Film lovers rejoice! With the 34th annual Vancouver International Film Festival just around the corner, our fair city is soon to come alive with the finest of films from all over the world.

With 550 public screenings and 350 films from 70 countries the festival will, as always, have something for everybody. Whether you’re looking for hard-hitting social commentary, action and adventure, or offbeat comedic charm, VIFF is sure to please even the pickiest of film critics. Those craving some Canadian-focused narratives will not be disappointed. There will be a spotlight on both Canadian and British Columbian productions, as well as a number of films that pay tribute to our western home. 

Always highly anticipated, this year’s Gala Series is sure to delight. Gala audiences will enjoy the best of digital image and sound technology on the 50-foot screen at The Centre For Performing Arts. In our humble opinion, there’s no better way to celebrate the art of film.

This year, VIFF will kick-off with a gala screening of the historical immigration drama Brooklyn directed by John Crowley.  Also in the Gala Series is Deepa Mehta’s Beeba Boys, which is loosely based on the story of “Bindy” Johal, the notorious Sikh mobster who was shot in the back of a Vancouver nightclub in the late 90s. This action-packed crime film offers a big-screen interpretation of Johal’s scarcely explored underworld, right here in the Lower Mainland. The festival will close with a gala screening of the Hank Williams biopic I Saw The Light, directed by Marc Abraham and produced by Vancouver’s very own Bron Studios.

Also worth a homegrown mention is Into The Forest, directed by Patricia Rozema and starring Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood. The apocalyptic drama will screen at this year’s BC Spotlight Awards Gala and is set, in the most literal of senses, in our British Columbian neck of the woods.  It is the gritty and intimate story of two sister’s quest for survival as the world that they know is on the brink of collapse. 

 Of course, the above-mentioned are just a tiny snippet of the vast array of films on offer this year at VIFF. More information about films, schedules, and tickets can be found at www.viff.org. VIFF kicks off on September 24th and runs until October 9th.

Brooklyn directed by John Crowley

Beeba Boys directed by Deepa Mehta

I Saw The Light directed by Marc Abraham

Into The Forest directed by Patricia Rozema

All images are courtesy of www.viff.org