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VanCity Members save at the VIFF!Show your VanCity Membercard and
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Dates for 23rd annual VIFF:September 23 - October 8, 2004 Dates for 19th annual Trade Forum:September 22 - 24, 2004 VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL SETS RECORDSKamchatka, The Corporation win audience awards
“The most popular films according to audience ballots (see separate lists divided into International and Canadian categories) represent a very broad range of styles and nationalities and well reflect the diversity of the VIFF audience. We’re delighted with this healthily broad response to this year’s selection of films,” said Festival Director Alan Franey. “Not only is it gratifying, but the strong revenues and extremely positive media coverage put us in an excellent strategic position for the coming launch of the Vancouver International Film Centre which is being constructed over the next 12 months.” The Festival announced its full slate of awards at the Gala Film screening of Charles Martin Smith’s THE SNOW WALKER, on Friday, October 10.
AUDIENCE AWARDSAir Canada People’s Choice Award for Most Popular International Film The Air Canada People’s Choice Award for Most Popular International Film goes to KAMCHATKA (Argentina/Spain) by Marcelo Piñyero, a marvelously human and emotionally potent drama that tells the story of the 1976 Argentinean military coup through the eyes of a ten-year-old boy. The runner-up was EVIL (Ondskan) (Sweden), Mikael Håfström’s cruelly enjoyable 1950’s boarding-school drama. Following is a list of the 30 next most popular international films of the festival, in order of popularity. 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 there is a separate category for Canadian films. Antonio A. Farre and Raul Roman’s CABALLÉ, BEYOND MUSIC (Spain); Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni’s THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL (Germany); Marco Tullio Giordana’s THE BEST OF YOUTH (Le meglio gioventù) (Italy); Kitano Takeshi’s ZATOICHI (Japan); Lone Sherfig’s WILBUR WANTS TO KILL HIMSELF (Denmark/Scotland); Jonathan Karsh’s MY FLESH AND BLOOD (USA); Ben Anthony’s AL-JAZEERA EXCLUSIVE (Great Britain); Adolfo Aristarain’s COMMON GROUND (Lugares communes) (Argentina); Adam Curtis’ THE CENTURY OF THE SELF (Great Britain); Aparna Sen’s MR. & MRS. IYER (India); Scott Millwood’s WILDNESS (Australia); Enzo Monteleone’s EL ALAMEIN: THE LINE OF FIRE (Italy); Tom McCarthy’s THE STATION AGENT (USA); Jocelyn Ajami’s QUEEN OF THE GYPSIES: A PORTRAIT OF CARMEN AMAYA (USA); Andrew Levine’s THE DAY MY GOD DIED (USA); Mike Barker’s TO KILL A KING (Great Britain); Pjer Zalica’s FUSE (Gori Vatra) (Bosnia/Austria/Turkey/France); Sam Green and Bill Siegel’s THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND (USA); Sue Brooks’ JAPANESE STORY (Australia); Jang Jun-Hwan’s SAVE THE GREEN PLANET (Jigureul Jikyeora!) (South Korea); Samson Chiu’s GOLDEN CHICKEN (Jin Ji) (Hong Kong); Jan Hrebejk’s PUPENDO (Czech Republic); Errol Morris’ THE FOG OF WAR (USA); Bong Joon-Ho’s MEMORIES OF MURDER (Sarin ui Chu-eok) (South Korea); Coline Serreau’s 18 YEARS LATER (18 Ans après) (France); Tim Supple’s TWELFTH NIGHT (Great Britain); Gerard Ungerman and Audrey Brohy’s PLAN COLUMBIA: CASHING IN ON THE DRUG WAR FAILURE (USA); Hany Abu-Assad’s FORD TRANSIT (Palestine/Netherlands); Samira Makhmalbaf’s AT FIVE IN THE AFTERNOON (Panj E Asr) (Iran/France); and Nir Bergman’s BROKEN WINGS (Knafaim Shvurot) (Israel). Federal Express Award for Most Popular Canadian FilmThis year the Federal Express Award for Most Popular Canadian Film goes to Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott’s THE CORPORATION (British Columbia), an engaging documentary that successfully reveals the pervasive daily influence of the corporation as today’s dominant power. The runner up for Most Popular Canadian Film was Trent Carlson’s THE DELICATE ART OF PARKING (British Columbia), an offbeat mockumentary that blows the whistle on the parking enforcement industry. Also among the most popular Canadian films, in order of voting: Gil Cardinal’s TOTEM: THE RETURN OF THE G’PSGOLOX POLE (Alberta); Denys Arcand’s THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS (Quebec); Ann Marie Fleming’s THE MAGICAL LIFE OF LONG TACK SAM (British Columbia); Jean-François Pouliot’s SEDUCING DOCTOR LEWIS (Quebec); Charles Martin Smith’s THE SNOW WALKER (British Columbia/Manitoba); John Walker’s MEN OF THE DEEPS (Ontario/Nova Scotia); Pete McCormack’s SEE GRACE FLY (British Columbia); Damon Vignale’s LITTLE BROTHER OF WAR (British Columbia); Louis Bélanger’s GAZ BAR BLUES (Quebec); Benjamin Ratner’s MOVING MALCOLM (British Columbia); Lesley Ann Patten’s WORDS OF MY PERFECT TEACHER (Nova Scotia); Nathaniel Geary’s ON THE CORNER (British Columbia); and Robert Lepage’s THE FAR SIDE OF THE MOON (Quebec). ON THE CORNER wins Citytv Western Canada Feature Film Award
Nathaniel Geary accepted the Citytv Western Canada Feature Film Award for his debut feature ON THE CORNER, an extraordinary and real look at family turmoil in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Geary earned praise from the jurors Carole Duffréchou, Mike Hoolboom, Marc-André Lussier and Rina Fraticelli “for taking us into the nightmare heart of Vancouver’s old city and making a home there, for rubbing its emotions raw until they shine with a new rare light, for making small moments large, for its breathless emotional intensity which returns us to the primal unit of Canadian cinema, the family, where movies are lived before they are made.” The award, sponsored by Citytv, is accompanied by a cash prize of $12,000. A special citation was given to SEE GRACE FLY by Pete McCormack, “for its harrowing depiction of a woman who has found the edge and run straight over it, for overcoming a deficit of resources with a surplus of heart and intelligence, for daring to speak about faith without preaching, for granting Gina Chiarelli a stage to make of an impossible role a monumental performance, for showing us that conscience is a verb.” Jesse McKeown wins the Keystone Award for Best Young Western Canadian Director of a Short Film Jesse McKeown won the Keystone Award for Best Young Western Canadian Director of a Short Film for directing THE BIG CHARADE, “for its quick wit and quicker montage, for understanding that as our lives gain velocity, the accelerated form of the trailer, the sneak preview, is note-perfect for telling the story of these lives, for insisting that parody can also be a kind of love.” The award, sponsored by International Keystone Entertainment, is accompanied by a $5,000 cash prize. LOS ANGELES PLAYS ITSELF wins The National Film Board Award for Best Documentary FeatureJurors Bruni Burres, Flavia de la Fuente and Milos Stehlik gave the National Film Board Award for Best Documentary Feature to Thom Andersen’s LOS ANGELES PLAYS ITSELF (USA), a personal essay about the city, its movies, and its politics. The film was commended by the jurors “for its bold, original concept, its poetry, politics and passion, and its humour. Thom Andersen shares with us his love letter to cinema and Los Angeles which allows each of us to look at the city, the films and ourselves in a new way.” Special mentions were given to two extraordinary documentaries that deal with painful subjects in our recent history in deep and original ways; S21, THE KHMER ROUGE KILLING MACHINE (Rithy Panh, Cambodia/France), and THE DECOMPOSITION OF THE SOUL (Nina Toussaint, Massimo Iannetta, Belgium). The jury remarked: “Both of these filmmakers approach their subjects with compassion, respect and rigor. These two documentaries force us – as citizens of the world – to confront these horrors and take responsibility for our future.” Lastly, the jury also commended John Cadigan’s PEOPLE SAY I’M CRAZY for “its honesty and Cadigan’s courage, creativity and ability to share his life with all of us.” PEOPLE SAY I’M CRAZY wins the Chief Dan George Humanitarian AwardJohn Cadigan wins the Chief Dan George Humanitarian Award for PEOPLE SAY I’M CRAZY. 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 print from Haida/Métis artist Don Yeomans entitled “Communication”. Women in Film and Video Artistic Merit Award to Gina Chiarelli
Gina Chiarelli wins the Women in Film and Video Artistic Merit Award for her performance in Pete McCormack’s SEE GRACE FLY. The award is given to a B.C. woman filmmaker or performer and this year was presented by Rosilyn Muir, President, Women in Film and Video Vancouver. UNIFORM wins The Dragons & Tigers Award for Young CinemaAs announced on October 1, China’s DIAO Yinan won the annual Dragons & Tigers Award for Young Cinema at the 22nd Vancouver International Film Festival for his film UNIFORM. The award, which includes a $5,000 prize, is sponsored by Brad Birarda. The jury, comprised of Choi Kwang-Hee, Scott Foundas and Tomiyama Katsue awarded “a first feature of remarkable maturity and accomplishment – a film that possesses a complexity in its characters, an economy in its storytelling and a texture in its imagery which many filmmakers don’t achieve until much later in their careers, if indeed ever. Like other works by the “underground” filmmakers of China’s new generation, it is a film set against a society beset by industrial decay and urban despair, wherein a lost generation of young people is searching for their identity. But the concerns of this film extend well beyond that. It is, in short, a film about the masks we wear as people, and the way in which lies can sometimes bring us to a place deeper than truth. By unanimous decision, this year’s Dragons & Tigers Award goes to Diao Yinan for his film UNIFORM.” Special mentions were also given to two films: THE ONLY SONS (Gan Xiao’er, China), “for its visually and emotionally rich evocation of life in a rural Chinese village, no longer immune to the push-and-pull of religion and politics”; and 8 1 5 (Chugoku Shoichi, Japan), “for its radical experimentalism in tone and form, and for its fearless critique of a contemporary Japan paralysed by its imperialist legacy.” The 23rd Annual Vancouver International Film Festival takes place
September 23 - October 8, 2004.
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ContactVancouver International Inquiries: Office contact:
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VIFF Dates to RememberCurrently All film entry deadlines for the 2003 festival have passed. The infoline is now operational 7 days a week from 9am–9pm The Box Office is now open for advance purchases for cash and VISA sales Call: 604.685.8297 The 208-page printed Souvenir Guide is now on sale September 24-27 September 25–Oct 10 September 25 September 27 October 4 October 10 |
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Last updated: 20 September 2003 • Comments and suggestions to: Webmaster
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