Premieres at VIFF this year included a performance of Juno award-winning singer Elisapie’s new multimedia show Uvattini, a live documentary about music producer Brian Eno with Eno, and a collaboration concert between Indigenous storytellers Alanis Obomsawin and Jeremy Dutcher.
Music goes big in this year’s festival
By Jerrison Oracion, Senior Columnist
Before the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) publicised the lineup of films, more live music performances had been announced than ever before.
Music is an important part of cinema that can set the mood and amplify what is happening on screen, helping the audience to react and resonate with the film’s characters. The Director of Programming at VIFF Curtis Woloschuk expressed his excitement for the diverse offerings to the Victoria Conservatory of Music in an interview.
One of the major live performances announced was a masterclass with Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman. Rahman not only contributed to Bollywood but also collaborated with director Danny Boyle for the music in the 2008 Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire.
He went into detail about his career and creative process plus performing selections of his works with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. VIFF will also collaborate with the VSO on the opening film at the festival this year Ari’s Theme which focuses on composer Ari Kinarthy and creating new music summarizing his life while living with spinal muscular atrophy.
There was also a live performance of kind of a companion piece to Drive My Car director Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s recent film Evil Does Not Exist with Gift featuring a live score by composer Eiko Ishibashi. A prominent musician in her own right, Ishibashi’s scores for Hamaguchi’s films are very atmospheric and lush and the Canadian premiere of Gift consists of additional footage that was filmed during the production of Evil Does Not Exist and acts as its own live performance.
Other premieres at VIFF this year included a performance of Juno award-winning singer Elisapie’s new multimedia show Uvattini, a live documentary about music producer Brian Eno with Eno, and a collaboration concert between Indigenous storytellers Alanis Obomsawin and Jeremy Dutcher. Music is also part of the selection of films at this year’s festival including the new miniseries celebrating the 40th anniversary of the legendary Canadian band The Tragically Hip with No Dress Rehearsal.
The surviving members of the band alongside director and the brother of lead singer Gord Downie, Mike Downie, were in attendance for the screening of the first two episodes of the miniseries. The series is a complete and complex deep dive into the band’s history featuring never-before-seen footage from the band, security cam footage, and archival materials. With lots of things to do at VIFF, anyone new to the festival should begin with a spirit of adventure.
Music enhanced this year’s VIFF with the many live performances and films being showcased and impacted those in attendance. The Vancouver International Film Festival this year ran between September 26 and October 6.
