lead by a film director on a propaganda film set.” Director Dan Bronfeld on AKEDA which screens at VIFF 2018. So how did you get into this business? Talk to me a bit about how you got your start and what you have worked on […]
VIFF 2018 Interview: FROM ACROSS THE STREET & THROUGH TWO SETS OF WINDOWS director Steven McCarthy
“The film opens on a woman in the dark in her sleek, modern condo staring at the building opposite hers. Her neighbour across the street, is a man, naked at his window. The story is about voyeurism, the desire for connection, and the stories we tell ourselves when we need to isolate ourselves from the […]
VIFF 2018 Interview: THIS MOUNTAIN LIFE director Grant Baldwin
The following interview took place at this year’s HotDocs Film Festival. It has been edited for coverage at this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival where the movie is also showing! “THIS MOUNTAIN LIFE follows 60 year-old Tania and her daughter Martina who survive a 6 month ski trek through the treacherous Coast Mountains from Vancouver […]
VIFF 2018 Interview: TURBINE director Alex Boya
“TURBINE is the story of a husband who returns home after a war in which he served as a pilot. Unfortunately, he returns home to his wife with a turbine awkwardly sticking out where his face once was. To make matters worse, he has an affair with the kitchen ceiling fan, because they are both […]
VIFF 2018 Interview: MANGOSHAKE director Terry Chiu
“Two guys running a lemonade stand but instead of lemons it’s mangos inadvertently start a war with their mango dealer who is a psychopathic old blind man named Nancy because the stand’s representative was over five minutes late to the meeting point.” Director Terry Chiu on MANGOSHAKE which screens at the 2018 edition of […]
VIFF 2018 Interview: ANIMAL BEHAVIOR animators David Fine & Alison Snowden
“It’s an animated comedy about a group therapy session with animals. We thought that animals are not criticized for behaviour which we typically associate with them, but what if they were? So we put them in a group therapy session and had their behaviour analyzed. It’s obviously analogous to human behaviour too.” Creators David Fine […]
VIFF 2018 Interview: WHAT WALAA WANTS director Christy Garland
“Soon after her mother is released from jail, Walaa decides she wants to train to be one of the few women on the Palestinian Security Forces – a big challenge for a girl who breaks all the rules.” — Director Christy Garland on WHAT WALAA WANTS which screens at the 2018 Vancouver International Film […]
VIFF 2018 Interview: THE MUSEUM OF FORGOTTEN TRIUMPHS director Bojan Bodruzic
“The film considers the collapse of the former Yugoslavia—and the Bosnian war in particular—through the prism of the life of an old couple living out their last days in Sarajevo. The couple just happen to be my grandparents, who I was separated from as a child when the war started in the region. The film […]
VIFF 2018 Interview: LEVEL 16 director Danishka Esterhazy
“Level 16 is a female-driven dystopian thriller about a group of teen girls who are trapped in a mysterious and cruel boarding school that hides a dark secret.” Director Danishka Esterhazy on LEVEL 16 which screens at VIFF 2018. You are back this year! Tell me about what you have had here in the past, […]
VIFF 2018 Interview: N.O.N. director Zebulon Zang
“From porn to the apocalypse, a smattering of everyday concerns are worked out and brought together by a central character in search of a job.” Director Zebulon Zang on N.O.N. which screens at the 2018 VIFF. Congratulations on your film playing and welcome to VIFF! Is your first time here and are you planning […]
VIFF 2018 Interview: Meet the team behind SPICE IT UP!
“Rene is a film student struggling to complete her thesis project. Alone and longing for connection, she finds solace in her work—a film about seven 17-year-old girls who fail their final year of high school and decide to join the Canadian army.” Directors Lev Lewis, Yonah Lewis & Calvin Thomas from SPICE IT UP which […]
VIFF 2018 Interview: GARRY WINOGRAND: ALL THINGS ARE PHOTOGRAPHABLE director Sasha Waters Freyer
The following is an interview that took place at South By Southwest 2018. It has been edited for this VIFF interview. “Garry Winogrand: All Things are Photographable is about one of the great photographers of the 20th century. If you’re a fan of street photography, you probably already know (and love) his work. But it’s […]
VIFF 2018 Interview: Meet the creators of SCIENCE FAIR!
NOTE: The following interview took place at this year’s South By Southwest Film Festival and has been edited for re-use for my coverage of VIFF 2018. “Science Fair follows nine students and one mentor on their journey to the International Science & Engineering Fair, or ISEF, which is like the Olympics of science […]