Every week, Establishing Shots offers some further enlightenment on the films that will be screening in-cinema at the VIFF Centre and online through VIFF Connect.
Recognizing that many of us might be imbibing a little more than usual this unusual holiday season, we’re excited to bring back VIFF favourite Another Round for an encore presentation on our VIFF Connect streaming platform. Thomas Vinterberg’s film – which just claimed Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Screenplay at the 33rd European film awards – launches on December 23.
In the interim, we invite you to watch Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue, the latest documentary from Jia Zhang-ke, a director who’s been a mainstay at VIFF. Writing for Point of View Magazine, Katherine Connell highlights a passage from the film set at the Shanxi literary festival that will certainly resonate with those of use dearly missing in-person cultural gatherings: “It’s an overwhelming sequence that captures the actual environment of any cultural festival: the experience of so much information or brilliance to take in, but not enough time.”
In this interview at this year’s New York Film Festival, Jia discusses how he called upon three prominent novelists to partake on this evocative exploration of seven decades of Chinese history.
The more familiar waters of the Inside Passage are the setting for The Race to Alaska, Zach Carver’s invigorating account of the ultimate DIY boat race. Having watched the film with white knuckles, Stir’s Gail Johnson concludes, “After watching this bracing adventure film, B.C. Ferries never looked so good.”
Finally, with schools soon to be on break, we’re thrilled to offer some programming for younger viewers with our Animated Short Films for Kids. Drawing together work from an array of countries and demonstrating varied approaches to animation, this is a package that won’t be able to wait to unwrap.
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