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THE 21ST ANNUAL VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL
FILM FESTIVAL ENDS IN CELEBRATION, ANNOUNCES AWARD WINNERS
Vancouver, BC (October 15, 2002) - Screening a total of 304
films from 52 countries, the Vancouver International Film
Festival wrapped its 21st edition on October 11. According
to Festival Director Alan Franey, “The festival was
an extraordinary success this year. Attendance climbed past
the 150,000 mark for the first time ever while membership
in the VIFF Society reached 41,000, both increases of over
10% from the previous year. This was largely attributable
to the addition of the Cineplex Odeon Granville Seven Cinemas,
which allowed for a 10% increase in the number of screenings
and for pass-holders to more easily fill their days with screenings.
Still, the increase in the audience base itself, and the extremely
positive response to most of the films, is especially encouraging
for the future.”
“On the down side,” Franey continued, “it
must be said that visitors to the festival expressed their
alarm about the number of homeless people begging on the streets
of Vancouver. Never before has this been an issue with our
international guests, but this year many filmmakers, journalists
and business people commented on the sorry spectacle and how
much worse it seemed from the previous year.”
The Festival announced its full slate of awards at the Gala
Film screening of Todd Haynes’ FAR
FROM HEAVEN, on Friday, October 11.
The People’s Choice Awards
Air Canada Award for Most Popular Film
The Air Canada Award for Most Popular Film goes to BOWLING
FOR COLUMBINE (USA/Canada) by Michael Moore, a hilarious
and critical look at American gun culture. The runners-up
were RIVERS AND TIDES (Fluss Der
Zeit) (Germany), Thomas Riedelsheimer’s documentary
on artist Andy Goldsworthy and STANDING
IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN (USA), Paul Justman’s
rousing tribute to the unsung men behind Motown’s greatest
hits.
Following is a list of the 30 next most popular films of
the festival, in order of popularity, out of a total of 210
features presented. These films were all very well attended,
substantially voted for, and scored an average of between
4 and 5 out of 5 (4 being “very good”; 5 being
“excellent”) in public voting. Please note that
the Canadian films have their own separate category, and that
an extraordinary 15 of the most popular 25 films were nonfiction
features including the top three.
Vladimir Michálek’s AUTUMN
SPRING (Babí léto) (Czech Republic);
Jeff Blitz’s SPELLBOUND
(USA); Fernando Mereilles’ CITY
OF GOD (Cidade de deus) (Brazil); Eugene Jarecki’s
THE TRIALS OF HENRY KISSINGER
(USA); Dierdre Lynch’s PHOTOS TO
SEND (USA); Aradhana Seth’s DAM/AGE:
A FILM WITH ARUNDHATI ROY (India); Kevin Brownlow and
Michael Kloft’s THE TRAMP AND THE
DICTATOR (Great Britain); Randall Wright’s DAVID
HOCKNEY: SECRET KNOWLEDGE (Great Britain); Lukas Moodysson’s
LILYA 4-EVER (Sweden); Nicholas
Philibert’s TO BE AND TO HAVE
(Etre et avoir) (France); Manijeh Hekmat’s WOMEN’S
PRISON (Zendan-e Zanan) (Iran); Matej Minác’s
NICHOLAS WINTON: THE POWER OF GOOD
(Czech Republic); J. David Riva’s MARLENE
DIETRICH: HER OWN SONG (Germany/USA; Rolf de Heer’s
THE TRACKER (Australia); Mani
Ratnam’s A PECK ON THE CHEEK
(Kannathil Muthamittal) (India); Aki Kaurismäki’s
THE MAN WITHOUT A PAST (Finland);
Neil Hunter and Tom Hunsinger’s THE
LAWLESS HEART (Great Britain); Tengan Daisuke’s
AIKI (Japan); Mark Kidel’s
RAVI SHANKAR: BETWEEN TWO WORLDS
(USA); Tony Gatlif’s SWING
(France); Rassul Sadr-Ameli’s I’M
TARANEH, 15 (Man, Taraneh, panzdah sal daram) (Iran);
Scott Taradash’s HONEYBOY
(USA); Nikolaus Geyrhalter’s ELSEWHERE
(Austria); Alice Nellis’ SOME SECRETS
(Vylet) (Czech Republic); Cristina Comencini’s THE
BEST DAY OF MY LIFE (Il piu bel giorno della mia vita)
(Italy); Jeff Lau’s CHINESE ODYSSEY
2002 (Tianxia Wushuang) (Hong Kong); Paul Greengrass’
BLOODY SUNDAY (Great Britain/Ireland); Lee Chang-Dong’s
OASIS (South Korea); Juan Carlos
Fresnadillo’s INTACTO (Spain);
and Kim Tae-Gyun’s VOLCANO HIGH
(Hwasan Go) (South Korea).
Federal Express Award for Most Popular Canadian
Film
This year the Federal Express Award for Most Popular Canadian
Film goes to two films: Deborah Day’s EXPECTING
(Ontario), a lively improvised comedy about a home birth,
and Nettie Wild’s FIX: THE STORY
OF AN ADDICTED CITY (British Columbia), an unflinching
look at Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The runner up
for Most Popular Canadian Film was Mina Shum’s LONG
LIFE, HAPPINESS AND PROSPERITY (British Columbia),
a playful celebration of the often amusing and poignant interactions
between cultural tradition and modern necessity.
Also among the most popular, in order of voting: Atom Egoyan’s
ARARAT (Ontario); Nicholas Racz’s
THE BURIAL SOCIETY (British Columbia);
Wiebke von Carolsfeld’s MARION
BRIDGE (Ontario/Nova Scotia); Manon Briand’s
LA TURBULENCE DES FLUIDES (Quebec);
Guy Bennett’s PUNCH (British
Columbia); Keith Behrman’s FLOWER
& GARNET (British Columbia); Barbara Willis Sweete’s
PERFECT PIE (Ontario); Randall
Cole’s 19 MONTHS (Ontario);
Soo Lyu’s RUB AND TUG (Ontario);
David Cronenberg’s SPIDER
(Ontario/Great Britain); Ori Kowarsky’s VARIOUS
POSITIONS (British Columbia); Arlene Ami’s SAY
I DO (British Columbia); and Guy Maddin’s DRACULA:
PAGES FROM A VIRGIN’S DIARY (Manitoba).
SHANGHAI PANIC wins The Dragons & Tigers
Award for Young Cinema
Chinese director Andrew Y-S Cheng won the tenth Dragons &
Tigers Award for Young Cinema for his debut SHANGHAI
PANIC. Jury members Olivier Assayas, Marie-Pierre Macia
and Park Ki-Yong stated: “This digital video feature
offers a sharp Polaroid of some significant and perhaps disturbing
recent developments in Chinese society. It has great energy,
vitality and candour.” The award is graciously sponsored
by Brad Birarda and is accompanied by a $5,000 cash prize.
The jury went on to commend all of the nine competitors this
year for overall quality. Special mentions were also given
to three films: BORDER LINE (Lee
Sang-Il, Japan), “an exceptionally skilful début
feature, notable for its storytelling, its acting and its
mise en scène”; ELIANA,
ELIANA (Riri Riza, Indonesia), as “Indonesia
is in the process of reinventing its film culture, and this
film makes a powerful and moving contribution”; and
TOO YOUNG TO DIE (Park Jin-Pyo,
South Korea), as the jury “respects the filmmaker's
courage in breaking limits and taboos -- especially brave
in the face of Korea’s current censorship.”
Keith Behrman wins Telefilm Canada Directing
Award
Keith Behrman won the Telefilm Canada Award for Best Emerging
Western Canadian Feature Film Director for FLOWER
& GARNET, a poignant exploration of the bonds of
family. Behrman earned praise from the jurors, Katherine Monk,
Anne Pélouas and John Pozer for “A sensitive,
powerful portrayal that reaches out into the empty silence
and transcends the fear of self to find resonant beauty.”
The award is accompanied by a cash prize of $5,000.
Michelle Porter wins the Telefilm Canada Award
for Best Emerging Western Canadian Director of a Mid-Length
or Short Film
Michelle Porter won the Telefilm Canada Award for Best Emerging
Western Canadian Director of a Mid-Length or Short Film for
directing BIG SHOES TO FILL, “a
fully realized film that hits its marks—from the broad
strokes to the finer nuances of the human comedy.” The
award is accompanied by a $4,000 cash prize. A special citation
was given to Dylan Akio Smith for THE
BUG, a film that “evokes wagon angst. A simple
premise told to maximum effect as a result of strong storytelling,
character and sense of place.”
Nicholas Racz wins Citytv Western Canada Screenwriters
Award
For THE BURIAL SOCIETY’s
screenplay, British Columbia writer-director Nicholas Racz
was commended by the jury for writing “a finely wrought
social thriller that tells a complex story with excellent
suspense and keeps you guessing until the final payoff.”
The Citytv Western Canada Screenwriters Award is accompanied
by a cash prize of $12,000. The jury gave special mention
to Mina Shum and Dennis Foon for LONG
LIFE, HAPPINESS AND PROSPERITY, “three complex
stories woven into a life-affirming look at the clash between
Old World/New World traditions.”
GAMBLING, GODS AND LSD Wins The National Film
Board Award for Best Documentary Feature
Jurors Bonnie Sherr Klein, Fiona Morrow and Angela Pressburger
gave the National Film Board Award for Best Documentary Feature
to Peter Mettler’s GAMBLING, GODS
AND LSD (Canada/Switzerland), an epic inquiry into
the human pursuit of transcendence around the world. The film
was commended by the jurors “for its vision, ambition
and commitment to documentary cinema.”
OASIS wins the Chief Dan George Humanitarian
Award
South Korean director Lee Chang-Dong wins the Chief Dan George
Humanitarian Award for OASIS.
The Award recognizes a feature film screened at this year’s
Vancouver International Film Festival that exemplifies values
of human understanding and compassion, while providing the
audience with a high degree of entertainment. The award commemorates
Chief Dan George’s career as an actor, performer and
orator who worked for the betterment of Native people and
for greater understanding across cultures. Sponsored by Characters
Talent Agency, the award is a handcrafted native bowl.
Women in Film and Video Artistic Merit
Award to Jane McGregor
Jane McGregor wins the Women in Film and Video Artistic Merit
Award for her nascent acting career. This year she starred
in both Keith Behrman’s FLOWER
AND GARNET and Claudia Morgado-Escanilla’s BITTEN.
A Special Citation was given to Sonja Bennett for her performance
in Guy Bennett’s PUNCH.
The award is given to a B.C. woman filmmaker or performer
and this year was presented by Jacqueline Samuda, President,
Women in Film and Video Vancouver.
Next year’s Festival takes place
September 25th-October 10th!
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