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.
After winning Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli the Emerging Canadian Director award at last fall’s Vancouver International Film Festival, Violation has gone on to rattle audiences at Sundance and SXSW. As their visceral, complex drama now receives a wide release on both sides of the border, the filmmakers talked to RogerEbert.com’s Mary Beth McAndrews about undoing the spectacle of the revenge thriller. As Sims-Fewer explains, “Although there are great films that propel you towards the act of revenge, and then you feel that incredible sense of release and you’re cheering this person on, we definitely didn’t want to do that. We wanted to really see what the effect of revenge would be on a person and to see how it just completely has the potential to unravel you and compound that trauma even more.”
If you’re looking for a primer prior to watching Violation, you should check out Sonja Baksa’s essay on the pair’s preceding short films which served to establish both the aesthetics and intentions of their bold work.
For the 50th anniversary of Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland’s infamous tour of an anti-war comedy show, Francine Parker’s F.T.A. receives a 4K restoration and invites audiences to witness the manner of activism that led to detractors branding Fonda “Hanoi Jane”. It also serves as an ideal excuse to catch up with the “Jean and Jane” season of You Must Remember This, which investigates the lives and careers of Fonda and Jean Seberg, who both ran afoul of the Nixon administration.
We’re also adding two more films to the VIFF Collection side of VIFF Connect this week: Sally Potter’s The Party and Stella Meghie’s Jean of the Joneses. Our VIFF+ members currently receive free access to more than 30 films and talks. Monthly memberships are just $12.
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