With TIFF now in the books, it is time for us to turn our attention to Canada’s other massive film fest and that is the Vancouver International Film Festival, which has been running for almost the same length as its sister fest in Toronto has. There are a lot of great films playing the festival, including some that played at TIFF. To make this preview more interesting, I have removed the option to talk about any films that played in Toronto. So if you want to learn more about Decision to Leave, Triangle of Sadness, Viking, Brother, The Banshees of Inisherin, Broker, The Son, ROSIE, The Whale and Black Ice you can either read our preview HERE or listen to our podcast HERE.
Directed By: Marie Clements
Starring: Grace Dove, Phillip Lewitski, Rémy Girard, Gail Maurice, Glen Gould
Synopsis: Bones of Crows is a psychological drama told through the eyes of Cree Matriarch Aline Spears, as she survives Canada’s residential school system to continue her family’s generational fight in the face of systemic starvation, racism, and sexual abuse. Bones of Crows unfolds over one hundred years with a cumulative force that propels us into the future.
Why I’m Excited: As much as things in the world change, a lot stays the same. In Bones of Crows we witness the inter-generational trauma inflicted upon Indigenous people by the government of Canada. We see Aline Spears at three different ages, as a young child being stolen from her family and put in a residential school, as a young woman who despite her trauma enlists in WW2 and works as a translator and is then discarded and finally as an elder of her community watching the same cycles still perpetuated. It’s a reckoning many settlers still are unwilling to face and looks to be a tough but important watch regardless of what community you come from. The film also stars a who’s who of great Indigenous talent that if they aren’t already, need to be on your radar for future projects.
Directed By: Marie Kreutzer
Starring: Vicky Krieps, Colin Morgan, Finnegan Oldfield
Synopsis: A fictional account of the later years of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. On Christmas Eve 1877, Elisabeth turns 40 and is officially deemed an old woman and starts trying to maintain her public image, once idolized for her beauty.
Why I’m Excited: Vicky Krieps wowed audiences in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread as Alma and has been in films like Old and Bergman Island since then, Corsage looks to once again put her in the conversation for the most interesting actress. The film sounds like it is more like Spencer and Jackie (both Pablo Larraín movies) than other stuffy historical biopics. Austria has already selected Corsage as its official selection for the Best International Film category at the Oscars.
Directed By: Kathleen Jayme
Synopsis: To die-hard fans of NBA franchise, the Vancouver Grizzlies, like filmmaker Kat Jayme, the team’s abrupt move to Memphis in 2001 is much more than a sore spot, it’s an unsolved mystery and possibly a criminal conspiracy. What begins as a superfan’s investigation into her hometown team’s disappearance, becomes a love letter to the worst professional sports franchise in history, and an exploration of the deep roots of fandom.
Why I’m Excited: As a massive Toronto Raptors fan, I never paid much attention to the Grizzlies. They were mostly an afterthought franchise, they never won more than 23 games in a season and didn’t make the post season during their six year existence. They also played before I got into basketball, leaving the city in 2001 for Memphis. But now as a Vancouverite, their mysteriousness piques my interest. Fans have long pined for the return of the Grizzlies and this doc promises to do a deep dive into the team.
Directed By: Claire Denis
Starring: Margaret Qualley, Joe Alwyn, Danny Ramirez, Benny Safdie
Synopsis: In 1984’s Nicaragua, a mysterious English businessman and a headstrong American journalist strike up a romance as they soon become embroiled in a dangerous labyrinth of lies and conspiracies and are forced to try and escape the country.
Why I’m Excited: French auteur Clair Denis made her English language debut, High Life, back in 2018 after a long and acclaimed career in French cinema. She continues her exploration in English language movies with this story about a young woman stuck in South America as she tries to untangle herself. Because it is Claire Denis, the film won’t be simple or an easy watch. Nothing will be what it seems and everything will have a hidden cost attached, but the Margaret Qualley ascent can’t be stopped between Stars at Noon and her other festival hit Sanctuary.
Directed By: Sarah Polley
Starring: Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Judith Ivey, Ben Whishaw, Frances McDormand, Sheila McCarthy
Synopsis: In 2010, the women of an isolated religious community grapple with reconciling their reality with their faith. Based on the novel by Miriam Toews.
Why I’m Excited: Mara! Foy! Buckley! McDormand! McCarthy! The return of Sarah freaking Polley! It’s been a decade since Polley’s Stories We Tell and she returns with a cast for the ages. Having previously loved the Miriam Toews adaptation All My Puny Sorrows, this immediately caught my attention even if the credits wasn’t a who’s who of incredible talents. The film has Oscar buzz all over it and was a hit at TIFF. It sounds like the film will be a tough watch with graphic details about abuse in the Mennonite community, but one desperately needing a voice.
Honourable Mentions
North of Normal, Riceboy Sleeps (listen to our interview with director Anthony Shim HERE), The King of Wuxia, Tori and Lokita, Soviet Bus Stops
What movies are you most excited to see at VIFF this year? Let us know on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Look for more great festival coverage coming your way!
