VIFF Announces 2018 Opening/Closing Gala Films And Special Events

VIFF Announces 2018 Opening Closing Gala Films And Special Events

VIFF announces 2018 Opening and Closing Gala films, BC Spotlight Gala film, and special events.

VANCOUVER, B.C. (September 5, 2018) – On September 27, the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) will kick off its 16-day run with Kim Nguyen’s story of high-frequency stock trading, The Hummingbird Project. The film stars Jesse Eisenberg and Alexander Skarsgård as cousins intent on creating a 1,000-mile-long fiber-optic cable that will shave a critical millisecond off of stock transactions. Apart from myriad other challenges, the cousins must contend with the wrath of their outraged former boss, played by Salma Hayek.

For this year’s BC Spotlight Gala on October 6, VIFF is screening the world premiere of Robin Hays’ Anthem of a Teenage Prophet, starring Cameron Monaghan (of the television hit Shameless) as Luke, who has lost his best friend and had even predicted the tragedy. Adapted from Joanne Proulx’s award-winning novel, the film follows Luke as he falls for his best friend’s girl, played by Peyton List, and spirals into more macabre premonitions.

Closing the festival on October 12, is Jason Reitman’s The Front Runner, starring Hugh Jackman as Gary Hfavoriteodds-on favourite for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination. In the space of three weeks, Hart’s campaign implodes thanks to monkey business and muckraking. In detailing the damage control that unfolds during such crises, The Front Runner also makes clear that privacy died long before the rise of the internet.

Other events announced at the press conference include:

Creator Talk: Michael Schur | September 30
The Rio Theatre (1660 E. Broadway)

VIFF’s Creator Talk with Michael Schur is a fascinating session with one of comedy’s best TV writers. Schur is the creator and executive producer of NBC’s critically acclaimed, award-winning comedy The Good Place, and also a co-creator and executive producer of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Parks and Recreation. Schur also wrote and produced the Emmy Award-winning hit The Office, and fans of the show may also know him as Mose Schrute, Dwight Schrute’s bearded, beet-farming cousin.

Tribute Award: Jean Marc Vallée | October 2
The Playhouse (600 Hamilton Street)

VIFF is thrilled to have this opportunity to celebrate the storytelling accomplishments of Jean-Marc Vallée, an Oscar nominee and one of Canada’s finest directors. VIFF is proud to have screened his first feature, Black List, and later his C.R.A.Z.Y. and Wild. Vallée recently won an Emmy for Outstanding Directing on Big Little Lies, and VIFF is thrilled to host a screening of the premiere episode of the series Sharp Objects, that had Vallée at the helm for every episode. The Tribute Award will be followed by an “in conversation with” session with the director; it will be hosted by Tim Southam, president of the Directors Guild of Canada.
Sustainable Production Forum Keynote Speaker: Adrian Grenier | October 5
Vancity Theatre (1181 Seymour Street)

As part of the previously announced Sustainable Production Forum (SPF), actor Adrian Grenier of the Lonely Whale Foundation will launch the two-day conference with a keynote address on the Forum’s theme, “Transforming Culture.” SPF is the world’s first and leading conference dedicated to greening the motion picture industry. This year, it will host the inaugural Sustainable Production Excellence Awards–its way of honouring film industry members and productions that demonstrate or reflect leadership in shifting film production towards environmentally friendly practices.

Bethune: The Making of a Hero (Special Event Screening) | October 5, 6:00 pm
Vancity Theatre (1181 Seymour St.)

Lost in the wilderness for many years, Phillip Borsos’ epic depiction of Canadian icon Dr. Norman Bethune and his work with the Chinese Communist forces during the Second Sino-Japanese War has finally found its way back to the big screen. Donald Sutherland is terrific as the driven, cantankerous doctor, as is Helen Mirren as his wife, Frances Penny Bethune. Shot under arduous conditions in remote areas of China, the film has a scope and boldness of conception that remain undiminished to this day.