Local cinephiles welcome the morning chill as a sign of the impending 麻豆传媒映画International Film Festival (aka ). Running from September 27 to October 12, it will screen more than 380 films both features and shorts from Algeria to Vietnam (and 71 countries in between). If you cant find something that interests you, look again.
To win tickets to either The Comedy (Oct. 7) or Becoming Redwood (Oct. 11), go .
Meanwhile, here are five of my top picks.
While the free press was instrumental in the founding of America, shows that deregulation and the corporatization of the media have led to the gutting of those principles. Brimming with riveting, hard-hitting interviews, director Jean-Philippe Tremblay also highlights the cases of reporters whose careers were destroyed when their stories i.e. drug running by the Contras or the slavery-like conditions at Nike plants, risked embarrassing the government or sponsors. A scathing indictment of the news as entertainment paradigm, its as terrifying as it is informative.
Oct. 5, 3:20 pm,, Oct. 9, 8:45pm, Empire Granville 5
In , Kirby Dick exposes the US militarys refusal to acknowledge the epidemic of rape in the ranks. The documentary details how an absurd investigation process incidents must be reported to the company commander, who is often the perpetrator and an uncaring bureaucracy that denies treatment for members physical and emotional injuries further victimizes complainants. Thorough, even-handed and perfectly paced, its the gut wrenching interviews with the parade of heroic veterans that drive the piece and will move you to tears and outrage.
Sept. 28, 9:15pm, Sept. 29, 11:45 am, Empire Granville 1
As social programs in the US are cut to the bone, corporations such as AT&T shift billions in profits offshore and pay zero income tax. looks at the inanity of a system that allows IRS heads to go and work for the tax evaders, and politicians rely on corporate donations to get elected.US Uncut, a plucky grassroots movement committed to exposing corporate welfare provides a glimmer of hope amidst the fast flying facts and figures in this enlightening/maddening doc.
Oct. 4, 3:30pm, Empire Granville 4
Oct. 10, 6:45 pm, Empire Granville 1
In , a yard sale provides the catalyst for an unsteady relationship between a twenty-something slacker and a senior citizen that burgeons into a genuine friendship. Writer/director Sean Bakers free flowing narrative is buoyed by natural dialogue and allows for a low-key examination of lifes opportunities and hard edges. A solid supporting cast (including a cuddly canine) and stand-out performances by Dree Hemingway and Besedka Johnson (a novice actor at 85) who share genuine chemistry make for a pleasant, heartfelt drama.
Sept. 29, 6:15pm, Empire Granville 2
Sept. 30, 10:30am, Empire Granville 2
A lonely detective falls for a woman he meets at a speed dating event only to learn that she may be the prime suspect in the homicide hes investigating. Writer/director Barnaby Southcombe utilizes weather and architecture to maximize atmosphere in .Add vertigo-inducing cinematography, palpable suspense, Gabriel Byrnes nuanced beat down cop and Charlotte Ramplings tour de force layered performance and you have what should have been a great thriller; too bad Southcombes repeated use of awkwardly cut flashbacks sabotage the films pacing.
Oct. 6, 7pm, Vancity Theatre
Oct. 7, 6:45pm, Empire Granville 2
Oct. 10, 1:15pm, Empire Granville 7
