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“The world needs good storytelling because we have huge crises created by humans. That means we’ve been telling bad stories and we need the ones that call us to a better place,” says Sirish Rao, co-founder and artistic director of the Indian Summer Festival. Imaginarium, a new live event/podcast program created and hosted by Rao…
With humour, wit and a talent for storytelling, Canadian multidisciplinary artist Stéphanie Morin-Robert highlights her struggles of growing up with a disability in her award-winning one-woman show Blindside. The show will be held in the evening of March 3 on Centre Stage at Surrey City Hall where audience members will be able to laugh along…
The EU-funded promotional campaign “The Charming Taste of Europe” will have a central role as Major Sponsor in the European Film Festival in Canada. November 2021 – In an effort to support its initiatives, “The Charming Taste of Europe” will be a major sponsor at the European Film Festival in Canada. The three-year campaign, co-funded…
An Ambassador for the 2021 B.C. Culture Days, Alyssa Amarshi is an artist, creative director and activist for inclusivity in the arts. Through her collective, Her Tribal Roots, Amarshi is championing diversity and the importance of creating opportunities for artists from all walks of life, allowing them to express themselves without any barriers or discrimination. Her…
“What comedy brings is the ability to ask the right question. I don’t have the answers, I just have the stories, but I think people will find the answers through these stories,” says comedian Ed Hill. This year’s Vancouver Taiwan Festival will host live comedy for the first time as part of its programs. The…
Anoushka Ratnarajah, artistic director of the 33rd Annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival, indicates that this year’s event can be a special place for learning and growth through experiencing art. She argues that because stories create profound opportunities for connection, it becomes important to have spaces for queer folks to experience that bond, to understand their…
Festival du Bois is the largest celebration of French Canadian and francophone music and culture in B.C. Traditionally held in Coquitlam, this vibrant festival brings together music lovers to appreciate the diverse music styles in our society. This year, musicians all across Canada will be bringing their unique songs to the free online festival held…
A child going the opposite direction of their parents is not a new theme in storytelling, and Quebec filmmaker Miryam Bouchard draws from her own life experience with her debut film My Very Own Circus (Mon Cirque à Moi). My Very Own Circus, a French-language film with English subtitles, is one of many Canadian films…
Carr Sappier, SFU School for the Contemporary Arts (SCA) film grad, says the Skoden Film Festival revolves around the Truth and Reconciliation Act but that there are also a variety of themes beyond that. “What is special about the Indigenous cinema is that there is no boundary, there is no such thing as genre; it…
The 11th annual Vancouver Short Film Festival, dubbed “watching together, staying apart” this year, opens Jan. 22. There are 61 features to discover from emerging and established Canadian West Coast movie and animation artists. As is the Festival’s practice, several titles celebrate Vancouver’s diverse communities and the theme of identity. Frequently omitted in stories about…
Perhaps there is no better phrase to capture the spirit of 2020 than “what’s your 20?” – a film industry vernacular meaning ”what is your location.” Expanding on the meaning of this special theme, the 24th Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF) hopes to explore issues related to people’s physical and mental states while shedding light…
After ten successful years, the Vancouver South African Film Festival (VSAFF) returns in a new format. Due to COVID-19 and to constraints around in-person gatherings, VSAFF has partnered with the Toronto South African Film Festival in 2020 to host one online event that spans across Canada. The renamed South African Film Festival runs Nov. 1–12,…
Rohit Chokhani, executive director of the Vancouver Fringe Festival, led the shift to all-virtual organizing while he was quarantined in India. He talks about the unexpected benefits of planning the theatre festival remotely, ongoing changes in response to the pandemic and how the festival is supporting its Black, Indigenous, and people of colour (BIPOC) artists…
