The Vancouver International Film Festival’s True North series celebrates the extraordinary creativity and craft of Canadian storytellers from coast to coast.
This year, True North includes world premieres of five Canadian features, coupled with one North American premiere and one Canadian premiere, all presented by Telefilm.
Highlights include the world premiere of Darkroom by Vancouver filmmaker/photographer Lukas Maier, a VIFF 2019 Catalyst cohort member, and a poignant examination of family legacy in Bosnia. It transports us into the heart of post-war Sarajevo, where Sofija (Dina Mušanović) is packing up her late father’s apartment, with her boyfriend.
Elsewhere, Elizabeth Lazebnik’s Be Still is a haunting biopic about pioneering Victoria photographer Hannah Maynard, with the film channelling the look of the 19th-century artist’s macabre collages and uncanny self-portraits.
Don’t miss the Canadian premiere of the BC-made documentary Coextinction, which follows passionate filmmakers Gloria Pancrazi and Elena Jean as they venture to understand the fate of the orcas and find solutions to pressing environmental threats.
And Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux and Kirk Thomas’s intimate and electrifying documentary Handle With Care: The Legend of the Notic Streetball Crew (a TELUS original) has just nabbed VIFF 2021’s Best BC Film award. It follows the rise, fall, and rebirth of a Vancouver street basketball collective that overcame all odds to achieve global fame two decades ago.
Other strong Canadian entries include the world premiere of Caroline Monnet’s Bootlegger, in which an Algonquin master’s student tries to reintegrate with her community on a reserve in Quebec. When she advocates for a referendum on banning the sale of alcohol, it places her at odds with the local bootlegger.
And, riffing off the road-movie genre, Bretten Hannam’s Wildhood is a coming-of-age tale in which a Two-Spirit Mi’kmaw youth embarks on a journey to learn more about his heritage.
“Whether they take place in Sarajevo, Treaty 1 territory in the prairies or Labrador, many of this year’s Canadian features hinge on characters reconnecting with their communities. This is a theme with added emotional resonance given the times we’re living in,” says Curtis Woloschuk, associate director of programming. “Likewise, there are a number of inventively structured films that explore the elasticity of time and the permeability of the membrane between the past and present. These are exhilarating examples of the calibre of cinema being made in Canada.”
