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VIFF 2025: The Arctic and Its People Shine in ‘Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband)’ | Exclaim!
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Set in the remote village of Igloolik circa 2000 BCE, Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband), the latest from acclaimed director Zacharias Kunuk, tells the story of Kaujak (Theresia Kappianaq) and Sapa (Haiden Angutimarik), two young people betrothed since childhood and about to come of age. After the death of Kaujak’s father, a man (Mark Taqqaugaq) arrives from another village…
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VIFF 2025: ‘Peak Everything’ Finds Amour Amidst Our Modern Apocalypse | Exclaim!
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The world is changing for Adam (Patric Hivon), and for us. Increasing temperatures, rising sea levels, weather events becoming more extreme — and there’s very little we can do at this point. We’ve gone past the point where anyone can reasonably deny that human activity has directly effected climate, and that’s cause for great…
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VIFF 2025: ‘Blue Heron’ Takes Flight with Tender Devastation | Exclaim!
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Blue Heron will reach into the soul of anyone who has lost someone. It will pull out emotions long thought forgotten or moved past, and examine them through the small moments of half-remembered connection. Set in both the past and present, Blue Heron tells the story of a girl turned young woman named Sasha as she attempts…
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Cascadia Critics Top 10 Picks From VIFF 2024 | Cascadia Critics
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This year’s Vancouver International Film Festival ran from September 26th to October 6th, and many Cascadia Film & Television Critics Association members were in attendance. We decided to put together a top ten list to celebrate the festival and all the great films we saw. I had the privilege of writing the blurb for…
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VIFF 2024: Rumours & The Apprentice | Awesome Friday Podcast!
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Greetings programs! This week on the show, we’re looking at the last of our VIFF 2024 coverage with a discussion of Guy Maddin’s surreal political satire Rumours and, following that, a look at the new Donal Trump biopic The Apprentice. Both of these films are challenging to the viewer, for entirely different reasons, and…
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VIFF 2024: ‘Bonjour Tristesse’ Says Hello to a New Canadian Talent | Exclaim!
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There’s something about a lazy holiday. Lounging around on long afternoons and warm nights make for easy days. It’s easy to get lost in these moments, especially for the 17-year-old just starting to figure out their individual wants and desires. There’s freedom but also a touch of melancholy in these times, as they are…
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VIFF 2024: ’40 Acres’ Is a Tried-and-True Post-Apocalypse Story | Exclaim!
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It is interesting to chart our vision of what the post-apocalypse might be. The shortage is never the same, but the outcome always is: we run out of something, people get desperate, and then the rest of the movie happens. R.T. Thorne’s 40 Acres follows this formula, with the shortage being food. The film takes place…
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VIFF 2024: Mongrels | That Shelf
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It is more difficult than most of us know to pull up roots and move to another country. The costs involved aren’t simply monetary. You give up community, culture, and your entire network of friends and family, but you do it in the spirit of finding a better life for yourself and your children. Mongrels,…
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VIFF 2024: Inedia & It’s What’s Inside (& Transformers One) | Awesome Friday Podcast!
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Greetings programs! On this week’s show, we’re taking on two exciting films. First up, a BC shot indie film that played as part of the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival, Inedia. Then we turn our attention to a new Netflix release, the single-location mystery movie It’s What’s Inside. Both films are exciting for some…
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VIFF 2024: Lucky Star & Conclave | Awesome Friday Podcast!
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Greetings programs! Our favourite time of year is back; the Vancouver International Film Festival is on now! The 2024 edition features a ton of great films, and we’re here to talk about two of them: Gillian McKercher’s family drama Lucky Star and Edward Berger’s All Quiet on the Western Front follow-up Conclave. It’s a…
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Universal Language & Rebel Ridge | Awesome Friday Podcast!
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Greetings, Programs! This week on the show, we’re looking at Canada’s official selection for the Academy Award for Best International Feature, Matthew Rankin’s Universal Language. It’s a singular piece of art that we have a lot to say about, and it premieres in Canada at TIFF this week! Following that, we look at Jeremy…
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VIFF 2023: I Used to Be Funny: Rachel Sennott Continues Her Hot Streak in Ally Pankiw’s New Film | That Shelf
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The movie is ultimately Sennott’s show and she carries it with the confidence of a seasoned performer. The story sees her tackle more than a few complicated subjects. Through it all, she makes Sam believable, sympathetic, and, when the script calls for it, hilarious. It is an excellent performance that anchors I Used to Be…
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VIFF 2023: “Anatomy of a Fall” and the Anatomy of an Exceptional Courtroom Drama | ForReel
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The cast is universally excellent, […] Samuel Theis and Sandra Hüller, in one of the film’s best scenes, have a violent argument (which is recorded and the audio played for the court) in which they discuss the balance of their lives and responsibilities. This scene feels like it could be taken from almost any…
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VIFF 2023: I’m Just Here for the Riot, Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe, & The Royal Hotel | Awesome Friday Podcast
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The 2023 Vancouver International Film Festival has drawn to a close, and this week, we’re talking about three films we saw as part of the fest: I’m Just Here for the Riot is a documentary about the 2011 Stanley Cup Riot in Vancouver, our hometown. Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe is a documentary…
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VIFF 2023: “The Royal Hotel”; A Feminist Tale Of Harrowing Proportions | ForReel
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So Liv and Hanna are left to fend for themselves among these horrible men. Three stand out: Matty (Toby Wallace, Finestkind), the fun one who wants to be friends but also wants to get Hanna into bed. Teeth (James Frecheville), the slow one who thinks he’s being chivalrous by sitting at the bar and…