VIFF Announces Full Lineup for Film Fest (Sept. 26 – Oct. 6)

Film festivals have always played a major role in audiences learning about films, but that responsibility is now true more than ever. Last week, French actress Isabelle Huppert, the Jury President at this year’s Venice Film Festival, told the New York Times, “Festivals are more and more important. We all know that with the development of new ways of watching movies, such as streaming platforms — which do have their virtues — movie theatres are somewhat threatened. So festivals are crucial ecosystems for the visibility of movies and for the film industry as a whole.” The Vancouver International Film Festival has announced the full slate of films, live performances, talks, industry sessions, and other events they have scheduled for this year. Ari’s Theme, a documentary by local filmmakers Jeff Lee Petry and Nathan Drillot, will officially open VIFF in a gala presentation at Vancouver Playhouse on Sept. 26 at 6:30 p.m. followed by Andrea Arnold’s Bird at 9:30 p.m. Jacques Audiard’s musical Emilia Pérez, which won both the Jury Prize and Best Actress Award (for the ensemble cast) in Cannes this year, will close proceedings at the Playhouse on Oct. 6 at 5:30 p.m. During the festival, VIFF will screen 150 features and 81 shorts, with many world, North American, and Canadian premieres included in the mix. The annual celebration of cinema will also feature an Artist and Industry Development section with seminars, workshops, labs, and a Signals Creative Tech Expo. The VIFF Live series will explore the relationship between sound and image with several events. Individual festival tickets, ticket packs, and passes are available at viff.org.