Curtis Woloschuk, the Director of Programming at VIFF, has provided a list of the Top 10 BC Films to see at this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival, which runs from September 26 to October 6, 2024, and features over 150 films from across the globe, one-of-a-kind live performances, talks, industry sessions, and other unique events celebrating film and film culture.
Angela’s Shadow, Dir. Jules Arita Koostachin (Canada) | Panorama
Angela (Sera-Lys McArthur) and Henry (Matthew Kevin Anderson), a young Ottawa couple with a baby on the way, embark on a short trip north to the Cree community of KiiWeeTin to visit Angela’s beloved childhood nanny, Mary (Renae Morriseau). When Angela is harassed by a menacing shadow figure, Mary moves to bless and protect Angela and her unborn child with illegal Cree ceremonies and medicine. And as Angela discovers the truth about both her ancestry and the spectral figure’s identity, she must delve into her newfound spiritual traditions in order to defend herself from her husband’s escalating purity-obsessed racism. Balancing darkness and light to dramatic effect, Jules Arita Koostachin (WaaPaKe) crafts a ghost story rich in narrative traditions, period details, and uncanny allure.
Ari’s Theme, Dir. Nathan Drillot, Jeff Lee Petry (Canada) | Galas
Ari Kinarthy was born with the soul of an artist and a passion for composing music. He also lives with spinal muscular atrophy, which progressively weakens his muscles and severely limits his movements. Yet he embarks on an ambitious goal: to create music that will capture his life and to leave a legacy through which others will remember him. Thoroughly engaging and beautifully made, Ari’s Theme will make you weep and smile, all the while appreciating life’s tender workings and the constant movement of time.
Can I Get a Witness?, Dir. Ann Marie Fleming (Canada) | Special Presentations
Ann Marie Fleming’s absorbing morality play is set in the future, when we’ve solved the environmental crisis–at a significant cost. As Kiah (Keira Jang) suffers through the first day of her new job, her mother Ellie (Sandra Oh) is preparing for a new journey of her own. Key story information emerges gradually, and as the film builds to its powerful conclusion, the style is deceptively casual. Jang and Oh are terrific, and Joel Oulette shines in his role as Ellie’s charismatic co-worker.
Curl Power, Dir. Josephine Anderson (Canada) | Insights
Josephine Anderson’s uplifting and heartwarming documentary follows the 4KGirl$, a teenage curling team from Maple Ridge, BC, as they strive to become Canadian Junior Curling Champions. Coached by three of their mothers, former Olympians, the girls navigate the uncertainties of their teen years — from self-esteem and body image issues to depression, family illness, and the major transition that high school graduation entails — but these close friends see each other through it all.
The Chef & the Daruma, Dir. Mads K. Baekkevold (Canada) | Insights
For 36 years, Tojo’s has been a mainstay in the Vancouver food scene, beloved by critics, foodies, and a plethora of celebrities. A pioneer of Japanese cuisine in the West, chef Hidekazu Tojo helped bring sushi to the mainstream, and is known as the inventor of the California Roll. Shot in Vancouver, Vancouver Island, and Japan, The Chef & the Daruma is a mouth-watering film, taking us on a journey of immigration, identity, and reinvention.
INAY (MAMA), Dir. Thea Loo (Canada) | Northern Lights
From the 1990s, the Live-In Caregiver Program attracted thousands of Filipino women to Canada as migrant workers, enabling them to send money back home and gain permanent residency. Director Thea Loo and cinematographer Jeremiah Reyes, a married couple, explore the psychological impact on the children who were left behind by their mothers due to economic necessity. Deeply personal, Inay reveals the hidden pain behind the lives of women who sacrificed themselves to take care of Canada’s children and elderly.
Inedia, Dir. Liz Cairns (Canada) | Northern Lights
Liz Cairns (The Horses, VIFF 2021) returns with a mesmerizing feature debut that sees a young woman (Amy Forsyth) suffering from mysterious food allergies join a remote island community practicing alternative healing methods. Inedia is a profound study of psychological disturbance that deftly taps into the complex inner workings of fringe communities preying on the fragile. Cairns lends the film a touch of ethereal mystique that perfectly articulates the hermetic nature of the character’s distress.
Mongrels, Dir. Jerome Yoo (Canada) | Northern Lights
Korean widower, Sonny has been hired to eradicate the feral dogs plaguing a small town in rural Canada. Like his teenage son and young daughter, he’s still coming to terms with his grief. Jerome Yoo’s gorgeous, brilliantly structured first feature is a lyrical and gut-wrenching tale of immigrant survival and resilience in Canada. Dreamlike, surreal, and filled with raw emotion, Mongrels is a remarkable study of family, loss, and hope in the midst of profound uprooting.
Preface to a History, Dirs. Devan Allen Grieve Scott, Willa Ross | Northern Lights
Vlad is a musician– at least in theory. His partner, Sophy, is a young architect and a step or three ahead of him. Even so, she’s struggling and he’s trapped in his own head. Their relationship seems to be petering out; a sojourn on Pender Island may be their last chance. This 60-minute experimental feature applies minimalist dramatic techniques with rich, fulsome cinematography and a sophisticated sound mix to explore the destabilising modern dichotomy between our interior and external selves.
The Stand, Dir. Christopher Auchter (Canada) | Northern Lights
Chris Auchter’s terrific doc explores a 1985 dispute over clearcut logging in the Haida Gwaii. On one side are loggers, their bosses, and the BC government; on the other is the Haida Nation, which wishes to protect its traditional lands from further destruction. Taking us from canny retrospective commentary to the thick of the action, Auchter’s film employs animation and a wealth of archival footage to riveting effect.