2023 Vancouver International Film Festival Explained
The 2023 Vancouver International Film Festival, the 42nd event in the history of the Vancouver International Film Festival, was held from September 28 to October 8, 2023.[1]
Awards
Winners of the juried Canadian film awards were announced on October 5.[2] The Vanguard award winner was announced on October 8, and Audience Award winners were announced on October 12.
| Award | Film | Filmmaker |
|---|
| Audience Award, Galas & Special Presentations | Monster | Hirokazu Kore-eda |
| Audience Award, Showcase | The Monk and the Gun | |
| Audience Award, Panorama | Irena's Vow | Louise Archambault |
| Audience Award, Vanguard | Let Me Go (Laissez-moi) | Maxime Rappaz |
| Audience Award, Northern Lights | | |
| Audience Award, Insights | Physician, Heal Thyself | Asher Penn |
| Audience Award, Spectrum | Asog | Seán Devlin |
| Audience Award, Portraits | Call Me Dancer | Leslie Shampaine, Pip Gilmour |
| Audience Award, Altered States | Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant) | |
| Best Canadian Film | Fitting In | Molly McGlynn |
| Best Canadian Film, Honorable Mention | Gamodi | Felix Kalmenson |
| Best Canadian Documentary | Someone Lives Here | Zack Russell |
| Best Canadian Documentary, Honorable Mention | Asog | Seán Devlin |
| Best Canadian Short Film | Katshinau | Julien G. Marcotte, Jani Bellefleur-Kaltush |
| Best Canadian Short Film, Honorable Mention | Our Grandmother the Inlet | Jaime Leigh Gianopoulos, Kayah George |
| Emerging Canadian Director | Valley of Exile | Anna Fahr |
| Emerging Canadian Director, Honorable Mention | Richelieu | Pier-Philippe Chevigny |
| Best BC Film | WaaPaKe | Jules Arita Koostachin |
| Best BC Film, Honorable Mention | Asog | Seán Devlin |
| Vanguard Award | Animal | Sofia Exarchou |
| Vanguard Award, Honorable Mention | Octopus Skin (La Piel Pulpo) | Ana Cristina Barragán | |
Films
The full schedule was announced on September 6.[3]
Galas and special presentations
Showcase
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|
| About Dry Grasses | Kuru Otlar Üstüne | | Turkey, France, Germany, Sweden |
| Close to You | | Canada, United Kingdom |
| Creature | | United Kingdom |
| The Delinquents | Los delincuentes | | Argentina, Brazil, Luxembourg, Chile |
| Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World | Nu astepta prea mult de la sfârsitul lumii | | Romania |
| Evil Does Not Exist | 悪は存在しない | | Japan |
| Four Daughters | بنات ألفة | | France, Tunisia, Germany, Saudi Arabia |
| Four Little Adults | Nelja Pienta Aikuista | | Finland, Sweden |
| Green Border | Zielona granica | | Poland, Czech Republic, France, Belgium |
| How to Have Sex | | United Kingdom |
| I Am Sirat | Deepa Mehta, Sirat Taneja | Canada |
| Il Boemo | | Czech Republic, Italy, Slovakia |
| Just the Two of Us | L'Amour et les forêts | | France |
| Kidnapped | Rapito | | Italy, France, Germany |
| The Monk and the Gun | | Bhutan, France, United States, Taiwan |
| The Royal Hotel | | Australia, United Kingdom |
| The Teachers' Lounge | Das Lehrerzimmer | Ilker Çatak | Germany |
| They Shot the Piano Player | Dispararon al pianista | | Spain, France |
| Tótem | | Mexico, Denmark, France | |
Panorama
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|
| 19B | | Egypt |
| All Ears | | China |
| Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry | Elena Naveriani | Georgia, Switzerland |
| The Braid | | France, Canada, Italy |
| Days of Happiness | Les Jours heureux | | Canada |
| The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed | Joanna Arnow | United States |
| Gamodi | Felix Kalmenson | Canada, Georgia |
| Goodbye Julia | وداعا جوليا | | Sudan |
| Here | Bas Devos | Belgium |
| Housekeeping for Beginners | Domakinstvo za Pocetnici | | Macedonia, Poland, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo |
| If Only I Could Hibernate | Баавгай болохсон, Baavgai Bolohson | Zoljargal Purevdash | Mongolia |
| In Broad Daylight | 白日之下 | Lawrence Kan | Hong Kong |
| Irena's Vow | | Canada, Poland |
| Let the River Flow | Ellos Eatnu | | Norway, Sweden, Finland |
| Measures of Men | Der vermessene Mensch | | Germany |
| Oceans Are the Real Continents | Los océanos son los verdaderos continentes | Tommaso Santambrogio | Cuba, Italy |
| One Day All This Will Be Yours | En dag kommer allt det här bli ditt | Andreas Öhman | Sweden |
| Only the River Flows | 河边的错误 | Wei Shujun | China |
| Puan | | Argentina, Italy, France, Germany, Brazil |
| Raging Grace | | United Kingdom |
| The Rapture | Le Ravissement | Iris Kaltenbäck | France |
| Red Rooms | Les Chambres rouges | | Canada |
| Robot Dreams | | Spain, France |
| The Settlers | Los Colonos | Felipe Gálvez Haberle | Chile |
| Snow in Midsummer | 五月雪 | Chong Keat Aun | Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan |
| Suddenly | Melisa Önel | Turkey |
| There's No Place Like Home | Den, der lever stille | Puk Grasten | Denmark |
| Toll | Pedágio | | Brazil, Portugal |
| A Tour Guide | Eun-mi Kwak | South Korea |
| Tsugaru Lacquer Girl | バカ塗りの娘 | Keiko Tsuruoka | Japan |
| Undercurrent | アンダーカレント | | Japan |
| Wild Swans | Gorai Phakhri | | India | |
Vanguard
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|
| Animal | Sofia Exarchou | Greece, Austria, Romania, Cyprus, Bulgaria |
| Bitten | La Morsure | Romain de Saint-Blanquat | France |
| The Face of the Jellyfish | El Rostro de la Medusa | Melisa Liebenthal | Argentina |
| Let Me Go | Laissez-moi | Maxime Rappaz | Switzerland, France, Belgium |
| Octopus Skin | La Piel Pulpo | Ana Cristina Barragán | Ecuador |
| On the Go | María Gisèle Royo, Julia de Castro | Spain |
| The Sea and Its Waves | La Mer et ses vagues | Liana Kassir, Renaud Pachot | Lebanon, France |
| Tomorrow Is a Long Time | Míng tian bi zuo tian chang jiu | Jow Zhi Wei | Singapore, Taiwan, France, Portugal | |
Northern Lights
Insights
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|
| Common Ground | | United States |
| Deep Rising | | United States |
| The Invention of the Other | A invenção do Outro | Bruno Jorge | Brazil |
| Lynx Man | Ilveskuiskaaja | Juha Suonpää | Finland, Estonia |
| Mareya Shot, Keetah Goal: Make the Shot | | Canada |
| The Mission | | United States, India |
| On the Adamant | Sur l'Adamant | | France, Japan |
| Physician, Heal Thyself | Asher Penn | Canada |
| WaaPaKe | | Canada |
| Winter Chants | 冬未來 | | Hong Kong | |
Spectrum
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|
| Asog | | Canada, Philippines |
| Between Revolutions | Între revoluții | Vlad Petri | Romania, Croatia, Iran |
| Hello Dankness | Soda Jerk | Australia |
| Kim's Video | David Redmon, Ashley Sabin | United States, United Kingdom, France |
| Lonely Oaks | Vergiss Meyn Nicht | Fabiana Fragale, Kilian Kuhlendahl, Jens Mühlhoff | Germany |
| Mighty Afrin: In the Time of Floods | Angelos Rallis | Greece, France, Germany |
| The Mother of All Lies | Kadib Abyad | | Morocco, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar |
| Orlando, My Political Biography | Orlando, ma biographie politique | | France |
| Smoke Sauna Sisterhood | Savvusanna sõsarad | Anna Hints | Estonia, France, Iceland |
| The Tuba Thieves | Alison O'Daniel | United States | |
Portraits
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|
| Anselm | Anselm – Das Rauschen der Zeit | | Germany |
| Apolonia, Apolonia | Lea Glob | Denmark, Poland |
| Caiti Blues | Justine Harbonnier | Canada, France |
| Call Me Dancer | Leslie Shampaine, Pip Gilmour | United States, India |
| A Cooler Climate | James Ivory, Giles Gardner | France |
| Invisible Beauty | | United States |
| It's Only Life After All | | United States |
| Pianoforte | Jakub Piątek | Poland |
| Robert Irwin: A Desert of Pure Feeling | Jennifer Lane | United States |
| Sculpting the Giant | Banu Wirandoko, Rheza Arden Wiguna | Indonesia | |
Altered States
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|
| The Animal Kingdom | Le Règne animal | | France |
| Animalia | Parmi nous | | Morocco, France, Qatar |
| Chronicles of a Wandering Saint | Crónicas de una Santa Errante | Tomas Gomez Bustillo | Argentina, United States |
| Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person | Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant | | Canada |
| My Animal | | Canada |
| Restore Point | Bod obnovy | Robert Hloz | Czech Republic, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia |
| The Sacrifice Game | Jenn Wexler | United States |
| Tiger Stripes | Amanda Nell Eu | Malaysia, Taiwan, France, Germany |
| The Wait | La espera | | Spain |
| White Plastic Sky | Műanyag égbolt | Tibor Bánóczki, Sarolta Szabó | Hungary, Slovakia | |
Leading Lights
A special program curated by guest programmer Anthony Shim, featuring a selection of films that had influenced his own journey as a filmmaker.
Focus: Women, Life and Freedom
A special program curated by guest programmer Fay Nass, screening films about misogyny and the subjugation of women.
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|
| Joonam | Sierra Urich | United States |
| Numb | Amir Toodehroosta | Iran |
| Seven Winters in Tehran | Sieben Winter in Teheran | Steffi Niederzoll | Germany, France |
| Terrestrial Verses | Ayeh Haye Zamini | Ali Asgari, Alireza Khatami | Iran |
| Valley of Exile | | Canada, Lebanon | |
Short Forum
All films in this short film program are Canadian.
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Province |
|---|
| All the Days of May | Tous les jours de mai | | Quebec |
| Ancestral Threads | Sean Stiller | British Columbia |
| Between You and Me | Cameron Kletke | British Columbia |
| Black Box Investigations | Paige Smith | British Columbia |
| Cassandra | Bea Santos | Ontario |
| Cloud Striker | Allan W. Hopkins | British Columbia |
| Conviction | Bruce Thomas Miller | Alberta |
| The Company We Keep | Wojtek Jakubiec | Quebec |
| Cristo Negro | Paul Stavropoulos, Brendan Mills | Ontario |
| Death Mask | | Ontario |
| Defining Human | Daniel Code | British Columbia |
| Dickinsonia | Charline Dally | Quebec |
| Donna | Keenan MacWilliam | Ontario |
| Dream Tricks: Over a Six Stair | Adam Seward | Ontario |
| Element | Will Niava | Quebec |
| Four Mile Creek | | Quebec |
| Gentle Hum of Spring | Simon Garez | Saskatchewan |
| The Great Kind Mystery | Ella Morton | Newfoundland and Labrador |
| Hair or No Hair | Janessa St. Pierre | British Columbia |
| Her Name Is Like a Sigh | Solara Thanh-Binh Dang | British Columbia |
| In the Wake of the Cedar Tree | Towustasin | British Columbia |
| Katshinau | | Quebec |
| Lake Baikal | Baigal Nuur | | Quebec |
| Les Lavandières | Laura Kamugisha | Quebec |
| Making Babies | Faire un enfant | | Quebec |
| Master of the House | Dylan Maranda | British Columbia |
| Modern Goose | Karsten Wall | Manitoba |
| Mothers and Monsters | | Quebec |
| My Tomato Heart | Mon cœur de tomate | Benoît Le Rouzès Ménard | Quebec |
| Nigiqtuq (The South Wind) | Lindsay McIntyre | Alberta |
| Our Grandmother the Inlet | Jaime Leigh Gianopoulos, Kayah George | British Columbia |
| Outside Center | | Quebec |
| Portrait of the Con Artist as a Young Man | Ryan Leedu | Alberta |
| Redlights | | Ontario |
| Return to Hairy Hill | Retour à Hairy Hill | Daniel Gies | Quebec |
| Return to Ombabika | | Ontario |
| Silkworm | Amir Honarmand | British Columbia |
| Sisters | Marisa Hoicka | Ontario |
| Soleil de Nuit | Fernando Lopez Escriva, Maria Camila Arias | Quebec |
| Something Else | Autre Chose | Étienne Lacelle | Quebec |
| Swallow Flying to the South | Mochi Lin | British Columbia |
| Sub Terra | Jeffrey Zablotny | Ontario |
| Sun, Moon and Four Peaks | Kevin Jin Kwan Kim | British Columbia |
| Take Care | Tony Massil | British Columbia |
| Two Apples | Bahram Javahery | British Columbia, Yukon |
| Two One Two | Shira Avni | Quebec |
| Unspeakable Heap | Kara Ditte Hansen | British Columbia |
| Where Rabbits Come From | D'où viennent les lapins | Colin Ludvic Racicot | Quebec |
| You Feel Soft | Cameron Kletke | British Columbia |
| Yun | Yuezhang Qin | British Columbia | |
International Shorts
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|
| Almost Fall | Presque l'automne | Margot Pouppeville | France |
| Basri & Salma in a Never-Ending Comedy | Basri & Salma Dalam Komedi Yang Terus Berputar | Khozy Rizal | Indonesia, United States |
| Beyond the Sea | Hippolyte Leibovici | Belgium, France |
| Big Bang | | Brazil |
| Big Day | Chung Chieh Chiang | Taiwan |
| Confessions | Stephanie Kaznocha | United States |
| Cuarto de Hora | Nemo Arancibia | Chile, France |
| Cut | Samuel Lucas Allen | Australia |
| Fairplay | Zoel Aeschbacher | Switzerland, France |
| The Family Circus | Andrew Fitzgerald | United States |
| Far from the Tree | Daleko od stromu | Emma Marková | Czech Republic |
| Headdress | Taietsarón:sere ‘Tai’ Leclaire | United States |
| Hedgehog | D. Mitry | United States |
| Hide Your Crazy | Austin Kase | United States |
| In Too Deep | | United Kingdom |
| Jeong-Dong | Choi Woo Gene | South Korea |
| Just a Rehearsal | Solo un Ensayo | Hugo Sanz | Spain |
| Just the Two of Us | Toutes les deux | Clara Lemaire Anspach | France |
| A Lien | Sam Cutler-Kreutz, David Cutler-Kreutz | United States |
| Lovebugs | Teddy Alvarez-Nissen | United States |
| Mira | Eva Louise Hall | United States |
| Night Shift | Turno nocturno Santiago Lago | Argentina |
| Nowhere | | Armenia, United States |
| An Ordinary Day | Ju-yeon Gim | South Korea |
| Pisko the Crab Child Is in Love | Makoto Nagahisa | Japan |
| Snif & Snüf | Michael J. Ruocco | United States |
| Southern Afternoon | Nan fang wu hou | Tian Lan | China |
| Spasm | اسپاسم | Sahra Asadollahi | Iran |
| Sushi | Iván Morales | Spain |
| Where the Time Goes | Justin Tyler Close | United States, Canada |
| Youssou & Malek | Youssou et Malek | Simon Frenay | France | |
Modes
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|
| Aqueronte | Manuel Muñoz Rivas | Spain |
| A Bird Called Memory | Leonardo Martinelli | Brazil, United Kingdom |
| Let's Talk | Simon Liu | Hong Kong |
| Loving in Between | Jyoti Mistry | South Africa, Austria |
| Mast-del | Maryam Tafakory | Iran, United Kingdom |
| Mother Land | Kantarama Gahigiri | Rwanda, Switzerland |
| NYC RGB | Viktoria Schmid | Austria, United States |
| Shadow Does | Laure Prouvost | Belgium, France, Austria |
| Slow Shift | Shambhavi Kaul | India, United States |
| Square the Circle | Hanna Hovitie | Finland |
| This Is Not Here | Charlotte Mungomery | Australia, Peru, Spain | |
Notes and References
- Bridget Stringer-Holden, "Vancouver International Film Festival 2023 announces live performances and special presentations". The Georgia Straight, August 11, 2023.
- V.S. Wells, "VIFF announces Canadian film award winners". The Georgia Straight, October 5, 2023.
- Becca Clarkson, "Lineup for 2023 VIFF revealed ahead of the 1st fully in-cinema event since the pandemic". CTV News Vancouver, September 6, 2023.
