VIFF Creator Talk: The Great North

The Great North, an animated sitcom premiering Feb. 14th on Fox, is created by the veteran writers of Bob’s Burgers, Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin. The series follows the Alaskan adventures of the Tobin family, as a single dad does his best to keep his weird bunch of kids close – especially his only daughter, Judy, whose artistic dreams lead her away from the family fishing board and into the glamorous world of the local mall. Featuring the vocal talents of Nick Offerman, Jenny Slate, Will Forte and Alanis Morissette, we’re in for a wild and eccentric ride with the residents of the town of Lone Moose!
VIFF is thrilled to host Emmy-winning creators, showrunners and executive producers Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin as they take us for a deep dive into writing and creating an animated tv series – from envisioning the town of Lone Moose, stocking it with eccentric residents to casting the superb vocal talents.

Presented by Creative BC
Supported by Pacific Screenwriting Program

VIFF Creator Talk: Bill Lawrence Co-Creator, Ted Lasso

Co/creator of Scrubs, Cougar Town and Spin City, Bill Lawrence will be online for a VIFF Creator Talk to chat about his latest big-hearted comedy series, Ted Lasso!
The Apple TV+ series, starring and co-created by Jason Sudeikis, is about an American football coach who’s recruited to manage an English soccer team despite having no experience (or even a clear concept of the sport).
Join us for ‘biscuits with the boss’ as Bill Lawrence takes us inside the writers’ room of this series that shows conventional sitcom ideas a red card, brings real depth to a game ensemble cast and proves that comedy and sincerity can be potent strike partners.

Nov. 17, 5pm PST on VIFF Connect.

TICKETS $10: goviff.org/ted-lasso
Free to VIFF Connect Subscribers

Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) 2020 – September 24–October 7, 2020

Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) announces its 39th edition, on screens September 24–October 7, 2020. Showcasing more than 100 feature films and events, including boundary-pushing Canadian work, adventurous East Asian cinema, inspiring documentaries, elevated genre cinema, and festival favourites, the online-primary festival is available throughout the province of British Columbia on the new VIFF Connect streaming platform. VIFF 2020 will also feature a select number of in-cinema presentations, including the opening film and world premiere of Loretta Sarah Todd’s Monkey Beach. The adaptation of Eden Robinson’s beloved novel will be screened at several independent cinemas throughout the province in compliance with COVID-19 capacity restrictions and the latest provincial health and safety regulations. To explore VIFF’s 2020 programming, and to purchase Single Tickets and Subscriptions, visit: viff.org

Marie Clements’ RED SNOW film premieres on Apple TV

Marie Clements’ award-winning narrative feature debut RED SNOW will be available for streaming and download on Apple TV beginning May 15th. Following its World Premiere screening at the Vancouver International Film Festival, a screening at the ImagineNATIVE Festival in Toronto, a robust global festival tour which continued into 2020, and a limited theatrical run, RED SNOW will now be available to viewers at home across the country.

Filmed on location in Canada’s Northwest Territories (Yellowknife and Dettah) and the desert interior region of British Columbia (the Ashcroft Band Lands, Cache Creek and Kamloops), RED SNOW is the powerful story of Dylan, a Gwich’in soldier from the Canadian Arctic, who is caught in an ambush in Panjwayi, Afghanistan. His capture and interrogation by a Taliban Commander release a cache of memories connected to the love and death of his Inuit cousin, Asana, and binds him closer to a Pashtun family as they escape across treacherous landscapes and through a blizzard that becomes their key to survival.

Featuring the talents of Tantoo Cardinal, Asivak Koostachin, Mozhdah Jamalzadah, Samuel Marty, Miika Bryce Whiskeyjack, Ishaan Vasdev, Shafin Karim and Kane Mahon, RED SNOW was shot in four languages including Gwich’in, Inuvialuktun, Pashto and English.

The Far North meets the Middle East in a journey of loss and rebirth that lays bare the land, blood ties, and two ancient cultures that collide to re-imagine a future born of 10,000 words for snow.

RED SNOW is written and directed by acclaimed Métis playwright, director, producer, and screenwriter, Marie Clements. Clements’ credits include the documentary feature The Road Forward, Looking at Edward Curtis and her fifteen plays, including The Unnatural and Accidental Women, have been presented on some of the most prestigious stages in the world, garnering numerous awards, including the 2004 Canada-Japan Literary Award and two prestigious Governor General’s Literary Award nominations.

RED SNOW has won numerous awards including Best Screenplay, Best Feature and Best Director at VIWFF, Most Popular Canadian Dramatic Feature at VIFF, Winner Best Canadian Feature Drama at EIFF and many more nominations at international festivals including LA Skins, American Indian Film Festival, the DGC and 10 Leo Award nominations.

RED SNOW was made possible with the support of CBC Films, Canada Media Fund, Telefilm Canada, the Women In the Director’s Chair Feature Film Award, Harold Greenberg Fund, APTN, Creative BC, the Canada Media Fund, APTN, the Harold Greenberg Fund, Creative BC, Film Incentive BC, CAVCO, and the Northwest Territories Film Rebate Program.

VIFF Talks: Michael Moore | VIFF Podcast

For our first episode, we present a conversation with Oscar-winning director, activist and political pundit Michael Moore, who shares his thoughts on Canada, Justin Trudeau and how the themes in his first documentary Roger & Me still resonate 30 years on.

In 1989, Moore burst onto the American film scene with Roger & Me, which chronicled the efforts of General Motors to turn his home of Flint, Michigan into a ghost town. When the groundbreaking film screened at VIFF that year, it immediately captured the attention of programmers and audiences alike, who awarded it the Festival’s ‘Most Popular Film’ title.

Flashforward to 2019 and Moore returns to VIFF, joining us for a special 30th-anniversary screening of Roger & Me, followed by a Q&A with Stephen Quinn, host of CBC Radio 1’s The Early Edition.

VIFF Talks launched April 9, 2020.