BLOGS
Features
VIFF 2020: "Tales of the Lockdown"
Proving that some good can come from a pandemic, this omnibus film from Spain features five delightfully dark tales "directed by five leading Spanish filmmakers under quarantine conditions." Read more
VIFF 2020: "The Pencil"
In this forceful critique of contemporary Russia, director Natalya Nazarova shows a young woman's attempt to resist thuggery in an industrial town in northern Russia. Read more
VIFF 2020: "Uncle"
On a Danish farm, a young woman works alongside her uncle, who has been handicapped by a stroke. Though they rarely talk, and the routine of their days seems unlikely to change, a quiet drama slowly begins to unfold. Read more
VIFF 2020: "Last and First Men"
Adapted from Olaf Stapledon's early science fiction novel, this stark and striking film from Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson extrapolates us through 2 billion years, into mankind's far future and ultimate fate. Read more
VIFF 2020: "Super Frenchie"
A profile of Matthias Giraud, a professional "ski-baser" and risk-taker, whose passion is to ski down steep slopes at speed with a parachute on his back, and then launch himself into space. Read more
VIFF 2020: "My Rembrandt"
A fascinating glimpse into the lives of those few who, driven by "nostalgia, heritage, beauty, obsession and [...] the satisfaction of exclusive ownership", have the desire—and the means—to own a painting by Rembrandt. Read more
Review: Christopher Nolan's "Tenet"
Time flows backwards as well as forwards in this intricate new techno-thriller, the first major theatrical release in the COVID-19 era, from the director of Memento and Inception. Read more
PuSh 2020: Free Admission
UK performer Ursula Martinez literally bares all in this funny show about building and breaking walls. Read more
PuSh 2020: Cuckoo
The recent history of South Korea, as told by rice cookers. Read more
PuSh 2020: An Interview with Ursula Martinez
UK performer Ursula Martinez shares thoughts on what inspires her and on provocation and rebellion in the arts. Read more
Review: "The Two Popes"
A two-hour docu-drama that attempts to do for the papacy what The Crown has done, accidentally or deliberately, for the British royal family: humanize an institution that is desperately in need of an image makeover. Read more
Review: "The Irishman"
Director Martin Scorsese gets the whole gang back together—Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel—for an epic 3 1/2 hour long mob film, which has a brief theatrical run before settling into an exclusive Netflix residency. Read more
Review: "The King"
In which the first of several Netflix-funded feature films receives a short theatrical release in preparation for this year's awards season. Read more
VIFF 2019: Krabi, 2562
Experimental filmmaker Ben Rivers collaborates with Anocha Suwichakornpong on this very weird project set in a Thai coastal city. Read more
VIFF 2019: Raf
An oddball introvert is transformed through an intense relationship with a charismatic but manipulative friend. Read more
VIFF 2019: "The Painted Bird"
Václav Marhoul’s bleak and brutal film version of Jerzy Kosiński’s 1965 novel, about a young boy traveling alone through a landscape in the throes of war. Read more
VIFF 2019: Pop-Up Magazine
The 'live magazine' show brought stories of a cow on the loose in Alaska, energy healers in Arizona, an uncle who was a disco star in the Philippines, and the secret joy of the televised car chase. Read more
VIFF 2019: "Joan of Arc"
Controversial French auteur Bruno Dumont's take on the Joan of Arc story, a sequel to his 2017 film Jeannette, l'enfance de Jeanne d'Arc. Read more
VIFF 2019: "Sorry We Missed You"
A working class family living in Newcastle-upon-Tyne struggles to stay afloat, in a new film from director Ken Loach. Read more
VIFF 2019: Water Over Glass
Jason Zumpano, a Vancouver musician and composer, creates dreamy vintage-inspired music as inspiration for four filmmakers in this collaborative work. Read more
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