Vancouver International Film Festival

Last updated
Vancouver International Film Festival
2017 Vancouver International Film Festival Logo.jpg
Location1181 Seymour Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6B 3M7
Founded1958
Founded byLeonard Schein
Most recent 2023
Hosted byGreater Vancouver International Film Festival Society
Festival dateSeptember 26 – October 6, 2024
LanguageInternational
Website www.viff.org

The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October.

Contents

The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Festival Society, a provincially-registered non-profit and federally-registered charitable organization, which also runs the year-round programming of the Vancity Theatre and Lochmaddy Studio Theatre at the VIFF Centre. [1]

Both in terms of admissions and number of films screened (133,000 and 324 respectively in 2016), [2] VIFF is among the five largest film festivals in North America. The festival screens films annually from approximately 73 countries on 10 screens.

The festival has three main programming platforms: East Asian film, [3] Canadian film, and nonfiction films. Besides films from around the world, VIFF also includes talks, workshops, performances, and other special events related to cinema.

History

The festival was first launched in 1958; [4] however, facing financial and organizational difficulties in the late 1960s, [5] it was discontinued after the 1969 festival. The Greater Vancouver International Film Festival Society was incorporated in the early 1980s and relaunched the festival in its current form in 1982 by Leonard Schein. [6]

In 2019, Member of Parliament Hedy Fry, chairwoman of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, announced that the Government of Canada would provide over $1.4 million in funding for that year's festival, as well as for cultural infrastructure upgrades to its main theatre. [7]

Venues

Opened in 2005, the VIFF Centre is the home the Vancouver International Film Festival offices, as well as the Vancity Theatre and Studio Theatre. VIFF Centre.jpg
Opened in 2005, the VIFF Centre is the home the Vancouver International Film Festival offices, as well as the Vancity Theatre and Studio Theatre.

The relaunched festival was staged entirely at the city's independent Ridge Theatre, although the festival has since expanded into a multi-venue event headquartered at the VIFF Centre in downtown Vancouver.

The VIFF Centre hosts VIFF's year-round programming, workshops, special events and collaborates with local organizations for special events. [8]

Awards

Festival awards (juried and audience-voted):

Citytv Western Canadian Feature Film Award

The VIFF Centre is the home of the Vancouver International Film Festival offices, Vancity Theatre and Studio Theatre. LAP0440 ombTurnerVIFF 0011.jpg
The VIFF Centre is the home of the Vancouver International Film Festival offices, Vancity Theatre and Studio Theatre.

Women In Film and Television Vancouver Artistic Merit Award

BC Spotlight Awards [9] [10]

Canadian Awards [9] [10]

International Awards

VIFF Immersed Awards

VIFF Immersed Awards focus on narrative-driven virtual-reality experiences. [9] [10]

Audience Awards

Sustainable Production Excellence Awards

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References

  1. "viff.org | Vancouver International Film Centre". viff.org. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
  2. "VIFF". Withoutabox. Withoutabox. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  3. "VIFF". Globe &MAil. Globe & Mail. Archived from the original on 2017-05-21. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  4. "Festival's Movies Open Run Monday". Vancouver Sun , August 1, 1958.
  5. "The New Concept of VIFF". The Province , June 16, 1969.
  6. "Independent Ridge plans 40-feature film festival". The Province , May 3, 1982.
  7. Heritage, Canadian. "Government of Canada Supports Vancouver International Film Festival". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
  8. "VIFF at Vancity Theatre". 2019-06-08. Archived from the original on 2019-06-08. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Vancouver International Film Festival". FilmFreeway. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
  10. 1 2 3 "viff.org | Vancouver International Film Centre". viff.org. Retrieved 2021-06-01.