It may be a cliché, but sometimes there’s truth in those things: Victoria Film Festival (VFF) director Kathy Kay says to “expect the unexpected” from the 18th annual celebration of film, running February 3-12.
“There’s a lot of variety,” she says, “from Swiss films, horror films, Sarah Polley’s latest film [Take This Waltz], there’s an Italian highlight, there’s shorts, documentaries…”
So, to bust out another cliché, there’s going to be something for everybody. This year’s festival will not fall short of expectations. Best suggestion? Grab a program and a day planner, ’cause there’s so much to see in so little time.
Jake and Elwood fans have a chance to join legendary director John Landis in a quote-along to The Blues Brothers, preceded by an in-person interview.
Crucifix in hand or not, Linda Blair will appear for an interview, as well as a screening of the mother of all horror films, The Exorcist. If you can shake off the images by the next day and find an appetite, Bon Rouge will host a meet and greet with Blair, pea soup and all! (Note: there may not actually be pea soup.)
Meanwhile, the VFF has expanded its horizons with a few added events. “Relate locally, think globally,” is Kay’s motto for this year’s festival.
Not only is this year stacked with international films, the Victoria Foundation helped in commissioning eight short films to be screened in front of the Canadian films.
Relating locally, a “feast and a film” will go down at Spinnakers Brewpub. During the dinner a local farmer will talk about the importance of local sourcing, followed by a film (as the title suggests) at one of the venues.
As an initiative to promote Swiss design, there will be a Swiss art exhibit, curated by filmmaker Reto Caduff. Five of this year’s screenings are Swiss films.
This year, to stimulate more interest in producing television programming, VFF teamed with KCTS9 and came up with a great prize – a $10,000 development fund in US dollars. The idea is to give documentary filmmakers an opportunity to develop a good project and a strong trailer.
“We know that good development costs money and we are putting our money where our mouth is,” says John Lindsay, KCTS9’s senior vice-president of content. “We’re teaming with Tectoria and the Awesome Shit Club; there’s gonna be a $3,500 prize. People are gonna pitch an innovative business idea.”
At the screening of Venture Capitalists, three ideas will be pitched in front of the audience and the judges – the cool part? The audience gets to vote. (Bragging rights, perhaps?)
“Summer in February” is an event that’s a step above the think-warm mantra, complete with hula-hoops, limbos, and a screening of 50 First Dates.
This festival keeps all individuals in mind when selecting from thousands of submissions.
“We’re not a particular genre festival,” says Kay. “That’s the way we program it, so that hopefully for every individual out there there’ll be a highlight.”
Victoria Film Festival
February 3-12
victoriafilmfestival.com