VIFF — friendliest filmfest

The Toronto International Film Festival ended not too long ago and its giant scope proved once again its high profile world status as North America’s largest movie event. With the elitist Montreal and the exhibitionist Toronto festivities over, we can now focus on the Vancouver International Film Fest on its 25th year, from Sept. 28 to Oct. 13.

Vancouver never aspired to be like Montreal or Toronto, it has maintained its desire to exhibit many original independent film debuts and countries often forgotten in big-time festivals because of their no-name stars and directors. VIFF has that "university" scholastic atmosphere and is the friendliest, especially if you are a student of cinema and just starting out in the biz.

VIFF also focuses on home-grown talents and Asian cinema. It claims to have the largest number of premieres from Southeast Asia outside of Hong Kong and Mainland China. But there are less Chinese films this year which is good because there’s a lot of celluloid activities in the Middle East and small European countries.

The 2006 film collection is quite impressive with less Hong Kong potboilers and flying tigers and crouching dragons from China. This year’s selection is composed of varied entries with contemporary themes. They indicate an international pattern which reflect the moods of the times. Cinema after all, is a dramatic rendition of the human condition. Cinema mirrors many vicarious human experiences.

There are many documentaries to satisfy moviegoers seeking current issues that are relevant to our lives today and films from countries never represented before or movies from third world countries on its comeback trail using modern technology. Here’s a brief sampler of what I have seen:

• A Day in Old Sana’s is the first Yemeni fiction feature, the first entry from Yemen. It tells a love story, class conflicts and mistaken identity in a traditional, conservative society undergoing change and modernization. The director had countless problems shooting in Yemen, especially an erotic sequence that was filmed outside a mosque during prayer.

• Milarepa is from Bhutan. This is Part 1 of a biopic depicting Milarepa’s life. He is the 11th century poet-monk, considered Buddhism’s revered saint. Viewers will be taken to off-the-beaten Tibet and will learn about the search for enlightenment and liberation from hatred and revenge. The cinematography is stunning and the message of peace is crystal clear.

• Love for Share is from Indonesia and it makes Tagalog films look and sound coarse. The production values are high, on 35mm and not cheaply done on digital camera. The storyline tackles the controversial subject of polygamy without soap opera melodrama, screaming women and children and prolonged suffering. The film exposes and explores the lifestyles of modern Indonesians from different socio-economic, ethnic groups.

• Border Post is a bittersweet black comedy set along the Yugoslav-Albanian border. It is the first co-production of Croatia/Slovenia/Bosnia/Serbia/Macedonia.

• Heaven’s Door is from Morocco, a debut feature from young Moroccan filmmakers about a world where young men must make money fast to survive. This was a huge hit at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival.

• To Play and To Fight is from Venezuela. It is the most inspiring, beautiful and powerful commentary I have seen in years. It tells the amazing renaissance in classical orchestra and vocal music today in Venezuela where nearly a quarter of a million children, youth and even handicapped people are participating in the Youth & Children’s Orchestra System project.

This was what Imelda Marcos was trying to do in the Philippines but many labeled her as crazy, unrealistic and non-productive. Many in Venezuela believe that teaching musical harmony is also a way of educating people in human harmony, and eventually the musical lessons turn into lessons in building community and spirit. Along the way, the children also discover their national identity and the country’s culture. That to find beauty in life one must first discover inner beauty and the instrument is classical music. The documentary is a powerful testimony to a social program for the inner life, and the participants are not just enriching lives, but saving them at the same time.

Next week: Tagalog films at the Vancouver International Film Festival.