-
VIFF 2023: I’m Just Here for the Riot, Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe, & The Royal Hotel | Awesome Friday Podcast
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…
-
VIFF 2023: “The Royal Hotel”; A Feminist Tale Of Harrowing Proportions | ForReel
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…
-
VIFF 2023: ‘Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person’ Brings Fresh Blood to Familiar Themes | Exclaim!
The coming-of-age story is a well-worn tale, but one that still has a lot of mileage if a filmmaker can find a new angle. Director Ariane Louis-Seize has found one with her new film Humanist Vampire Seeing Consenting Suicidal Person, casting the existential angst and ennui of being a teenager onto the eternal youth of a 68-year-old…
-
VIFF 2022 Top Fives w/ Dakota from Contra Zoom Pod! | Awesome Friday Podcast
Greetings programs! We’re back after just a few days with a special bonus wrap-up episode for the 2022 Vancouver International Film Festival. This episode is also a joint episode with our friends Contra Zoom, Dakota from that show and Matthew are breaking down their five favourites from the festival together, and the episode will…
-
Viking & Triangle of Sadness | Awesome Friday Podcast
Greetings programs! This week on the podcast, we’re looking at two films that played as part of the 2022 Vancouver International Film Festival. First up is Canadian director Stéphane Lafleur’s new high-concept comedy Viking. Then we take a closer look at Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or winning satire of wealth and privilege Triangle of Sadness. Episode Homepage:…
-
Interview: Lauren Grant on her directorial debut short film “Things We Feel But Do Not Say” | Awesome Friday!
Lauren Grant is a prolific producer of Canadian film and television, having worked on the series Killjoys as well as the films Riot Girls, Sugar Daddy and The Retreat just in the last two years. This year she also makes her debut as a director with her original short film Things We Feel But Do Not Say, which premiered as part of the…
-
2021 Vancouver International Film Festival Favourite Films | ForReel
The Vancouver International Film Festival came to a close on Oct 11, but before it all ended, Thomas gathered friends Taylor Baker from Drink In The Movies and Mathew Simpson with Awesome Friday for a wrap up discussion – in person! In this chat, hosted at the Vancouver Playhouse, Thomas, Taylor, and Matt talk…
-
Interview: Danis Goulet on her film “Night Raiders” | Awesome Friday!
Matthew: How was the production process? I understand you had Taika Waititi on board as an executive producer and a number of Canadian talents as well. How did that all come together? Danis Goulet: It was amazing. The cast is so incredible to work with. We were a Canada-New Zealand co-production, so we had…
-
2021 Vancouver International Film Festival Preview (#167) | Contra Zoom
On this show we are previewing the 40th edition of the Vancouver International Film Festival. It is the largest film festival in Western Canada and gets plenty of prestige films from around the world. Joining the show is Matthew Simpson, who is one half of the Awesome Friday Movie Podcast. We each picked five films (and…
-
VIFF 2020: Festival Favourites | ForReel
The Vancouver International Film Festival has come to a close, so I hopped on Zoom to talk with two friends and fellow film festival attendees, Matthew Simpson from Awesome Friday and Leanne Mclaren from 103.5 QMFM. We discuss our top 3 favorite films each of them saw during the festival, as well as some…
-
VIFF 2020 Interview: Curtis Woloschuk, VIFF Associate Director of Programming, on the changes and challenges of hosting a festival during a pandemic | Awesome Friday!
There’s no denying that 2020 has been an abnormal year for film, and film festivals are by no means exempt from that. I sat down with Curtis Woloschuk, associate director if programming for the Vancouver International Film Festival, to talk about this years festival moving online and other challenges of hosting a festival during…
-
VIFF 2020 Interview: Cheryl Foggo on her film ‘John Ware Reclaimed’ | Awesome Friday!
ohn Ware Reclaimed is a look at one of the least told types of stories in Canada, that of black history. John Ware himself is a locally famous figure and telling his story has been a lifelong interest of Canadian historian and writer Cheryl Foggo, who wrote and directed the film. I have already watched and…
-
VIFF 2020: ‘John Ware Reclaimed’ looks to change the conversation about the famous black cowboy | Awesome Friday!
For Foggo, John Ware has been a lifelong concern. She started a research file in the early days of her career as a writer and, in 2012, wrote a play titled John Ware Reimagined –songs from which are staged throughout this film– about his life and times. She admits that she knows she is…
