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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…
The Hate Speech, Freedom of Expression, and Transgender Human Rights speaking event by human rights lawyer, Adrienne Smith, was scheduled to take place at the Central library but is now posponed. Yet, here are their words. Working for others Smith, a Vancouver native, is a fixture in the transgender rights community and has been involved in many…
Contributions through academic and artistic performance are celebrated at UBC’s Museum of Anthropology with the Black Canadian Women, a series with poetry, discussion and music for Black History Month (Feb. 6). “If they are reaching out to shift this paradigm of race and culture in this city, I’d love to be part of that support,”…
The Cultch and PuSh International Performing Arts Festival present Skyborn: A Land Reclamation Odyssey, a world premiere by Musqueam playwright and performer Quelemia Sparrow. Produced by the Savage Society, performances will be held at the Historic Theatre, Jan. 23–Feb 1 and at the Gateway Theatre Studio B, in Richmond, March 19–28. The 90-minute long, no intermission,…
Presenting 10 chosen films that represent different facets of Turkish culture and society, the 6th Annual Vancouver Turkish Film Festival (VTFF) will take place at SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts from Nov. 15–17. Aside from film screenings,this year’s VTFF also includes a panel discussion on “Women in the Film Industry”, and an award ceremony…
The 2019 Chutzpah Festival will be back in Vancouver from Oct. 24 to Nov. 24, 2019. The festival showcases music, theatre, comedy and dance from around the world, including Alvaro and Boris Castellanos’s documentary film The Rescue with live musical accompaniment. Since the two filmmakers play bass and piano, respectively, they developed what they call a ‘live…
From Sept. 26–Oct. 11, the Vancouver International Film Festival will showcase over 320 films on screens all around town. The festival will also host 400 film industry professionals who will come and speak at events happening alongside the screenings. This makes VIFF the largest Canadian film event in the world. Festival goers will also be…
TAIWANfest 2019 aims to highlight the vibrant culture and history of Taiwan this Labour Day weekend. The festival will run Aug. 31 to Sept. 1, marking their 30th anniversary in Vancouver. Although the festival has always aimed to teach and show off the stories of Taiwan, since 2016 it has taken on a slightly new spin…
It’s made in Taiwan…and Canada! The Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Festival celebrates Taiwanese and Canadian artists and their art, says Esther Lin. “Art is an expression and application of human creative skill and imagination and it allows others to appreciate beauty and emotional power,” says Lin, the co-chair for this year’s festival, which will run July…
Geektopia will grace the Vancouver Harbour Convention Centre on July 6. Among the many notable cosplayers, writers, actors and fans will be Vancouver’s Eric Chu, a concept artist best known for his work in Battlestar Galactica as well as his storyboards for various animated shows including Beetlejuice. During a break from his studio, Paranoid Delusions, Chu took…
