The Vancouver International Film Festival Announces 2018 Canadian Program, Including EDGE OF THE KNIFE, QUIET KILLING, and More

The Vancouver International Film Festival's (VIFF) film streams Sea to Sky presented by TELUS, and True North presented by Telefilm, offer moving Indigenous stories with the Western Canadian Premiere of Edge of the Knife, the first narrative feature in the Haida language; Picking Up the Pieces: The Making of the Witness Blanket; and Quiet Killing.

"These Indigenous films allow us a greater appreciation of the land we inhabit and the people who've called it home long before settlers set foot on these shores," said Curtis Woloschuk, Associate Director of Programming. "While these films take very different forms, they all address survival and redemption in the face of trauma."

Helen Haig-Brown and Gwaai Edenshaw's Edge of the Knife features a tormented man transformed into the Gaagiixid (Haida Wildman) by spirits. Cody Graham and Carey Newman's Picking Up the Pieces: The Making of the Witness Blanket charts the crafting of an art installation from the ruins of residential schools. Kim O'Bomsawin's Quiet Killing features interviews with Indigenous women seeking to end the cycle of violence spawned by colonialism and racism.

The BC Spotlight series features dark comedy with Bruce Sweeney's Kingsway. Grant Baldwin's This MOUNTAIN LIFE and Kathleen S. Jayme's Finding Big Country document the alpine and the athletic, respectively. Finally, Sean Devlin's When the Storm Fades features a Filipino family's re-enactment of their recovery from disaster.

Most of the films in VIFF's acclaimed Future//Present series unfold on foreign soil. These include Drew Lint's psychological thriller M/M, set in Berlin, and Aïda Maigre-Touchet's intimate, Haiti-set Song of a Seer.

The True North stream will also feature several commanding female voices behind the camera. Director Patricia Rozema returns to VIFF with Mouthpiece, adapted from a two woman play, while Jasmin Mozaffari's debut Firecrackers depicts two friends' bid to escape their hometown.

Awards

BC Spotlight Awards (Sea to Sky presented by TELUS)

Sea to Sky Award - $20,000

Presented by TELUS

Recognizes the outstanding work of a female key creative on a BC-produced feature or short.

Best BC Film Award

Presented by Creative BC and Encore by Deluxe

$7,500 Presented by Creative BC and $15,000 post-production services credit supplied by encore by Deluxe.

BC Emerging Filmmaker Award

Presented by UBCP/ACTRA, AFBS & William F. White

$7,500 cash prize sponsored by UBCP/ACTRA and ACTRA Fraternal Benefits Society, plus a $10,000 equipment credit supplied by William F. White.

Canadian Awards

Best Canadian Film - $10,000

Presented by the Directors' Guild of Canada

Emerging Canadian Director - $2,000

Presented by the Directors' Guild of Canada

Best Canadian Documentary - $15,000

Presented by Rogers Group of Funds

Best BC Short Film - $5,000

Presented by VIFF

Best Canadian Short Film

$15,000 colour grading and/or VFX services credit supplied by Side Street Post

Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film - $2,000 + Roundtrip Flight Anywhere Delta Air Lines flies

Presented by Gary Harvey and Delta Air Lines

Totally Indie Day presented by STORYHIVE | September 29

Totally Indie Day presented by STORYHIVE invites independent content creators to provide insights and industry advice at the Vancouver International Film Centre (1181 Seymour St.).

Production designers Jade Healy of Oscar-winning film I, Tonya and Chris Jones of Oscar- nominated film Lady Bird will discuss the craft of creating rich story worlds in Style on Film: Production Design.

Jay Cassidy, three-time Oscar nominee and editor of acclaimed films American Hustle and Into the Wild will speak about craft, collaboration and creating compelling stories in The Art of the Cut.

Creators Kate Green, director/executive producer of NarcoLeap; Tyler Funk, creator of She's Not Funny; and Ryan J. Sidhoo, director of True North, will share their journeys from pitches to production to finding distribution partners in From Production to Distribution: Web Series Success Stories.

Dava Whisenant, director/producer/co-writer of Bathtubs Over Broadway (screening in the M/A/D stream and a prizewinner at Tribeca 2018) and Brent Hodge, director of Freaks and Geeks: The Documentary and other award-winning works will dive into pop culture and industrial music documentaries in Indie Docs: Trending Now.

VIFF Mentorship Program

VIFF is committed to opening doors for young creators who are often under- or misrepresented in the film industry and beyond. The VIFF Mentorship Program will offer 10 emerging filmmakers, ages 19 - 30, an introductory film festival experience with exclusive creative development opportunities.The program encourages young filmmakers who are Indigenous; of minority origin; or existing across the spectrums of gender, sexuality and ability, to apply online up until August 13, 2018.

Featured Films:

B.C. Spotlight (Sea to Sky presented by TELUS):

Because We Are Girls (dir. Baljit Sangra, Canada) - World Premiere

Edge of the Knife (dirs. Gwaai Edenshaw, Helen Haig-Brown, Canada)

Finding Big Country (dir. Kathleen S. Jayme, Canada/USA) - World Premiere

Freaks (dirs. Adam Stein, Zach Lipovsky, Canada)

Kingsway (dir. Bruce Sweeney, Canada)

N.O.N. (dir. Zebulon Zang, Canada) - World Premiere

Picking Up the Pieces: The Making of the Witness Blanket (dirs. Cody Graham, Carey Newman, Canada) - World Premiere

The Darling (dir. Seung-Yup Lee, Canada/South Korea) - North American Premiere

This MOUNTAIN LIFE (dir. Grant Baldwin, Canada)

When the Storm Fades (dir. Sean Devlin, Canada/Philippines) - World Premiere

True North presented by Telefilm:

A Sister's Song (dir. Danae Elon, Canada) - North American Premiere

Clara (dir. Akash Sherman, Canada)

Firecrackers (dir. Jasmin Mozaffari, Canada)

Genesis (dir. Philippe Lesage, Canada) - North American Premiere

Giant Little Ones (dir. Keith Behrman, Canada)

Mouthpiece (dir. Patricia Rozema, Canada)

Quiet Killing (dir. Kim O'Bomsawin, Canada)

Roads in February (dir. Katherine Jerkovic, Canada/Uruguay)

The Far Shore (dir. David Uloth, Canada) - World Premiere

Ville Neuve (dir. Félix Dufour-Laperrière, Canada) - North American Premiere

What is Democracy? (dir. Astra Taylor, Canada)

What Walaa Wants (dir. Christy Garland, Canada/Palestine)

Future//Present:

Fausto (dir. Andrea Bussmann, Canada/Mexico)

M/M (dir. Drew Lint, Canada/Germany)

Mangoshake (dir. Terry Chiu, Canada)

Song of a Seer (dir. Aïda Maigre-Touchet, Canada/France/Haiti) - North American

Spice it Up (dirs. Lev Lewis, Yonah Lewis, Calvin Thomas, Canada) - World Premiere

The Museum of Forgotten Triumphs (dir. Bojan Bodruži?, Canada/Bosnia and Herzegovina) - World Premiere

The Stone Speakers (dir. Igor Drlja?a, Canada/Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Waiting for April (dir. Olivier Godin, Canada) - North American Premiere

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