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.
Having made its world premiere at VIFF 2020, Jennifer Abbott’s The Magnitude of All Things returns to VIFF Connect this week for a limited run. Additionally, Abbott will headline the Vancity Impact Talk “Paradise Lost: Grief & Hope in the Time of Climate Crisis” on April 20.
In a review of the film for Point of View Magazine, Pat Mullen opines, “Exploring climate change through the perspective of environmental grief, The Magnitude of All Things witnesses far corners of the world coping and adapting in the face of devastating losses—but also many people fighting for the world’s future. The doc navigates the space between anger and hope to emerge with a deeper sense of serenity. It’s as poignant as it is provocative.”
Also opening this week is Maria Sødahl’s Hope, which originally premiered at TIFF in 2019 and has spent this spring amassing positive press. Screen Daily’s Stephen Whitty declares it a “warm gathering of Scandinavian artists” and lauds the central performances by Andrea Braein Hovig and Stellan Skarsgard. It’s a sentiment that’s shared by many a critic, including The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney, who asserts, “It’s the integrity of the performances by Hovig and Skarsgard that keeps the classy drama so engrossing, with the director making neither character entirely saint or sinner but giving them both infinite shadings in between.”
National Canadian Film Day falls on April 21 and we’re marking the occasion by paying tribute to the legendary Christopher Plummer, whose passing in February ushered in expressions of admiration from half of Hollywood. We’ll pay our respects with a free screening of The Silent Partner, the cult thriller directed by Vancouver’s Daryl Duke, and Christopher Plummer – A Memoir, an intimate conversation between Plummer and Atom Egoyan recorded a couple of years ago.
Rounding out the National Canadian Film Day lineup is Michael Dowse’s unsung Goon (which arguably features one of the best diner scenes this side of Heat) and Light(s) at the End of the Tunnel, a short program featuring new work from VIFF stalwarts like Andrew Huculiak and Alicia K. Harris, as well as other emerging filmmakers.
Of course, the release of The Magnitude of All Things and the accompanying panel discussion align with Earth Day on April 22. In similar recognition of this event, we’re adding Jerry Rothwell’s How to Change the World and Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper’s Metamorphosis to the VIFF Collection titles that our VIFF+ members receive free access to. For only $12 a month, you can access over 30 films and talks while supporting a not-for-profit arts and culture organization.
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