Siyabonga (We are Thankful): a film with the determination to inspire others

Vancouver will be presenting the 9th Annual South African film festival that showcases features and documentaries exploring the culture, history and politics of South Africa Mar. 29–31. The festival shows films aimed to inspire, to inform and to entertain. The proceeds from the festival will be supporting the educational development work which Education without Borders has been…

International Women in Film Festival – The feminist initiative

On March 8, 2019 – International Women’s Day – the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival (VIWFF) will celebrate their 30th year with free screenings at VanCity Theatre. She is the Ocean and the Canadian Premiere of The Feminist: A Swedish Inspiration are films portraying heroic women who relate to their passions through science, politics, dance and sport. “When…

A polar bear’s life

Filmmaker, Julia Kwan explores themes of aging and the abandonment of the elderly in her first animation film, The Zoo. Animated by Jesse Cote at Jester Coyote and co-produced by the National Film Board (NFB) and Telus, The Zoo takes us on a journey through the story of Kut, a polar bear cub who finds himself living in…

Substance on screen: A different youth oriented film festival

Reel 2 Real International Film Festival for Youth is celebrating its 20th anniversary by holding its first ever free outdoor screening at sunset (July 13). The film they have chosen for this event is the animated feature, Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet co-produced with Bardel Entertainment. Written and directed by Roger Allers (The Lion King), the film intersperses…

Fighting injustices for Afghan women

Roberta Staley, magazine editor, freelance writer and filmmaker, honours Frakhunda Malikzada, the 27-year-old Afghan woman who was brutally beaten, stoned, and then set ablaze in Kabul, Afghanistan, in March 2015. Staley’s documentary, Mightier Than the Sword, premiers on Saturday, June 17 at Simon Fraser University’s Vancouver Harbour Centre campus. It will also screen at the…

Learning Through the Arts (LTTA): a refuge for refugees

Maher Bahloul, University of British Columbia (UBC)’s visiting linguistics professor from The American University of Sharjah, Dubai, has constructed a Learning Through the Arts (LTTA) proposal for refugees. The concept of Bahloul’s proposal Meaningful Integration of Syrian Refugees: Targeting the Artists is based on several factors, including the recent arrival of Syrian Refugees in Canada…

Reaping the lessons of food production

Cycling from Vancouver to Mexico, a group of young Canadians set out to find the reality behind organic food production. Little did they know what was ahead of them in their quest for understanding organic growing. The road trip proved to be the opposite of what they set out to do. Forearmed with knowledge on…

Just Film Festival unveils talented Langara graduates

Three graduates of Langara College will participate at a Vancouver film festival alongside award-winning international documentaries. Jeff Berg, Amy Psyden, and Mariah Kennedy each directed student films that will be screened at the Just Film Festival taking place at VanCity Theatre between March 30 and April 1. The Just Film Festival is jointly organized by…

Kudos for showing diversity in the Vancouver film industry

February is the most significant month for the film industry and this year I was encouraged by the movies that transformed from hidden figures under moonlight into award winners in the spotlight. There has been a rise in on-screen confrontation to the cultural divides that still dominate our society. The films showcased at the 2017…

A neglected history: Hogan’s Alley

Hogan’s Alley has played a significant part in Vancouver’s history, yet is one aspect of this city’s past often ignored that goes unacknowledged by its citizens. The documentary, Secret Vancouver: Return to Hogan’s Alley, will be showcased by the Simon Fraser University (SFU) Seniors Lifelong Learning Society at SFU’s Vancouver campus on Feb. 18. Secret…

Documentary looks at life in refugee camps

After Spring, a 2016 documentary, uncovers life in the Zaatari Refugee Camp by following two families and an aid worker. The film is being presented at KDocs Film Festival, Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s annual documentary screening event. The festival runs Feb. 16 to Feb. 19.  Since the start of the Syrian conflict six years ago, more…