Photos courtesy of VIFF
Presenting cinematic marvel from the world over, the 2011 Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) will take audiences from the northern skies of Nunavut all the way to the sands of Africa from September 29 to October 14 in theatres all over the city.
This year’s line up includes the winner of HotDocs Best Canadian Feature Length, Family Portraits in Black & White by Julia Ivanova. Exploring sadness, devastation, isolation and life’s cruel injustice, Ivanova takes our hearts and minds on a journey through the darkness bi-racial orphans experienced in the former Soviet Union.
In a country plagued by fear of the unknown, rampant racism prevails to prevent acceptance of blacks into the Ukrainian population. Creating, what Ivanova says, is a “huge stigma against mixed-race, meaning black & white, relationships” thus, deeming any bi-racial children that result, as anomalous to society. They “do not like foreigners… [they] don’t accept [or] trust people that are different” says Ivanova in her description of dominant Ukrainian ideology.
Left to face abandonment and desolation at the hand of the state, bi-racial children are condemned from birth. Taking place in modern-day Ukraine, one woman, Olga Nenya, notably stands against the grain and takes 17 bi-racial children into her home, offering them solace from an otherwise uncompromising world.
Far from perfect, and a woman of extremes, Nenya proves to be both saviour and adversary to these children. “A great protector for some children…but an insurmountable force for others” says Ivanova.
Moving here in 1995, Ivanova’s inspiration stemed from her eight years as an international adoption specialist, specializing in the adoption of Eastern European children.
After reading Nenya’s story in a Russian newspaper, Ivanova recognized this as her opportunity to lift the veil on the welfare state of Eastern Europe; showing the world the challenges, struggles and strifes that plague mixed-race children in the Ukraine.
Most importantly though, Ivanova wants to deliver a message to the state and to the world, that these children are unique and beautiful in and of themselves.
“That’s why this film was important to me. Each of the children [has] their own story,” says Ivanova adding that each one is equally worthy of recognition and appreciation. “I was amazed at how wonderful and great all the children are… [they] are very dear to me, for very different reasons,” she says.
Family Portraits in Black & White. - Photo courtesy of VIFF
On a lighter, and more twisted note, director Aaron Houston’s mockumentary Sunflower Hour, exposes what he calls, “the seedy underbelly of children’s T.V,” while providing comic relief in the face of the all-to-serious, real-life issues embedded throughout the film.
Houston will take you on a topsy-turvy ride through the psyche of four dismantled puppeteers, all vying for a spot on an upcoming children’s television show. Revealing each character’s funhouse of tortured and twisted inner-workings, hidden agendas, and confused ideals; Houston not only demonstrates that things may not always be as they seem – Miss Molly and Lambchop have secrets too ya know? – but also that, fundamentally, human nature takes precedence.
At the end of the day, we’re all human, we all have our problems, and regardless of the mask/façade that is presented to the world, so do those that we would least expect it from. After all, behind every puppet is a master…Elmo & Big Bird included.
Capturing the ethereal life and beauty of the Romaine River (Quebec), directors Alexis de Gheldere & Nicolas Boisclair provide an insightful and thought-provoking look into hydroelectric energy alternatives in their film Seeking the Current.
Aspiring to propel the citizens of Quebec out of the haze of the past and into the future, Gheldere & Boisclair get right down to the nitty-gritty, substantiating their claims of alternate energy sources as viable, realistic and sustainable. Most remarkably, they accomplish this while also preserving and capturing the legacy of the precious ecosystem of the Romaine River – untouched and pure prior to the ravage of hydroelectric companies.
In a similar vein, paying homage to iconic documentary film maker, Robert Flaherty, director Joel Heath takes the audience on an arctic adventure for an eye-opening look into the intricate symbiosis that exists between environmental change and cultural evolution.
In a magnificent coalescence of technology, art and science, Heath’s People of a Feather exposes us to the true/hidden costs incurred in utilizing the hydroelectric energy to perform an action as simple as flicking on a light switch; a cost that compromises not only the environment, but also a fragile sea-ice ecosystem and the culture of the Inuit people of Sanikiluaq with which it is inextricably intertwined.
With this handful of noteworthy films and over 350 others, this year’s VIFF is bound to stimulate the mind and engage the soul. As Director of VIFF, Alan Franey puts it, this is our “once a year opportunity to learn about the world” – an opportunity for true cultural exploration and the celebration of world cinema.
