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VIFF 2022 Wraps Up With Excitement
1 November 2022 19 November 2022 Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment
In the past, you'd have to wait until late in November for my VIFF wrap-up blog. However this was one of those years I could only stay for half the Festival. I will get into my reason why I didn't take in the full festival later in my blog.
Anyways the Vancouver International Film Festival wrapped its 2022 Festival up on Sunday, October 9th. Just in time for people to have their Thanksgiving dinner! The Festival consisted of over 200 short and feature-length films from 74 countries. The films were a wide range including Oscar contenders, documentaries, short films, animation and various Canadian films. With the return of the VIFF to the International Village, it allowed for more opportunities for films to be seen on the big screen and less through the VIFF Connect streaming service. The Festival also brought back more features of VIFF Amp and VIFF Immersed and also allowed for some fun with a classic church performance of Nosferatu!
The showcasing of films went well. Once again, people were up to giving their opinions with the ballots they were handed after the film. And awards were handed out. Here are the award-winning films:
JURIED AWARDS
Best Canadian Film
Presented by the Directors Guild of Canada
Winner: Riceboy Sleeps (dir. Anthony Shim)
Special Mention: Queens Of The Qing Dynasty (dir. Ashley McKenzie)
Best Canadian Documentary
Presented by Rogers Group Of Funds
Winner: Geographies Of Solitude (dir. Jacquelyne Mills)
Special Mention: Ever Deadly (dirs. Tanya Tagaq & Chelsea McMullan)
Vanguard Award
Presented by the Lochmaddy Foundation
Winner: Other Cannibals (dir. Francesco Sossai)
Special Mention: Tortoise Under The Earth (dir. Shishir Jha)
Emerging Canadian Director
Presented by Directors Guild of Canada
Winner: Charlotte LeBon – Falcon Lake
Special Mention: Sophie Jarvis – Until Branches Bend
Best BC Film
Presented by Creative BC and Company 3
Winner: Until Branches Bend (dir. Sophie Jarvis)
Special Mention: The Klabona Keepers (dirs. Tamo Campos & Jasper Snow-Rosen)
Best Canadian Short Film
Presented by VIFF and William F. White International
Winner: Baba (dirs. Meran Ismaelsoy & Anya Chirkova)
Special Mentions: Heartbeat Of A Nation (dir. Eric Janvier) and Agony (dir. Arnaud Beaudoux)
AUDIENCE AWARDS
Galas And Special Presentations
Winner: The Grizzlie Truth (dir. Kathleen S. Jayme)
Winner: Crystal Pite: Angels' Atlas (dir. Chelsea McMullan)
Winner: The Blue Caftan (dir. Maryam Touzani)
Winner: Harvest Moon (dir. Amarsaikhan Baljinnyam)
Winner: The Klabona Keepers (dirs. Tamo Campos & Jasper Snow-Rosen)
Winner: The Hermit Of Treig (dir. Lizzie MacKenzie)
Winner: Lay Down Your Heart (dir. Marie Clements)
Winner: Rodeo (dir. Lola Quivoron)
And now for my volunteering experience this year. This was a rare year I could only stay for half of the Film Festival. My sister was to have her wedding in Winnipeg on Saturday October 8th. She and her husband married two years earlier, but it was a private ceremony due to the pandemic. They still aimed for that particular day in October 2020 because it would mark the milestone of the anniversary of the day they first met. They tied the knot that day, pandemic or no pandemic. Nevertheless they still wanted a ceremony for the family. After two long years, they got sick of waiting and decided to have it in Winnipeg that day.
For me and my love for the VIFF, that meant I had to cram my volunteering. When I applied, I let them know that it may be possible I can't do the full amount of expected shifts and explained why. The person in charge of volunteering was good about it. They said they understood and had no problem. Especially since they checked back with my past supervisors and they gave me good word. When shifts were allotted, I rushed to book to the best of my availability and to have it completed in good time before my departure.
The venue I was given was the International Village Cinemas. The dates I chose were the opening day, Thursday the 29th, Saturday the 1st and Sunday the 2nd. All were evening shifts. On the first day, Vancouver was going through a heat wave that wouldn't end. I swore if it continued to be hot on the weekend, I'd wear shorts. On my first shift, I was given line control. Lines for the films were to be separate from the regular Cineplex patrons to the cinema on the third floor. Those who wanted to see films had to stand in line on the second floor, or if there was a film with huge demand, the standby line on the ground level. Thursday's line control wasn't as tiring. Saturday's line control was a lot busier as I had to do line control for many films that were big attractions. The most annoying thing about line control for the International Village wasn't exactly the lines, but the smell of the garbage area. The mall didn't have their main-floor garbage area doors locked and you could smell it even on the second floor!
For Sunday, I lucked out. I was an usher. I could lead people to their seats, take ballots for films finishing, do some clean-up, scan tickets, and even watch some of the films! That was the treat since line control wouldn't have me see the films. I had no problem with it. I knew for years when we volunteer, our top duty is to be an usher. Watching films depends on the luck of the position. Sunday ended up being my lucky day as I was able to see Music Pictures: New Orleans and Like A Fish On The Moon. For watching films outside of volunteer times, my first chance was the evening of Friday the 30th where I saw two films at the Cinematheque: Love Will Come Later and The Word. My next chance was the afternoon of Saturday the 1st when I saw Klondike. That fulfilled one of my annual VIFF Goals to see a nation's Oscar entry for Best International Feature Film, and would end up being the only one of my three annual VIFF Goals that I achieved!. My last chance to see a film was the late evening of Monday the 3rd. The last film showing that night was Riverside Mukolitta. That was a delight to see.
And that was it: six films. With my work and having to finally fly out to Winnipeg on Wednesday the 5th, that ended up being it. During the Festival, I attempted to see films on VIFF Connect from a computer in Winnipeg. I was even willing to pay the regular box office fee to do so. VIFF Connect only allows viewership in BC! So six ended up being it. I didn't fulfill all my film goals and I didn't have too much opportunity to chat with others I had not seen in a long time, but I'll make up for it next year! Yes, I'm glad I went to the wedding. It would be ridiculous for me to hold it against my short time at VIFF. Nevertheless I still look forward to a good full VIFF next year.
So to end my wrap-up, I have to say it was great being back at the International Village. It was enjoyable getting to talk with other volunteers and reconnecting with others. Also I was happy with all six of the films I saw. It was a shame I could only do half of the festival. But I intend to make up for it big time at the Vancouver Film Festival of 2023!
Entertainment - Film and Movies, VIFF - Festival and Reviews#mustseebc, #VIFFest, Canada, CreativeBC, Delta Airlines, DGC, Directors Guild of Canada, Encore by Deluxe, Festival, film, International, Lochmaddy, Rogers, Storyhive, Telefilm, Vancouver, VIFF, William F. White
The VIFF Is Back For 2022
29 September 2022 6 October 2022 Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment
I know it's been a long time since I blogged. Normally I would fill my summer blogging with a major football event. However the World Cup doesn't start until November. In addition, this summer I was involved in a heavy duty post-secondary course that took up a lot of my time. However the VIFF is starting up soon so now I've got my drive back.
The Vancouver International Film Festival returns. This year, the Festival is an eleven-day event from Thursday September 29th to Sunday October 9th. The Festival this year is a move to having less streaming on VIFFConnect and more getting people to return to the theatres. This year, VIFF returns to having films at the International Village like they did back in 2019.
Me, I will be volunteering this year at the International Village as an usher. This is the first time in three years I will volunteer there. Each year, I talk about my VIFF goals including the three that stand out: Canadian feature, shorts segment, foreign-language Oscar contender. This year is different as I will be leaving Vancouver in the middle of the Fest to attend a wedding. I will have to cut my film-watching short. However I do still have a goal of seeing at least seven films. We'll see how the week goes. Also it depends if I'm lucky with my volunteer position for each film. Yes, you will get reviews from me. Some of you remember I still had reviews to post but I ran out of energy. You can thank an accounting class for that. But I'm sure I'll have the energy to post reviews for all the films I see this year.
The Vancouver International Film Festival isn't just about films. It also has a wide variety of events related to film and the industry including talks from business insiders, high school programs, interactive exhibitions and even an orchestrated replay of a silent film taking place at a church. Here's what's on the roster for this year's VIFF:
VIFF Talks: This year's VIFF Talks include Brother director Clement Virgo; Avatar costume designer Deborah Lynn Scott who will deliver a masterclass, Dean Fleischer Camp who will showcase his new short film Marcel The Shell With Shoes On.
VIFF Industry and VIFF Labs: VIFF Industry holds talks from industry professionals this year include such topics as filmmaker's influence on climate change, showrunners of sci-fi talking of their craft, the challenges and opportunities of international coproduction in Canada, shooting analog and guests from the Directors Guild of Canada. VIFF Labs allow people in film to cultivate their craft and is for invitation-only groups.
VIFF Amp: Once again, VIFF Amp explores the connection of music and sound in film. Guest speakers include film score composers, music supervisors, songwriters and managers. Events include masterclasses, case studies, panel discussions, networking, breakout sessions and musical showcases. All are meant to promote up and coming musicians, especially from marginalized communities, to a thriving future in film.
Signals: In the past, it was VIFF Immersed that showcased the latest in virtual reality. Now it's renames Signals. The interactive exhibitions are back. There's more variety of new technologies including virtual production, volumetric capture, holograms, and VR/AR/XR technologies.
An Evening With Michael Abels: The composer who composed scores to Jordan Peele films like Get Out, Us, and Nope will be at the Vancouver Playhouse for a night of insight, creativity and his music performed by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
Nosferatu 100 by Big Kill: Pop group Big Kill set the score of gothic pop for a resurrection of Nosferatu in what is it's 100th anniversary. Set at St. Andrew's-Wesley Church for the right goth feel, this promises to be an experience like no other!
And of course with the Vancouver Film Festival comes films. There are 130 films and 100 shorts from 74 countries. Theatres include the VanCity theatre (the main theatre only), the International Village, Rio Theatre, Vancouver Playhouse Theatre, Centre for the Performing Arts, Cinematheque and the SFU Goldthorp Theatre. There's a lot to look forward to and to watch at the Film Festival. Here's a sneak peak of some of the biggest highlights:
OPENING GALA: Bones Of Crows-Marie Clements directs a story of a Metis woman who goes through the 20th Century enduring the harsh systemic racism forced upon her from residential schooling to enlisting in the army for World War II.
CLOSING GALA: Broker- Directed by Hizoraku Kore-eda, this story starring Parasite's Song Hang-Ko about a man conducting a baby adoption scam in Korea. It's described to be as touching as it is comedic. Song's performance won the Best Actor award at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
The Banshees Of Inisherin- directed by Martin McDonagh, this story starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson is of two good friends in Ireland in the 1920's whose friendship takes a turn for the worse and their enmity has the whole village consumed.
Corsage- directed by Marie Kreutzer, this Austrian film is a comedy of 19th Century Austrian empress Elisabeth. Elisabeth is nearing 40 and struggles with her appearance. Meanwhile she has been politically sidelined against her will and starts acting out. Vicky Krieps' performance won a special award for performance at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
Decision To Leave-Another South Korean film with buzz. By director Park Chan-wook, this story is of a homicide director who falls in love with the Chinese widow of a bureaucrat who committed suicide. At this year's Cannes Festival, Park won Best Director.
Empire Of Light-Directed by Sam Mendes, this is a story of an English woman who works a cinema job in the early 80's. Soon she is taken aback by her black co-worker. She strikes up a romance, but it does not go well in the Thatcher-dominated UK of the 1980's.
EO-Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski directs a story of a donkey who first starts life as a circus performer in Poland. Animal rights activists change everything and his life is changed where he goes from being a part of a petting zoo to playing a Polish soccer game to encountering a countess. Shared winner of the Prix du Jury at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
The Grizzlie Truth-Directed by Kathleen S. Jayme, this is a documentary of the ill-fated Vancouver Grizzlies of the NBA. Despite the Grizzlies' short life in Vancouver, Jayme remained a true fan and she goes in and connects with former players and fans alike.
One Fine Morning-Directed by Mia Hansen-Love, this is a film situated in Paris. Sandra, played by Lea Seydoux, is going through financial difficulties and it's made even more complicated as her father is suffering with Benson's syndrome and needs to be place in a care facility. During that time, she has an affair with a past friend she meets again by chance.
The Son- Directed by Florian Zeller, this film is the story of a 17 year-old boy struggling to find himself. He feels he has to leave his mother to be with his father (played by Hugh Jackman), but the father's new family and the son's struggle with depression may prove to be too much.
Stars At Noon- Directed by Claire Denis, this film is a story of a young American journalist who has her passport seized. She tried to do whatever she can to make it out, but when she falls for a British man, what she thought was her way out was a path to worse trouble. Shared winner of the Cannes Grand Prix.
Triangle Of Sadness-Winner of the Cannes Palm d'Or. Directed by Ruben Ostlund, An influencer couple go on a luxury cruise for the mega-rich. During that time, they contemplate their status and their relationship. Along with a captain (Woody Harrelson) that is arrogant and quotes Marx, this cruise is bound to hit stormy weather.
The Whale-Directed by Darren Aronofsky, this film focuses on a morbidly obese teacher, played by Brendan Fraser. Turns out his eating is a suicide attempt in order to be reunited with his dead boyfriend. Will reuniting with his estranged teenage daughter change that?
Women Talking- Sarah Polley directs a story adapted from the novel by Miriam Toews. News has hit a Mennonite community in Canada that a colony in Bolivia has systematically abused over 100 women over a two year period. Eight women in the Canadian community were among the victims and they try to make sense of it all.
And there you go! There's a sneak peak of what to expect at the 2022 Vancouver Film Festival. For more information and to buy tickets for yourself, just go to: https://viff.org/
Entertainment - Film and Movies, Movie Reviews: 2022, VIFF - Festival and ReviewsAbels, Canada, Cinematheque, Creative BC, Festival, film, International, International Village, Michael, Nosferatu, Rio Theatre, Scotiabank, SFU Goldcorp, Storyhive, Telefilm Canada, Vancity, Vancouver, Vancouver Playhouse, VIFF, VIFFamp
VIFF 2021 Shorts Segment: MODES 2
5 October 2021 Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment
With the Vancouver Film Fest comes segments of short films. That's my second VIFF goal to see one of those segments. I achieved it when I saw the segment series MODES 2. Six films from six directors from six different nations. They all gave lots to see and hear.
-The Coast (India – dir. Sohrab Hura): The film shows people on the coast of a beach in south India as they swim around and throw themselves to the waves. The film also shows images of a religious ritual, which includes inflicting pain on one's self. The film also shows images of a nearby carnival. Then ends again with people throwing themselves to the waves.
A video interview from the director says the images are of a religious festival where one begins by facing their personal demons and then ends as they wash their demons away. The images are seen in slow motion with disjointed music added into the score. It's a very picturesque short film that gives us a fascinating look at people from a world away. It can even give you appreciation for such a festival as the waves form the Indian Ocean are as much of a storyteller as people.
-Happiness Is A Journey (USA/Estonia – dirs. Ivete Lucas & Patrick Bresnan): It's very early morning of Christmas Eve 2019 at a newspaper deport in Austin, Texas. People gather at 1:30am to pick up newspapers to people's homes. People gather them in big numbers and know they'll need a good amount of gas. One of the delivery people is Eddie 'Bear' Lopez, a 62-year resident of Austin, who's been doing this since 1997 without ever taking a day off. The film then follows Bear on his trip. Bear even brings his little dog with him. As he delivers, his trip is long. Ever since people made the move to the online news site of the paper, actual newspaper customers are less and less which means deliveries are further an wider. The film goes along Bear's long route, which he has completed by 6am.
This is a film, shown with two different simultaneous camera images and consists strictly of the sounds around. No musical score at all. It shows about people who we either take for granted or have shunned their skills away because of our use of technology. It gives respect for a person with a low-paying job who never takes a day off, but somehow finds fulfillment in it. One of the desks in the depot has a sign that says "Happiness is a journey, not a destination." Maybe that's the point the two directors wanted to show. That with a job that is low-pay, facing near-extinction, and something most of us would label a 'loser job,' Bear finds some kind of fulfilment. Even if he has to work on a holiday.
-Show Me Other Places (Sri Lanka – dir. Rajee Samarsinghe): This film shows all sort of images: what we see on our computer, the images of suburbia, a birds-eye view of a construction site, friends, common people, and luxurious items. The film shows the many ways we see them: on a computer screen, through a VR viewing mask, and on our iWatches. Many images are seen as is, while some are meshed with colors and even other images.
I believe the point the filmmaker was trying to make was to do about imagery. It was about how we see things and also how she sees them. She allows her creativity to take place and show new and creative ways to look at things we commonly look at. In a lot of way, we're given a new enlightenment when we see her creative imagery. Really gets you thinking.
-Adversarial Infrastructure (Russia – dir. Anna Engelhardt): The film is about a bridge that is the subject of political controversy. The bridge is the Crimean Bridge which connects a southwest tip of Russia with the Crimean town of Kerch with the bridge's main part located on Tuzla Island. This is a bridge of great controversy as Crimea has been a subject of huge political debate as Ukraine insists is theirs while Putin proclaims Crimea to be part of Russia. This has been like that since 2014 since the Russo-Ukrainian War started. There was even a phony news story concocted by Putin that the bridge was bombed by the Ukrainian army.
The director showcases news stories with a coarsely-drawn computer map of the area in question and a rough computer graphic of the bridge as it would looked bombed out. The director even showcases how bridges are to be the opposite of walls and connect peoples, while this bridge appears to do the opposite. Or at least the media and the Russian government try to make it do the opposite. Myself being Ukrainian-Canadian, this is something of interest to me. The director is very good at using the various images in presenting a story and getting her message across. A message I personally agree with.
-The Canyon (USA – dir. Zachary Epcar): The film begins showing mostly people living in a new residential development. They're of people relaxing, doing housework, renovating, exercising, playing tennis, a vide variety of activities. The film then shows images of luxuries and then images of peoples and what they have to say. Then the film focuses on a whirlpool-like area of Lake Berryessa in the Napa Valley of California. They talk of how the areas will no longer appear.
I believe the point of this student film and its various images is trying to make is their believe that new residential areas that are cropping up and attracting people will be empty canyons in the future. The buildings and luxuries they're enjoying now will be swallowed up into nothingness in the future. The man-made whirlpool in Lake Berryessa conjures up images of how that area will be swallowed up over time. I believe that's the point where they let the images they show do the storytelling as the students prove their point.
-Corps Samples (France – dir. Astrid de la Chapelle): The film begins with the focus on the year 1924. It's the year Vladimir Lenin, the founder and first leader of the USSR dies, and the year a British mountaineer fell to his death just off Mount Everest. The only thing in common they have in common: both their bodies are perfectly preserved. The film begins with fossils found on Mount Everest during that time. Then it goes on to various images of fossils, stones, metals, minerals and crystals. It shows natural racks and crystals, and it showcases the minerals and chemicals we use for our everyday needs. It showcases on the images of the body of the mountaineer found perfectly intact after all these years. It also showcases the body of Lenin, perfectly intact in his tomb and a tourist attraction.
The filmmaker is either getting us to focus on either the association of minerals and preservation, and how it mixes into our daily lives and the everyday world, or it could be on the focus on something else. Right at the end of the film, she shows an image of a stone and asks us "Are you looking at the stone or is the stone looking at you?" Hearing that, I think it's a case where a lot of the film is trying to get you to ask yourself that. Are you looking at the stones, crystals, fossils, and minerals? Or are they looking at you? That question of the end really gets you to change what you think the focus of the film is about. Even see it through a different light.
The six films of MODES 2 are about images and sounds. Some make their points clear, while some aren't as clear and require your imagination to assume what you think its about. The images may be relate to each or other, or not related at all. The music or sounds may be smooth music, disjointed sounds or raw music. I guess that was the whole point of the MODES 2 short films. It's six short films on sights and sounds and they want to get your imagination involved, and possibly even share the filmmaker's imaginations. The films also have a message to say, but they want to convey the message creatively, and they want you to embrace the creativity as much as the message.
Even though I was hoping to see a short segment of live-action stories being played out, I'm glad I saw MODES 2. The films were loaded with images and sounds and done in their very own way. Nevertheless they were very good in sending the messages they were trying to send in their own creative way.
Entertainment - Film and Movies, Movie Reviews: 2021, VIFF - Festival and ReviewsAdversarial, Anna, Astrid, Bresnan, Canyon, Coast, Corps, de la Chapelle, Epcar, Festival, film, France, Happiness, India, Infrastructure, International, Journey, Lucas, Patrick, Rajee, Russia, Samarsinghe, shorts, Show, Sohrab, USA, Vancouver, VIFF, Zachary
VIFF 2021: Mix Of Online And Live Theatre
1 October 2021 1 October 2021 Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment
VIFF 2021 will increase it's cinema capacity, but restrictions will apply.
It's a fall tradition of mine. The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) comes back and I end up volunteering for it. It's a tradition that was broken last year. You can't blame me. The COVID pandemic severely limited seating capacities and the number of films they could show on screens, not to mention theatre attendance. Last's year's VIFF was a case where few shows were shown in theatres and most were screened online. This year, the VIFF makes a big return back to the theatres, if not a complete return.
The International Village which used to allow three of its theatres to show VIFF films during fourteen of its sixteen days isn't doing it this year. The Centre for the Performing Arts isn't giving itself to the VIFF this year either. There are five theatres from past years that are VIFF venues again this year: Cinematheque, Vancouver Playhouse, Rio Theatre, SFU Goldcorp Theatre and the VanCity Theatre at the VIFF Centre. The VIFF also acquired four new venues to facilitate for the fest:
Annex Theatre – It's called the Annex because it's the annex to the Orpheum theatre. It's a nice cabaret-style theatre that served the VIFF before as a lecture hall or conference room. This time, it will be showing films throughout most of the VIFF.
Hollywood Theatre – Those that remember my blogging from bygone days will know the Hollywood is a theatre in the West Broadway area build back in the 1930's. Although it's no longer owned by the original members, it has reopened to become a multi-event stage with mostly theatrical shows and music concerts. During the VIFF, it will return to its original purpose as a movie theatre.
Studio Theatre: VIFF Centre – Even before the pandemic hit, there was a fundraising initiative underway at the VanCity Theatre of creating a studio theatre meant for screening local films and give more local filmmakers opportunity. It was finally opened this summer and this is the first VIFF in which it will serve as a venue! Just to the left of the main studio theatre at the VanCity, it's smaller in capacity but can serve its purpose well.
Kay Meek Arts Centre – I think this is the first VIFF venue outside of the city of Vancouver ever. Located in West Vancouver Secondary School, this local theatre is also a major centre for arts in West Vancouver.
This year, I'm back to volunteering. I will be at the Playhouse Theatre and working as part of a 'skeleton crew,' which is the minimum number of volunteers a facility can have at one time. This is one of the precautions as part of the pandemic. The second is that theatres will only be at 50% capacity. The third precaution is that people are to have their BC Vaccine Card or Vaccine Passport to get into theatres. For those who don't know what a Vaccine Card or Vaccine Passport is, it's a scanner code the certifies that one has been vaccinated twice.
For those that are still too nervous about going into a theatre, there are many of the VIFF films that can be streamed online. Many of you may remember that the majority of VIFF films from last year can be streamed from wherever they wanted whenever they wanted. Not the case this year as the online screenings can be screened during select times and there are many that have a limit to the number of online customers of that screening.
The VIFF will be starting today and running until Monday October 11th, which is Canadian Thanksgiving. Returning back to the Festival are VIFF Immersed technology exhibits, VIFF Totally Indie Day, VIFF Talks and Masterclasses and VIFF AMP music conferences. For film lineups, there will be 185 films. 73 of them will get a cinema run. Of the sixteen expected to stand out:
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain – The Opening Gala film. It's an eccentric biographical film of artist Louis Wain who is played by Benedict Cumberbatch and directed by Will Sharpe.
Petite Maman – The Closing Gala film. The latest feature from Portrait Of A Lady On Fire director Celine Sciamma. It's a unique story of the mysterious bond between mother and daughter.
All My Puny Sorrows – Michael McGowan directs this film adaptation of the novel by Miriam Toews. Alison Pill stars as a young woman hugely concerned for her talented sister.
Belfast – A film loaded with potential Oscar buzz. Kenneth Branagh directs this story of the spark of civilian unrest in 1969 Northern Ireland as seen through the eyes of a child.
Benediction – Directed by Terence Davies, It's a portrait of World War I poet Siegfried Sassoon. It stars Jack Lowden and Peter Capaldi.
Bergman Island – Directed Mia Hansen-Love. As the village Ingmar Bergman grew up in has been turned into a theme park , two filmmakers, played by Vicky Krieps and Tim Roth, ponder their relationship.
Drive My Car – A three-hour film by Ryusuke Hamaguchi. A recently-widowed theatre director tries to live life again as he puts together a new production, and casts his late wife's lover as the lead.
Everything Went Fine – Directed by Francois Ozon and stars Sophie Marceau and Charlotte Rampling, it's the story of an 85 year-old man who wants his daughter to end his life, while she tries to change his mind.
Memoria – Directed by Uncle Boonmee director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, it's the story of an orchid grower in Colombia, played by Tilda Swinton, who experiences a booming noise only she can hear.
Mothering Sunday – Directed by Eva Husson, it's about a maid in 1924 who spends time with her lover before he is about to marry a younger woman. Can she change his mind?
Night Raiders – Directed by Danis Goulet, this is a futuristic film set in 2043 and Canada plans to return to past colonial ways of treating Indigenous children.
Official Competition – The film is about a Spanish female film directer trying to direct two male movie stars with big egos. It's co-directed by Mariano Cohn and Gaston Duprat and it stars Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz.
One Second – Directed by Zhang Yimou, It's a story of a man during China's Cultural Revolution who escapes China's labor camps to see his actress daughter on screen. It's no easy task.
Red Rocket – Directed by Florida Project director Sean Baker, this film is of a washed-up porn star returning to his hometown trying to reconcile with his wife, but also promoting a young teenaged girl to stardom.
The Sanctity Of Space – A documentary directed by Renan Ozturk and Freddie Wilkinson. It's of the mission to meet with famed cartographer Bradford Washburn whose worked opened up a new world for mountain climbers pursuing Alaska and Yukon.
The Worst Person In The World – Directed by Joachim Trier, it's a coming of age story of a young woman about a young woman who leaves a trail of destruction in her wake.
And there you go. That's just a brief preview of the highlights at this year's VIFF. But the VIFF has more films to offer. Way more. It's worth checking out over these next eleven days.
Entertainment - Film and Movies, VIFF - Festival and ReviewsAnnex, Cinematheque, COVID, Festival, film, Hollywood Theatre, Indie, International, Kay Meek, Masterclasses, Playhouse, regulations, Rio Theatre, SFU Goldcorp, Talks, Vancouver, VIFF, VIFF Amp, VIFF Immersed
VIFF 2020 Wraps Up Its First Online Fest
23 December 2020 27 January 2021 Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment
It does seem awkward to do a wrap-up for the Vancouver International Film Festival. Not just because it's way into December, but because most of the film festival was online! Plus all my VIFF activity for 2020 was online! Nevertheless I feel it's worth it.
2020 was an interesting festival as it had to resort to mostly online viewing of films. There were airings of films at theatres like the VanCity and Cinematheque, but they were very few and had limited capacity. Despite all this, the online system did give the opportunity to watch many of the films that were part of this year's Film Festival. There were 102 feature films, 98 short films and 19 talks and events at this year's VIFF. The number of VIFF Gold passes sold out. Despite the lower number of films, viewership was still good as it totaled over 50,000 online views.
For me, this was a unique experience to view a film festival all all online. I first had a goal of seeing ten films online. There was some time where I thought I had a lot of catching up to do as there were days I didn't watch. Then it was like the last five days I did a lot of cramming. Like two films a day each day. In all honesty, I prefer watching films in the theatre. Having them in the theatre is better for demanding my attention. If I watch it on a computer, I will easily be distracted by other things online or want to sneak a websearch in. If I'm in the theatre, it's nothing but that film.
Nevertheless I was successful in seeing fifteen feature films and two shorts segments. I saw six Canadian films or film segments, one multinational set of shorts, four American films, four European films, and two Asian films.Those who know me know my film goals for the VIFF consist of three main goals: one Canadian feature-length film, one shorts segment, and one contenders of the Best International Feature Film Oscar. The goal of a Canadian film was accomplished with Monkey Beach: the first VIFF film I saw this year. The shorts segments I did twice with Programme 2 and Reel Youth. The International Feature contender I was not able to do. During VIFF, there weren't even ten countries that gave their official submissions to the AMPAS Academy. At the time, none of them were shown at the VIFF. The reason why so few is because the 2020 Oscars will be held on the last Sunday of April 2021 and the other countries were in no rush. During that time, I went with films I felt would best contend: Undine, Father and There Is No Evil. As time passed, it would eventually be revealed none of those films became their nation's official submission in the category. Looks like this was one goal I had to put on hold this year.
One thing that was not absent from this year's VIFF was their award winners. Awards were still given out. I'm happy to say that three of the films I saw won awards. One thing about this year's awards was that because of the nature of the festival, most of the people's choice or audience award categories could not happen. Thus only one audience award. Included for this year are VIFF Immersed awards for virtual reality that is sponsored by VeeR VR network. Here's a list of the award winners from this year's VIFF:
BC Spotlight Awards
Sea To Sky Award
Presented by Telus
WINNER: Nuxalk Radio (dir. Banchi Hanuse)
Special Mention: Cosmic (dir. Meredith Hama-Brown)
Best BC Film Award
Presented by CreativeBC, Encore by Deluxe
WINNER: The Curse of Willow Song (dir. Karen Lam)
BC Emerging Filmmaker Award
Presented by UBCP/ACTRA, AFBS & William F. White
WINNER: Jessie Anthony for Brother, I Cry
Best BC Short Film
Presented by Telus Storyhive
WINNER: Cake Day (dir. Philip Thomas)
Special Mention: Sunken Cave And A Migrating Bird (dir. Qiuli Wu)
Canadian Film Awards
WINNER: Beans (dir. Tracey Deer)
Special Mention: Nadia, Butterfly (dir. Pascal Plante)
WINNER: Violation (dirs. Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Macinelli)
Presented by the Rogers Documentary Fund
WINNER: Call Me Human (dir. Kim O'Bomsawin)
Special Mention: Prayer For A Lost Mitten (dir. Jean-Francois Lesage)
Presented by Side Street Post
WINNER: Bad Omen (dir. Salar Pashtoonyar)
Special Mention: Moon (dir. Zoe Pelchat)
Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film
Presented by Delta Air Lines
WINNER: Acadiana (dirs. Guillaume Fournier, Samuel Matteau and Yannick Nolin)
Special Mention: Labour/Leisure (dirs. Jessica Johnson, Ryan Ermacora)
VIFF Impact Award
WINNER: The Reason I Jump (dir. Jerry Rothwell)
Rob Stewart Eco Warrior Award
Presented by RBC and Cineplex
WINNER: The Hidden Life Of Trees (dir. Peter Wohlleben)
VIFF Immersed Awards
Best Cinematic Live Action
WINNER: Kowloon Forest (dir. Alexei Marfin)
Best In Documentary
WINNER: By The Waters Of Babylon (dirs. Kristin Lauth Schaeffer and Andrew Halasz)
Best In Animation
WINNER: The Book Of Distance (dir. Randall Okita)
Honorable Mention In Animation
In The Land Of Flabby Schnook (dir. Francis Gelinas)
WINNER: Ecosphere: Raja Ampat (dir. Joseph Purdam)
VIFF Immersed Volumetric Market Awards
Sponsored by VeeR
Uninterrupted (dirs. Nettie Wild and Rae Hull)
A Vocal Landscape (dirs. Omid Zarai and Anne Jeppesen)
Before I wrap up my blog, I'll give you the other films in which I saw at the fest. All films listed below are Canadian unless otherwise noted:
Monkey Beach
Time (USA)
Inconvenient Indian
Reel Youth Film Festival (multinational)
Jimmy Carter: Rock And Roll President (USA)
Cured (USA)
Shorts Segment: Programme 2
Beauty Water (South Korea)
Undine (Germany)
Father (Serbia)
There Is No Evil (Iran)
Summer of 85 (France)
Black Bear (USA)
Jumbo (France)
And there you have it. That's my wrap-up of the film festival. I know it took me a long time to finish it all up, but I finally mustered the energy after all my work and courses. As for next year, we'll see how the VIFF is carried out. Will they do more online films? Will they reduce the number of theatres or keep the same number they had in 2019? All I can say is I hope to see the VIFF films back in theatres. I like volunteering and being part of events. Only time will tell how VIFF 2021 is played out.
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VIFF 2020 Does It Online
24 September 2020 24 September 2020 Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment
Most of VIFF's films will be viewed online.
This has been an unusual year. A pandemic has led to the cancellation of various events or had them be conducted under strict limits. The Olympic Games and Euro 2020 were cancelled but league sports continue in spectatorless stadiums. Movie theatres started the pandemic closed off and then to limited attendance with precautions. Most film festivals have had to resort to doing their events online. This is what the Vancouver International Film Festival will be doing this year.
Looking to other film festivals as to how they decided to do their festival during the pandemic, the VIFF has seen how to make a film festival work during the pandemic. The TIFF in Toronto was a strong indicator as it too had most of their films for viewing online with a select few films for viewing in cinema. For those that were to view films in cinema, they had to have face coverings. It was mandatory.
I'm sure that will be the case in the Vancity Theatre and the Cinematheque as well as any hall where there will be lectures. Eighteen of the estimated 95 films of the VIFF will be shown in theatres. All films including those with a theatre showing can be viewed online. Tickets are $9 each. However it's the VIFF Connect passes that are the best deal. They consist of:
VIFF Connect Festival Subscription: can view any online film once, can watch any bonus features, and can take part in any online Creator Talk. Membership is included in the subscription. Price: $60 ($30 for full-time students)
VIFF Connect GOLD Subscription: All the features of the Festival subscription plus access to specially-curated online content during the festival, a free annual year-round suscription to VIFF Connect and a free VIFF+ Gold membership that's valid for a full year. Price: $95
It's not just film happening with VIFF. There are talks and lectures this year too focusing on the craft of filmmaking and film music. For this year there will be:
VIFF Talks and Masterclasses: For this year's VIFF talks, there will be documentarians, animators, HBO cinematographers, creators of comedy series, actors, production designers and even Charlie Kaufman. Some of the events will focus on the craft of writing, storytelling and cinematography. Others will talk about the issues surrounding the stories of the films or documentaries they created. There's another Meet The Showrunners event this year where the focus is on diversity as well as a special talk about increasing diversity and inclusion in the film industry. Some events are live-streamed while others are pre-recorded. Check the VIFF website for more details.
VIFF Amp: Again the focus is on music in film. It will consist of three straight days of lectures opening with a lecture from jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard. Topics of focus for this year are music in animation, music supervision, song placement and sync licensing, marketing music to filmmakers, composition and production. AMP Passes are $45.
VIFF Immersed: Modern technology meets filmmaking and storytelling in this selection of lectures. The lectures will range from dealing with new technologies and new directions as well as focus on the more artistic focuses of film including a special focus on Indigenous XR creation. There's even a flashback to 2019's Immersed sessions.
VIFF Totally Indie Day: September 26th is the day and it all starts at 10am! Three films in focus will be a documentary, semi-documentary and a live-action film. All films will have a Q&A with the creators. In addition, there will be a special Q&A session with independent filmmakers and how they managed to proceed with filmwork despite the setback of the COVID pandemic. Day Pass is $45/$30 for Students.
Of course the big focus is on the films. Usually I'd have a guidebook to tell you most of the highlighted films. However I'm not so lucky this year. I will pick eight I think will stand out:
Monkey Beach – Based on the novel by Eden Robinson and directed by Loretta Sara Todd, this story is about a young Haisla girl who possesses a supernatural gift that is as much of a curse as it is a blessing.
There Is No Evil – This film by Iranian filmmaker Mohamad Rasoulof won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. Banned from filmmaking for life, this film focusses on life in a repressive regime with special focus on the death penalty.
Inconvenient Indian – This docudrama from Michelle Latimer won the People's Choice Documentary Award at the TIFF. The film promises to be more about giving an expression about being Indigenous rather than telling a story.
The Curse Of Willow Song – directed by Karen Lam, this looks like a film for Altered States. It's the story of a young female arsonist just released from prison. Trying to make her way back in the world, she receives supernatural forces from a spirit of the past.
Falling – Viggo Mortensen stars and directs in this film about a son taking in his cantankerous father after learning he has dementia. He tries to make peace with his father and the family but it's a challenge that may prove too hard.
The Father – Another story about a father with dementia. This time the director is Florian Zeller (adaptation of his own stage play) and the father is played by Anthony Hopkins and the daughter by Olivia Colman.
Ammonite – This stars Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan and is directed by Francis Lee. Set in 1840's England, a female paleontologist tends to an unhappy young bride of privilege class. A bond soon comes and then grows into something much more.
Time – African-American injustice has been a hot topic this year. This documentary by Garrett Bradley focuses on a woman and her struggle to keep her family together as she challenges the justice system over their dealing with her husband sentenced for 60 years for armed robbery.
Those eight films are just a small sample of what to expect at the VIFF this year. The festival is fourteen days instead of the usual sixteen and runs September 24th to October 7th. I'll be doing a lot of watching from my computer but I hope to have a chance to see at least one in a theatre. Don't worry. I have my own mask!
Entertainment - Film and Movies, VIFF - Festival and ReviewsCinematheque, COVID, Festival, film, Indie, International, Masterclasses, Talks, VanCity Theatre, Vancouver, VIFF, VIFF Immersed, VIFFamp
VIFF 2019 Wraps Up On A Great Note
11 November 2019 Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment
Yep, it's been a month since VIFF 2019 ended, but the enjoyment of the Festival is still there. The VanCity Theatre will bring back a lot of the films that were shown during the festival. I hope to catch what I missed out the first time.
The 2019 Vancouver International Film Festival ended on Friday October 11th. There were big crowds throughout the festival as the films had a lot to attract. There were over 300 films from 72 countries or regions.
This year, there weren't the Hub events, but there were a lot of 'VIFF Live' events. One was a lecture from rapper Chuck D, another was a pair of humorous film critics, a couple of airings of some cult classics, and even a feminist read of Some Like It Hot. There were two Master Classes organized by the Directors Guild of Canada. The first was with Atom Egoyan and the second with Batwoman director Holly Dale. Creator Talks were back and they ranged from costumers to producers and sound designers to even decision-makers like networkers, broadcasters and executive producers. VIFF Immersed was back but it was very restrictive in attendance. I will elaborate on that later.
The award winners were announced at the closing gala on Friday:
WINNER: The World Is Bright (dir. Ying Wang)
Special Mention: Anthem Of A Teenage Prophet (dir. Robin Hays)
WINNER: The Body Remembers When The World Broke Open (dirs. Elle-Maija Tailfeathers & Kathleen Hepburn)
WINNER: Elle-Maija Tailfeathers for The Body Remembers When The World Broke Open
WINNER: One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk (dir. Zacharias Kunuk)
Special Mention: Blood Quantum (dir. Jeff Barnaby)
WINNER: Murmur (dir. Heather Young)
Special Mention: Kuesippan (dir. Myriam Verrault)
WINNER: Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger (dir. Alanis Obomsawin)
Special Mention: My Dads, My Moms and Me (dir. Julia Ivanova)
WINNER: At The Bottom Of The Sea (dir. Caroline So Jung Lee)
Special Mention: The Physics Of Sorrow (dir. Theodore Ushev)
WINNER: Resistance Fighters (dir. Michael Wech)
WINNER: The Pollinators (dir. Peter Nelson)
Women In Film And Television Award
Artistic Merit Award
WINNER: The Whale And The Raven (dir. Mirjam Leuze)
Super Channel People's Choice Award
WINNER: Parasite (dir. Boon Jong Hoo)
VIFF Most Popular International Documentary
WINNER: Coup 53 (dir. Taghi Amirani)
VIFF Most Popular Canadian Feature
WINNER: Red Snow (dir. Marie Clements)
VIFF Most Pupular Canadian Documentary Award
WINNER: Haida Modern (dir. Charles Wilkinson)
As for my volunteer experience, it was a unique experience volunteering for the Centre for the Performing Arts this year. This was the cinema that would have the biggest attractions this year. The very first film I officiated for was the Opening Gala and for Guest Of Honour. Yes, one of the best things about volunteering for VIFF: seeing Gala shows! For that, I was mostly in charge of line control and directing people to standing in the right line. It went quite well. After the show, I was one of the people who collected ballots for people to rate the film on a scale of 1-5.
I was scheduled for a total of four shifts, but there were some changeabouts on the schedule. So that meant after the Opening Gala, I only did two more. The second Centre shift was a case where I did line control for the film Parasite. That was something because the show sold out well in advance. I had to direct people to not only stand in line at the end of the line, but make way for the entrances of the stores. The line-up was three-quarters around the block before things got moving. I did mark the end of the line well and direct them all into the theatre. By the time I got them all in, I was too tired to see Parasite for myself. My third shift at the Centre involved scanning tickets for two shows. Scanners worked fine during the first show, but mine couldn't work for the second show. So my shift ended there. That gave me enough luck to see Mr. Jones.
I did three at the Centre, but volunteers are to do a minimum of four. I was able to make up for it by doing three other shifts whose requests were sent via email. I took two of them at the Playhouse and another at the main VanCity theatre. Both times at the Playhouse, it was a case of giving people ballots before the show and taking the ballots after the show. For VanCity, I did it for a three hour-long documentary that had an intermission. It was possible to take ballots during the intermission, but I got very few. Each time I took ballots, I joked "This is one case where democracy works!"
Once again, there was a volunteer party one week later. It was good as I was able to make conversation with people I volunteered with. I also met up with some people I hadn't seen in a long time. They served Chinese food, BC wine and craft beer. There wasn't anything too big for a show. Just music played by the DJ. Nevertheless it was a good night.
As for the films I saw, here's a list of them as well as the hyperlinks to the reviews. I have the country of origin in brackets and an asterisk marking those that are their country's official Best International Feature Film entry for this year's Oscars:
Guest Of Honour (Canada)
In The Tall Grass (USA)
The Death Of Dick Long (USA)
Shorts Segment: To Live In Infamy (all from Canada)
To Live To Sing (China)
When We Walk (USA)
The Great Green Wall (Mali/France)
Spider (Chile*)
Boyz In The Wood (UK)
It Must Be Heaven (Palestine*)
A Brother's Love (Canada)
Pain And Glory (Spain*)
Mr. Jones (UK)
Joel (Argentina)
The Wild Goose Lake (China)
Greener Grass (USA)
Children Of The Sea (Japan)
The White Snake (China)
I fulfilled my film-watching goals for this VIFF. Shorts segment? I did it on the first Sunday with To Live In Infamy. Feature-length Canadian film? I did it on the Opening Gala and added one more in the final week. A country's official Oscar entry in the Best International Feature Film category? I saw three. Minimum ten films? I saw eighteen in total.
I didn't see everything I wanted. I was hoping to see a VIFF Immersed exhibit again this year. This time instead of the Centre for Digital Media, it was at the Annex Centre and there was a limit of fifteen tickets per ninety-minute exhibit. The one show I had the availability to see was sold out online and I was told to come back for the volunteer line-up. However it was a school showing and it was all reserved. Whenever I don't get what I want, I try to find a show to see at the last minute. That's how I saw To Live To Sing. Volunteers had a very good chance of getting into shows for free, but it was always a risk with films in huge demand. That would be my case when I wanted to see Those Who Remained. All the passholders and ticket holders filled the theatre and there was no room for volunteers. You take your chances.
One additional thing about my filmwatching. I was hoping to have again this VIFF that they did away with this year was the late-night showings at the Rio Theatre. The VIFF would have shows on the Friday or Saturday nights that started at either 11:00 or 11:30 and usually ended at 1am or shortly after. They would be films that were part of their Altered States selections. I would take full advantage of it and even watch the one shown on the last day of the VIFF as a way to end my VIFF experience that year with a bang. They didn't have them this year because they didn't really draw that huge of numbers. Despite that, I was able to see two or three of the Altered States films at the Rio during the 930/945 times. For Friday the 11th, I saw Greener Grass at the Rio which started shortly after 7. However I didn't end my VIFF at the Rio. Instead I ended my VIFF at the Playhouse with The White Snake. Despite the change, I still ended my VIFF with a bang!
It's funny how back in 2012 when the Granville theatre was about to close, newspapers said VIFF was in trouble. It's 2019 and the VIFF is still active. It does make steps to adapt to the changes but it's doing very well. Again in 2019, VIFF did a great job of bringing the world of film to the big screen. For many, this may be the only chance to see such films on the big screen. There have already been big screen releases for Jojo Rabbit, The Lighthouse, and Parasite, and there are more to come like White Snake. However we're in a time nowadays where more is expected of a film to hit the big screen. The pressures of blockbuster superhero movies and other action films to bring in box office money demonstrates how much more restrictive box office releases are. There will be a lot of films at this film festival that will either be shown on Netflix or other streaming sources. The numbers of such are increasing. It's a very tight time for independent film. It's not like the breakthrough years of the late-80's or early 90's. It's a good thing we have film festival like the VIFF to give such films a chance for better exposure.
So to conclude, I have to say it was an excellent experience I had this year. I didn't have the Platinum Pass this year and I didn't see everything I wanted, but I was happy with what I saw. No real disappointments. No film I thought was a waste of my time. VIFF 2020 is anticipated to be from September 24th and go until October 9th. Yes, I plan to be back to watch and to volunteer!
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The Return Of VIFF
27 September 2019 27 September 2019 Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment
Yes, the three most predominant topics on my blog are either the World Cup, the Oscars, or the Vancouver International Film Festival. And VIFF is back! Yesterday began the 38th installment of the Film Festival. Exciting films and exciting events are expected.
Creator Talks and Master Classes are back again. Slated lecturers for this year include Oscar-nominated director Atom Egoyan, director Michael Apted, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia actor/creator/executive producer Rob McElhenny, costume designer Arianne Phillips and Oscar winning sound editor Walter Murch. For the Showrunners events, it will be focusing on women in production featuring five female producers or creators. The Decision Makers event will consist of a lecture from broadcasters, networkers and streamers. There's even a lecture from Public Enemy rapper Chuck D on Fight The Power and its importance in film as well as fun events like a live score to This Is Spinal Tap and a live feminist read of Some Like It Hot. VR films will again have their exhibit at the VIFF Immersed showcase. It will take place at the Annex this year.
As for volunteering, this year there were 1200 volunteers signing up, just like last year. Also like last year, volunteers are required to do a minimum of four shifts. As for my volunteering, I am assigned to work at the Center For Performing Arts, which is the venue showing the galas and feature events. In fact I signed myself up to do the Opening Gala! Now that will be a night to look forward to! Also if there are any other volunteer shifts in other venues, I could accept as along as it works with my time.
This year's roster of films promises a lot of attractions This year's VIFF claims to show about 300 shorts and feature films from 72 countries or regions. As of press time, twelve films are official submissions for the Academy Award category of Best International Feature Film for this year; a re-titling of the Best Foreign Language Film. One thing is that while most films are shown twice or three times during the fest, there will be more films that will get only one showing during the fest. Canadian films will remain the focus as has been in past Festivals. As well, this festival will feature more Asian films than any other film festival.
This year's top sponsors include Telus, Telefilm Canada, Christie screens, CinePlex, Delta Airlines, Subara and Creative BC. SuperChannel will take over the People's Choice awards again.
As for highlights, here are some of the films headlining the VIFF this year:
OPENING GALA: Guest of Honour – Canadian Oscar-nominated director Atom Egoyan returns with his latest film about a daughter trying to remember her complicated father. Review coming soon.
CLOSING GALA: La Belle Epoque – A French comedy by director Nicolas Bedos of a man who goes time-travelling thanks to his son's invention. Looks to be something very personal.
SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Parasite – Winner of the Palme D'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival. South Korean director Boon Jong Ho delivers a dramatic comedy of a poor family scheming their way to prosperity and things going all wrong.
A Hidden Life – This film won the Ecumenical Jury prize at Cannes. Terrence Malick tells the true story of a Nazi evader who refuses to bow down to pressure.
Jojo Rabbit – Winner of the People's Choice Award at the Toronto Film Fest. Similar to A Hidden Life but contrary, this film by the Thor: Ragnarok director is an anti-hate comedy set in Nazi Germany.
Just Mercy – A film starring Jamie Foxx and Michael B. Jordan about legendary lawyer Bryan Stevenson who successfully battled incidents of injustice and racism in Alabama.
The Lighthouse – Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson play two lighthouse keepers in 19th Century Maine who struggle to keep their sanity.
Motherless Brooklyn – Set in the 30's or 40's, Edward Norton directs and stars as a detective trying to solve the murder of his mentor and one friend.
Mr. Jones – Agnieszka Holland's latest is of a Welsh journalist who visits Ukraine in 1933 and discovers a famine forced by the Communist government and attempts to hide it from the Western World.
No. 7 Cherry Lane – Hong Kong director Yonfan delivers his animation debut in a story of a student in 1967 Hong Kong living between love and revolutionary times.
Pain And Glory – Pedro Almodovar's latest, and he reunites with Antonio Banderas! But this is of a distraught director trying to regain his passion for film, and life as a whole.
The Painted Bird – This Czech film starring Stellan Skarsgard and Harvey Keitel is of a Jewish boy escaping the Nazi Concentration Camps of World War II.
Portrait Of A Lady On Fire – This film set in 18th Century France is a story of a female painter commissioned to paint the daughter of a noblewoman. Only to fall in love in the process.
The Song Of Names – From Quebec director Francois Girard comes a film of a Holocaust orphan who becomes a big musician but is searching for the son of the British family who adopted him.
Sorry We Missed You – This is a drama/comedy by director Ken Loach of a construction worker during the 2008 financial crisis who takes a freelance commercial driver, and regrets it!
The Two Popes – City Of God director Fernando Meirelles directs a story of Pope Benedict and Pope Francis meeting and sometimes clashing as Benedict is to leave the Papacy. Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce star.
Young Ahmed – This Belgian film is of a Belgian-Moroccan student who goes from your normal 13 year-old to suddenly showing off an evil side.
So this is what VIFF has to offer fans this year. Not just films to enjoy but events focusing on various aspects of the craft as well. It starts September 26th and ends October 11th. Definitely sixteen days of excitement!
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VIFF 2018 Wraps Up Another Good Year
23 November 2018 9 November 2019 Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment
I know I'm late in doing my VIFF Wrap-Up blog. It's been a crazy time. It's not just seeing a total of twenty-one films but craziness involving work, a computer with faults, illnesses and injury, and post-secondary classes. Nevertheless I finally have the ambition to complete it today.
The 2018 Vancouver Film Fest ended on Friday, October 12th. There were big crowds throughout the festival. There was a lot to see with over 300 films from almost 70 countries and territories.
How about that? I got 21 out of 24 at VanCity's Oscar Bingo…
The VIFF again offered Hub events and special lectures on film making topics from various professionals in its many fields. There was the VIFF Immersed virtual reality exhibit in which I will reflect on later in this blog. The Director's Guild of Canada held Creator Talks. The first Saturday was Totally Indie Day with focuses on independent film from project to creation to promotion. There was the VIFF AMP conference which was a series of talks about musical promotion, primarily in film. There was even a Sustainable Production Forum on topics of how to makes films through environmentally-friendly means to promoting environmentalism in films.
WINNER: Broken Bunny (dir. Meredith Hama-Brown)
Presented by the Harold Greenberg Fund, Encore by Deluxe
WINNER: Edge Of The Knife (dirs. Gwaii Edenshaw & Helen Haig-Brown)
Presented by UBCP/ACTRA & William F. White
WINNER: Freaks (dirs. Zac Lipovsky & Adam Stein)
Narrative Features
Special Mentions: Genesis (dir. Philippe Lesage) & the Grizzlies (dir. Miranda de Pencier)
WINNER: When The Storm Fades (dir. Sean Devlin)
Special Mention: M/M (dir. Drew Lint)
WINNER: The Museum Of Forgotten Triumphs (dir. Bojan Bodruzic)
Special Mention: A Sister's Song (dir. Danae Elon)
Short Film Awards
Presented by CreativeBC
WINNER: Biidaaban (The Dawn Comes) (dir. Amanda Strong)
Presented by Lexus
WINNER: Fauve (dir. Jeremy Comte)
WINNER: EXIT (dir. Claire Edmonson)
WINNER: The Devil We Know (dir. Stephanie Soechtig)
Special Mentions: The Silence Of Others (dirs. Almudena Carraceco & Robert Bahar) & Samouni Road (dir. Stefano Savona)
Vancouver Women In Film And Television Artistic Merit Awards:
Award For Drama:
WINNER: Mouthpiece (dir. Patricia Rozema)
Award For Documentary:
WINNER: What Walaa Wants (dir. Christy Garland)
WINNER: Finding Big Country (dir. Kathleen Jayne)
VIFF Most Popular International Feature
WINNER: Shoplifters– Japan (dir. Kore-eda Hirokazu)
WINNER: Bathtubs Over Broadway (dir. Dava Whisenant)
#mustseebc Presented by Storyhive
WINNER: Finding Big Country (dir. Kat Jayme)
As for my volunteer experience, this was a different time. I was originally given office work to do over at the head office. One of the more difficult things was that the office positions were only announced just two days or even a single day before the shift. That didn't fit very well with me as I work a job from 830 to 430 and if I were to take one of those positions, I would have to let my place know a good three working days in advance, especially this time of year. I did however do a variety of volunteering. I did some ushering over at the SFU and International Village cinemas as well as the Centre For Performing Arts. I did some work over at the virtual reality exhibit, which I will focus on a bit later. I helped serve one morning at the VIFF AMP conference over at The Annex which I will also touch on a bit later. I ended my volunteering with the takedown at the International Village. Their takedown was Thursday the 11th: the day before the VIFF concluded. It was late at night and we finished at midnight. We were rewarded with free passes to VanCity Theatre films. The rewards of being a volunteer.
There was a volunteer party at the VanCity the following Friday. It was great. We had catered food with a Southern USA atmosphere. It consisted of a mix of vegetables and meats like pulled pork and roast chicken. There was also the VIFF bank playing bluegrass.
…and I won a VIFF Platinum Pass!
For those who didn't know, I won a Platinum Pass on the day of the Oscars. How did it happen? The VanCity Theatre, the main venue for the VIFF, had their annual Oscar party and their Oscar Bingo Contest. How Oscar Bingo works is you fill out your predictions for all 24 categories on the bingo squares. Here's how good my predictions were. I was the first to get a row. I soon got a second row, but that was it for minor prizes for me. At the end of the night, I got 21 out of 24 right. The Oscars were that predictable. Plus I took a gamble on guessing The Shape Of Water to win Best Picture, and it paid off! As the night ended, I found out one other person had 21 out of 24 right. We both won Platinum Passes! It was exciting as I would experience having a Platinum Pass for the first time.
As for the films I saw, here's a list of them. I have the country of origin in brackets and an asterisk marking those that are their country's official Best Foreign Language Film entry:
Shorts Segment: Escape Routes (Canada)
Patrimony (Czech Republic)
Studio 54 (USA)
United Skates (USA)
Theatre Of War (UK/Argentina)
One Cut Of The Dead (Japan)
In The Shadows (India)
3 Faces (Iran)
The Running Actress (South Korea)
Petra (Spain)
Can You Ever Forgive Me? (USA)
Ben Is Back (USA)
Djon Africa (Portugal/Cape Verde)
Dovlatov (Russia)
Volcano (Ukraine)
The Seen And The Unseen (Indonesia)
Burning (South Korea)*
The Guilty (Denmark)*
Edge Of The Knife (Canada)
Winter Flies (Czech Republic)*
Mega Time Squad (New Zealand)
I'm happy with the choices I saw. Some I was able to choose well in advance while some I chose because of the time. Some I wanted to see I did. Some I wasn't so lucky. Like Can You Ever Forgive Me? showed at the same time as Boy Erased. I can only choose one! However I did achieve my usual VIFF goals of seeing one shorts segment, one Canadian feature and one nation's entry for the Best Foreign language Film Oscar. It was crazy juggling having my volunteer pass and my Platinum pass on the same chain. Often if I wanted to see a film, I'd use my Platinum Pass and I'd get any seat I wanted! That was the best thing about having a Platinum Pass.
The biggest thing I learned about having a Platinum Pass this year is that they're best for people who have all sixteen days of the festival available. I see a lot of seniors with the Platinum Passes and they make good use out of it. They are the ones that can see five films in one day, if they have the tenacity to do so. I still had my jobs to attend to during the time so that really kept me from seeing a lot. Also volunteering kept me from seeing a lot too. I remember I told one of the VIFF supervisors during Oscar night "Even though I won, I still plan to volunteer." It was a double-edged sword to do both volunteering and own a platinum pass as most of the time, you're outside the action. If I ever pay $900 for a Platinum Pass in the future, it will be after I retire.
The VIFF isn't all about big screen films. It also includes virtual reality films.
There were two things I attended as a volunteer that I could not attend for free via my Platinum Pass. That was the VIFF Immersed virtual reality exhibit and the VIFF AMP conference. If I wanted to attend it, I would have to pay full admission. Being a volunteer was a good experience in both cases. For virtual reality, I learned quite a lot about a new means of film making and animation. I'll admit I haven't caught onto the VR craze. I had my first experience with VR at the exhibit as volunteers were allow to try things out. It was nice to try two of the VR films; both films were made in BC. I also assisted in showing a VR exhibit to students from a Vancouver high school who were on a field trip. My shift was ending just as they were about to set the place up for ticketholders. As my shift ended, I tried a state-of-the-art animated VR show called Fire Escape. It was too technical for me to handle. It's good that the VIFF have a virtual reality exhibit. One thing we shouldn't forget is that VIFF focuses on all formats of film: not just feature-length. They also focus on writing in film and even music in film. It was a good experience to attend the VIFF AMP conference for the morning. I was given the duty to have musicians onstage sign waivers for VIFF promotional videos. I learned a lot from some of the musicians and producers and agents about the challenges of getting music promoted in your film as well as the worldwide promotion of music in general.
So overall I'd say it was an excellent VIFF and a unique experience this year. This was the first year I saw over twenty films! Next year's VIFF is anticipated to be from September 26th to October 11th, 2019 and should also be a unique experience. No doubt I will be back to volunteer!
Entertainment - Film and Movies, VIFF - Festival and Reviews#mustseebc, #VIFFest, Canada, Christie, Cineplex, CreativeBC, DGC, Directors Guild of Canada, Festival, film, Fund, Greenberg, Harold, International, Lochmaddy, Stiryhive, Superchannel, Telefilm, Telus, Vancity, Vancouver, VIFF, Zoom
VIFF Is Back!
29 September 2018 Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment
Yes, the Vancouver International Film Festival is back for 2018. Yesterday began the 37th installment of the Film Festival. This year promises more excitement, more films and more events.
The biggest thing VIFF will have for this year is Creator Talks and Master Classes. Slated lecturers include The Good Place writer Michael Schur, Canadian writer/director Patricia Rozema, production designed Paul Austerberry, director Paris Barclay, rapper RZA and a Showrunners event where they feature nine writers all on one stage. There will be other events too like giving director Jean-Marc Vallee a Tribute Award and a fundraiser event featuring Jane Goodall.
As for volunteering, this year there were 1200 volunteers signing up. Bigger than last year. One thing that's changed is now volunteers are all owed to do a minimum of four shifts. That's different from the old minimum of 32 hours. Volunteers and free films are the same situation as last year. As for my volunteering, I will do a wide variety of things like assist with the virtual reality exhibit over at the Centre for Digital Media, do ushering duties at the International Village, or do office work for the Exhibitions team.
This year's roster of films promises a lot of attractions This year's VIFF claims to show over 300 shorts and feature films from 84 countries or regions. As of press time, 14 films are official submissions for the category of Best Foreign Language Film for this year's Oscars. One thing is that while most films are shown twice or three times during the fest, there will be more films that will get only one showing during the fest. There will even be a fourteen-hour three-film trilogy at the VanCity Theatre. La Flor by director Mariano Llinas will be shown as the three films will be aired consecutive nights. Canadian films will remain the focus as has been in past Festivals.
This year's top sponsors include Telus, Telefilm Canada, Christie screens, CinePlex, Delta Airlines, Lexus and Creative BC. SuperChannel will take over the People's Choice awards again.
As for highlights, here's a list of some of the films headlining the VIFF:
OPENING GALA: The Hummingbird Project. Canadian director Kim Nguyen highlights competitive stock trading in this film starring Salma Hayek and Jesse Eisenberg.
CLOSING GALA: The Front Runner – Jason Reitman delivers a film chronicling the rise and fall of Democratic candidate Gary Hart. Hugh Jackman plays Hart while Sarah Paxton plays 'other woman' Donna Rice.
Boy Erased – Rising star Lucas Hedges stars in this film about a young gay male forced into conversion therapy by his heavily-religious family.
Can You Ever Forgive Me? – Melissa McCarthy stars in this biographical film of Lee Israel: one of the biggest literary fraudsters of modern time.
Cold War – A Polish film about a showbiz couple who try to love and perform just shortly after the end of World War II. Director Pawel Pawlikowski won Best Director at this year's Cannes festival.
Collette – Keira Knightley stars in this film of revolutionary French writer Sidonie-Gabrielle Collette. Her relationship with her husband comes into play.
Everybody Knows – Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, who's won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar twice, directs Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz in a story about mistrust and deceit.
The Favorite– Yorgos Lanthimos, whose most famous work is The Lobster, returns with Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz starring in this comedy on who can win the most praise from the queen.
The Grizzlies – The story of a teacher who tries to start pride in a Nunavut town by building up a local lacrosse team.
The Happy Prince– British actor Rupert Everett writes, directs and acts in this film of the last years of Oscar Wilde.
Non-Fiction – Olivier Assayas tells a humorous story of the marriage of an actress, played by Juliette Binoche, and her publisher husband who's fearing the 'death of print.'
The Old Man And The Gun – David Lowery directs what is believed to be Robert Redford's last film as an actor as bank-robber Forrest Tucker.
A Private War – Rosamund Pike stars in this biographical film of war correspondent Marie Colvin.
Shadow – Chinese film from Zhang Yimou directs a kung fu romance that promises to be an unforgettable story.
Sharkwater Extinction – Rob Stewart directed 2006 documentary Sharkwater highlighting how important sharks are to the ecosystem. This sequel shows the threats sharks face in today's world.
So this is what this year's VIFF has in store. It all starts September 27th and it all ends October 12th. Definitely lots to enjoy
VIFF - Festival and Reviews#VIFFest, arts, Canada, CDM, Centre, Cinematheque, Cineplex, Digital, Festival, film, Hub, International, Lexus, Media, performing, Playhouse, Rio, SFU, Telus, Theatre, Vancity, Vancouver, VIFF


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KRS-One, Jungle Brothers coming to Musica in February
Malcolm X Abram Beacon Journal
Akron-based urban arts and entertainment company Keepers of the Art Inc. is bringing veteran hip-hop acts KRS-One and the Jungle Brothers to Akron on Feb. 22 to perform at Musica.
Both acts gained prominence in the 1980s when the still-growing genre's biggest stars were mostly from the East or West coasts.
Bronx-bred emcee KRS-One, leader of Boogie Down Productions, dropped hip-hop classics such as the group's 1987 debut album "Criminal Minded" and its follow-up "By All Means Necessary."
Boogie Down Productions eschewed the growing trend toward violence and misogyny-filled lyrics instead offering what KRS-One dubbed "Edutainment," a mix of rap braggadocio, black empowerment and pride and calls to question the establishment.
Songs such as "Jimmy," which promoted safe sex practices, and the self-explanatory "Stop the Violence" were the group's norm.
The Jungle Brothers — Mike Gee, Afrika Baby Bam and DJ Sammy B — and the trio's debut album, "Straight Out the Jungle," spearheaded the Native Tongue Collective that would grow to include other conscious rap artists such as Queen Latifah, De La Soul, Tribe Called Quest and Monie Love and Black Sheep.
Lyrically, the "JB's" songs such as "Black Is Black" promoted nonviolence, presented with a spiritual Afrocentric and playful vibe.
Musically, the Jungle Brothers and Native Tongues were the first to stretch out past James Brown and familiar breakbeat samples to incorporate jazz, fusion and other genres. The group's song "I'll House You" is noted as the first song non-Chicago-based House song, helping to introduce the genre to many new listeners.
KRS-One has performed in Akron a few times including as being one of the headliners of Keepers of the Arts Hip Hop Showcase at Lock 3 Park in 2009.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Ла Мина Негра има више значења:

 Ла Мина Негра (Мулехе), насеље у савезној држави Јужна Доња Калифорнија у Мексику
 Ла Мина Негра (Ла Паз), насеље у савезној држави Јужна Доња Калифорнија у Мексику

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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You searched for: Starts with H Remove constraint Starts with: H Format Manuscripts Remove constraint Format: Manuscripts Format Postcards/Cards Remove constraint Format: Postcards/Cards
1. Harvey Wasserman Papers, 1965-2017
A journalist, writer, and historian, Harvey Wasserman has been an activist for radical democracy and alternative energy for over five decades. Influenced by civil rights activism as a child, Wasserman became seriously involved in journalism while on the staff of the Michigan Daily at the... more
2. Henry Whittemore Library Collection
Framingham State University, Henry Whittemore Library
The Special Collections and Archives at Framingham State University were established in the early 1970s in order to collect, preserve and provide access to materials that reflect the history and development of the university. Such materials include non-current university records, publications,... more
3. Houses and Other Structures
Granville Public Library
Granville has a remarkable number of significant historical homes and structures, many of which are on record with the Massachusetts Historical Commission MACRIS database. Several areas of town are also listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Historical Room has collected images... more
4. Hugo Münsterberg Collection, 1890-1916
Hugo Münsterberg (June 1, 1863-December 16, 1916) was born in Danzing, Germany. He received his Ph.D. in psychology in 1885 and his medical degree in 1887. Münsterberg met William James in 1891 and, in 1892, James invited him to a three-year term in the psychological laboratory at Harvard.... more
Manuscripts[remove]4
Boston Public Library1
Framingham State University, Henry Whittemore Library1
Granville Public Library1


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Казахский научно-исследовательский кожно-венерологический институт — научно-исследовательский институт в Алма-Ате, осуществляет лечебную, научную, педагогическую и организационную деятельность как головное учреждение республики по проблеме «Дерматовенерология».

Институт является единственным профильным научным, организационно-методическим, учебным и клиническим учреждением Республики Казахстан в области заболеваний передающихся половым путём и заболеваний кожи. Институт проводит организационно-методическую работу по координации деятельности всей дерматовенерологической службы в Республике.

Деятельность
Научно-исследовательский кожно-венерологический институт осуществляет следующие виды научной и лечебной деятельности в области здравоохранения по проблеме «Дерматовенерология»:
 Осуществление лечебной работы, научно-исследовательской и научно-практической деятельности в области лечения, диагностики и профилактики инфекционных дерматозов, в том числе лепрологии и неинфекционных дерматозов, паразитологии, сифилидологии, урогенитальных инфекций передающихся половым путем; осуществление лечебной, реабилитационной, реконструктивной деятельности в области эстетической медицины, косметологии.
 Подготовка и издание научной литературы по актуальным вопросам дерматологии и венерологии, в том числе монографий, учебников, учебно-методических рекомендаций и пособий;
 Осуществление послевузовского медицинского образования и осуществление дополнительного медицинского образования (повышение квалификации) в порядке, установленным законодательством РК;
 Создание, апробация лекарственных и профилактических средств и средств ухода за кожей и её производными;
 Экспертиза методов, лекарственных и профильных средств, средств ухода, применяемых в дерматологии.

Институт разрабатывает проблемы этиологии, патогенеза, морфологии кожных и венерических болезней, методы их профилактики, диагностики и лечения. Совершенствует методы электронной микроскопии, серологической диагностики. Осуществляет организационно-методологическое руководство и контроль за деятельностью однопрофильных учреждений республики. Проводит клинические консультации и клинико-лабораторные исследования по клинико-иммунологическим, клинико-биохимическим, серологическим направлениям. Также проводит патоморфологические исследования кожи.

Лечебная работа
Оказывает специализированную, в том числе высокотехнологичную, медицинскую помощь в стационарных условиях (круглосуточный стационар) и амбулаторных по профилю «дерматовенерология». Производит лечение заболеваний передающихся половым путём и дерматозов.

Структура
Структура института состоит из отделения дерматовенерологии, физиотерапевтического отделения, консультативно-диагностическое отделения, клинико-диагностической лаборатории, отдела менеджмента научных исследований и инноваций.

История
Научно-исследовательский кожно-венерологический институт является одним из самых старейших научных медицинских учреждений Республики Казахстан. Институт образован согласно приказу № 232 от 16 октября 1930 года Наркомздрава Казахской АССР на базе слияния Алма-Атинской детской кожно-венерологической больницы (помещение бывшей Верненской уездной больницы) и «Краевого научно-исследовательского кожно-венерологического института». Официально институт открылся 1 октября 1930 года. Торжественное открытие института состоялось 5 января 1931 года. Приказом № 306 от 12 ноября 1932 года Наркомздрава Казахской АССР учреждение было переименовано в Казахский научно-исследовательский кожно-венерологический институт.

Одним из первых директоров института был Маметов Ахмед Маметович – отец героя Советского Союза Маншук Маметовой. Под руководством Ахмеда Маметова уже тогда осуществлялся мониторинг за сифилисом в кочевых и полукочевых районах республики, организовались лечебно-профилактические и санитарно-просветительные мероприятия среди населения Республики. По состоянию на 1931 год в состав Казахского Научно-исследовательского кожно-венерологического института входили: клинический, организационно-методический и лабораторно-экспериментальный отделы.

В первые годы институт осуществлял не только клиническую, но и методическо-практическую деятельность. Перед специалистами стояла задача обучения региональных медицинских работников приемам диагностики и лечения половых инфекций и грибковых болезней кожи; создания рациональных подходов к организации работы службы на территории казахской республики. В институте были организованы курсы специализации, на которых с 1931 по 1940 годы было обучено 102 специалиста службы, 85 техников-лаборантов, 117 фельдшеров и 89 медицинских сестер. Противоэпидемические мероприятия, проведенные под руководством института, обусловили в 1940 году снижение заболеваемости сифилисом, гонореей, лепрой, дерматофитиями, чесоткой.

В послевоенные годы в республике вновь увеличилась заболеваемость венерическими и заразными кожными болезнями, что потребовало от института возобновления усилий по достижению стабилизации ситуации. В то время материально-техническая база института оставляла желать лучшего. Так, общая площадь старых с частичными удобствами построек, в которых размещались клинический корпус, вендиспансер, лаборатория, административные и хозяйственные помещения, составляла всего лишь 1386,9 кв. м. Штат кожно-венерологического института в 1946 году составлял 68,5, диспансера – 53,5 единиц. Стационар института на 75 коек не обеспечивал полной потребности в госпитализации больных дерматовенерологического профиля. В 1954 году был построен и сдан в эксплуатацию двухэтажный клинический корпус и пристройка пищеблока (ныне снесены). Число стационарных коек было увеличено до 100. В небольшом приспособленном строении размещалось несколько лабораторий: биохимическая, клиническая, серологическая и бактериологическая.

В 1959 году диспансерное отделение преобразовано в диспансерный отдел, который был превращен в одно из научных подразделений института; открыт сектор по борьбе с лепрой, просуществовавший до 1965 года. Институт продолжал расширяться. На 1 января 1964 года он насчитывал 194 штатные должности, в том числе 47 научных сотрудников, 8 из которых имели ученую степень кандидата медицинских наук.

В 1968-1969 гг. проведена реорганизация структуры института, которая дала возможность укрупнить отделы, экономичнее планировать научную тематику и организовать ее эффективное выполнение. Организация группы медицинской и медико-технической информации способствовала быстрейшему внедрению новых методов лечения и медицинской техники в практику здравоохранения.

В 1981 года начато строительство новых зданий института. В 1983 году был сдан в эксплуатацию первый современный 5-этажный корпус, где разместилось консультативное отделение института, различные лаборатории и администрация. В 1989 году была принята в строй первая очередь клинического корпуса института, а в 1993 году сооружение стационара было полностью завершено. На месте снесенных ветхих построек вдоль проспекта Райымбека от улицы Потанина до ул. Л.Хамиди протянулся архитектурный ансамбль современных зданий, которые и составляют нынешнюю базу Научно-исследовательского кожно-венерологического института, общей площадью внутренних помещений 15058 кв.м.

Попытка ликвидации института
В 2009 году на государственном уровне чиновниками из Минздрава РК под формальными предлогами предполагалась попытка полной ликвидации «Научно-исследовательского кожно-венерологического института». Впервые за всю историю своего существования «Научно-исследовательский кожно-венерологический институт» оказался на грани ликвидации с приходом в руководство Министерства здравоохранения республики министра Доскалиева Жаксылыка. В ноябре 2009 года департамент по ЧС вынес предписание о закрытии института за несоблюдение норм противопожарной безопасности. В феврале апелляция администрации института была отклонена городской судом. Директор был вынужден приостановить работу института, получавшие лечение пациенты стационара института были выписаны, а все сотрудники отправлены в отпуск. Минздрав РК под руководством Доскалиева отказался выделять из бюджета требуемые 39 млн. тенге на ремонт и устранение противопожарных нарушений двух зданий института.

29 марта 2010 года решением министра Минздрава запущена ликвидационная программа РГП «Научно-исследовательский кожно-венерологический институт». Институт был передан в ведение учебного заведения «Национальный медицинский университет им. Асфендиярова», тем самым был лишен своего статуса самостоятельности и юридической независимости. Основанием для устранения юридического лица РГП «Научно-исследовательский кожно-венерологический институт» явилось заявление ректора «Казахского национального медицинского университета» Айкана Аканова о необходимости учебных корпусов для студентов университета. Таким образом, реорганизовав научный институт руководство Минздрава и КазНМУ запланировало разместить в его зданиях ряд учебных отделений и кафедр КазНМУ. На основании решения протокола рабочего совещания Минздрава от 29 марта 2010 года и приказа Комитета государственного имущества и приватизации от 29 апреля 2010 года №292 проведена реорганизация РГП «Научно-исследовательский кожно-венерологический институт». Здание лечебного стационара института на 150 коек было передано на баланс КазНМУ имени Асфендиярова.

Возмущенные сотрудники и руководство «Кожно-венерологического института» категорически выступили против решения руководителя Минздрава РК о передаче института в состав КазНМУ. Коллективом «НИКВИ» было отправлено открытое письмо на имя президента РК, премьер-министра РК, нового министра здравоохранения РК и председателя НДП "Нур Отан" с требованием сохранить «Научно-исследовательский кожно-венерологический институт», вернуть ему самостоятельность. Однако все обращения коллектива «НИКВИ» упорно игнорировались вплоть до сентября 2010 года, пока министр здравоохранения не был арестован. Судьба существования института оставалась неопределенной до конца 2011 года. В 2011 году новым руководством Минздрава принято решение вернуть институту статус самостоятельного юридического лица РГП «Научно-исследовательский кожно-венерологический институт». Однако здание лечебного стационара так и не было возвращено обратно институту и осталось у учебного заведения КазНМУ, который после капитального ремонта здания устроил в нём свою университетскую Клинику внутренних болезней по оказанию платных консультационных медуслуг. Таким образом НИИ «Кожно-венерологический институт» был лишён своего лечебного стационара, пациенты с кожно-венерологическими заболеваниями из всего Казахстана остались без качественного стационарного лечения.

Научно-организационная и учебная работа

Названия института

Собственники и руководство

Руководители
 Маметов, Ахмед Маметович
 С.Н.Рутковский
 А.Татаринцев
 Б.Е.Утемисов
 С.А.Поплавский
 А.Н. Полянский
 Бердыбаев, Унгербай Бердыбаевич (1952-1958) — доктор медицинских наук, профессор, заслуженный деятель науки Казахской ССР.
 Калантаевская, Ксения Анисимовна (1958-1959) — доктор медицинских наук, профессор.
 И.О.Сеньков
 М.О.Омаров (1959-1963)
 И.Г.Гурина
 П.И.Волова
 Макашева, Раиса Каримовна (1978-1981) — доктор медицинских наук, профессор.
Кешилева, Зура Бостановна (1981-2001) — доктор медицинских наук, академик, обладатель высшей награды Республиканского общественного объединения «Национальная Медицинская Ассоциация».
 Шакиров, Максут Толеуович (2001-2005) — доктор медицинских наук, профессор.
 Аскарова, Гульсум Клышпековна (2005-2009) — доктор медицинских наук, профессор.
 Муминов, Талгат Аширович (2009-2010)
 Дуйсекеев, Амангельды Дуйсекеевич (2010-2011) — доктор медицинских наук, профессор.
 Ешимов, Александр Едрисович (2012-2014) — кандидат медицинских наук
 Исламов, Ерлан Нурланович (2014-2015)
 Шакиров, Максут Толеуович (2015-ноябрь 2017) — доктор медицинских наук, профессор.
 Абишев, Асылхан Туреханович (ноябрь 2017-н.в.)

Примечания

Литература

Медицинские научно-исследовательские институты
Появились в 1930 году в СССР
1930 год в Казахстане
Научные институты Алма-Аты
События 1 октября
Октябрь 1930 года
Казахский национальный медицинский университет имени С. Д. Асфендиярова


Sat., Jan. 26, 10 P.M.
J.W. TELLER'S eponymous new album lived several lives before its final form. The Missoula, Montana-based singer and songwriter recorded the album in his own home after some difficulty achieving the results he wanted in various studio settings. The results are intimate, organic, and daringly emotional, and they're the portrait of a man reflective of his 20s upon entering his 30s.
Teller - who moved to Missoula from Asheville, N.C., after growing up in Jackson, Mississippi - is currently touring behind his beautiful new record, and is set for a show at The Jinx on Jan. 26. Ahead of the gig, we spoke to Teller about his musical beginnings and what it was like making music right at home.
I hear a lot of Townes Van Zandt in your music. Is that accurate?
Teller: Townes is the reason I got into music!
I was fascinated by the guy, and started learning about him. That brings on Guy Clark, and then Steve Earle comes hand-in-hand with those guys. I really just dug into it. I really loved the southern gothic writing he had, and how you can't have light without dark. He was in the dark for sure, and it was just so poetic and beautiful. It kind of just took a hold of me there.
Was that always the kind of stuff you were listening to, even when you weren't really pursuing music?
Teller: Growing up, my mom and dad were really into Fleetwood Mac and Simon & Garfunkel. Which I still love very much to this day. I think I grew up around a lot of that 70s folk stuff, and it's always one of those things where it brings back a nostalgia feeling. Music was definitely not the driving force in our house, but that was the kind of stuff they'd listen to when they had music on.
What are you interested in writing about, and what's your process like?
Teller: The process varies so much, honestly. Most of the songs I complete are not things that I just sit down and do. I try to be diligent and work during the day when I'm at home, but a lot of it will just hit me a a certain moment. When it hits you have to capitalize on it. It really just kind of hits when it wants to, and you have to take advantage of it. Most of the time it comes at its own pace.
I'm turning 30 on this one. I feel like I've waited so long to put out a record, and it wasn't intentional. I've tried to track this record three different times, and I was just never happy with it. I hadn't paid much money before, and I paid a lot of money and did it again and then scratched it all. This last time, we did it in my house and I was just really comfortable. I felt like it was the way it needed to be delivered.
This collection of songs was mostly written about experiences in my 20s. Dealing with growing pains that anybody in their 20s goes through. I'm no expert on this or on anything in life, but I feel like your 20s are the biggest decade of learning you're going to have. Where you settle into who you're going to be. That can fluctuate very much from year to year. It's great to have these songs done and start entering my 30s and feel, honestly, a sigh of relief that it's done.
Was the process of doing it in your house, did you feel like it was a daunting thing? Or was it exciting to kind of go into the great unknown of doing your own setup in your house?
Teller: Honestly, it was the easiest experience I've ever had. I've always been scared to death of the studio, and I wouldn't have done this particular record any other way. I did the guitar and vocals live and we did it all in two nights. I did the basics live and then we pulled people in and had them add to it.
It can be very uncomfortable when you're not in a place where you can really let go and be creative. There's something to be said for doing it in the place where you feel most comfortable.
Teller: I can't say that I'll do that for the next one. But for this record, I wanted to have the most enjoyable, raw recordings that you can have with a little bit of flaws in it. These recordings are by no means perfect. For this collection of songs it needed to be done a certain way.
It's funny how life works sometimes - one day I met somebody who said, "We're recording these songs. We're doing it at your house, and if you don't like it you can scratch them. But this is what we're doing." And it turned out great.


Unless you're from SoCal or fans of U2, you probably have never seen or heard of a Joshua tree.
Joshua trees, or their formal name yucca brevifolia, are distinctly spiny plants that look like an agave on steroids. Picture those crazy Dr. Seuss-looking Lorax trees. They're tall, bulky, prickly, otherworldly. Call 911, there are aliens near the highway at Wikieup.Then again, you may have wondered what the heck is that plant as you were on the way to Vegas, whizzing along State Route 93 between Wickenburg and Kingman, past thousands of expected saguaros, the craggy peaks of the McCloud and Black Mountains and all those little white crosses where drivers have careened off the road to their demise.
"Our visitors ask about the Joshua trees … and do not expect to see them here," says Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce executive Julie Brooks, who is fifth generation native to the area. Read the full article from AZCentral.


I spent an evening last year shooting stock photography of the Lights of the Ozarks. It was a cold, quiet evening that brought back memories of an old tradition with a group of friends.
Many, many years ago, I used to run with a group on Monday nights. We had a summer route at Tilly Willy, and a winter route through downtown Fayetteville. I always loved our winter runs from Thanksgiving to New Years Eve because our route took us through the Fayetteville square and the Lights of the Ozarks. There was always something special about running under the lights and listening to the Christmas music fill the cold, quiet air. Now when I stand under those lights, I think about how much I miss the runs with that group of friends and the fun dinners that always followed at a local restaurant. It's always a great memory that brings a smile.
The lights are such a great tradition for Northwest Arkansas from the parade and lighting ceremony, to Last Night Fayetteville and the Hog Drop. I look forward to visiting every year and taking a trip down memory lane… and photos. It's always such a beautiful place to photograph.
What are some of your best memories of the Lights of the Ozarks?
Newer Post 2015- A year of changes for this Arkansas Photographer	Older Post Top 10 things this photographer is thankful for today and everyday.


text:
Q: Facebook Graph API require content for field Is there a way to send a request to the Graph API with a parameter, the makes the response only deliver objects which are containing a certain field? As the Graph API is poorly documented, I still have a little hope that this is possible, even if I could not find any info about it in the documentation.
Something like:
272013516319233/posts?fields=message,created_time,link,picture&require=message

A: No that is not possible. You need to do the filtering on your side

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Active drug surveillance monitoring and management (aDSM) approach and electronic tools for data collection (such as PViMS), collation and analysis.
Plan for procurement and supply chain management for new and companion medicines. Examples of activities include quantification, supply planning, and use of an early warning system using tools like QuanTB to prevent stock-outs and minimize wastage of medicines.


text:
module RailsBase
  module Controllers
    module OmniAuthHelper
      def facebook
        callback_from :facebook
      end

      def twitter
        callback_from :twitter
      end

      private
      def callback_from(provider)
        provider = provider.to_s
        @instance = omni_auth_model_class.find_for_oauth(request.env['omniauth.auth'])
        if @instance.persisted?
          flash[:notice] = I18n.t('devise.omniauth_callbacks.success', kind: provider.capitalize)
          sign_in_and_redirect @instance, event: :authentication
        else
          if provider == 'twitter'
            session["devise.twitter_data"] = request.env["omniauth.auth"].except("extra")
          else
            session["devise.facebook_data"] = request.env["omniauth.auth"]
          end
          redirect_to failure_path
        end
      end

      # User以外にしたい場合はinclude元でオーバーライド
      def omni_auth_model_class
        User
      end

      # root以外にしたい場合はinclude元でオーバーライド
      def failure_path
        root_path
      end
    end
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Large 2/2 1st floor condo. It has tile floors, granite counter tops, screened porch and a Community Pool. Also close to shopping, schools and restaurants. The beach is less than 10 mins. away. Put your application in today.