VIFF Podcast

EXPLORE

Society & Culture

© 2024 PodJoint

https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts211/v4/70/66/61/706661c0-7bca-2dcf-143c-557fb2057c1b/mza_7314154556687912162.jpg/600x600bb.jpg

VIFF Podcast

Vancouver International Film Festival

62 episodes

2 weeks ago

Ava Maria Safai describes Foreigner as “bubblegum horror”—a genre that layers a glossy, fun aesthetic over a dark underbelly of pain. Following an Iranian teenager who moves to Canada, dyes her hair blonde, and becomes a demon, Foreigner explores the ache of wanting to belong and how far you're willing to go to be accepted. In this episode of the VIFF Podcast, Safai shares how filmmaking can be brutal in what it teaches you about yourself—much like our formative teenage years. Reminiscent of ...

Show more...

Film Interviews

All content for VIFF Podcast is the property of Vancouver International Film Festival and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

Ava Maria Safai describes Foreigner as “bubblegum horror”—a genre that layers a glossy, fun aesthetic over a dark underbelly of pain. Following an Iranian teenager who moves to Canada, dyes her hair blonde, and becomes a demon, Foreigner explores the ache of wanting to belong and how far you're willing to go to be accepted. In this episode of the VIFF Podcast, Safai shares how filmmaking can be brutal in what it teaches you about yourself—much like our formative teenage years. Reminiscent of ...

Show more...

Film Interviews

Episodes (20/62)

VIFF Podcast

'Foreigner' Director Ava Maria Safai talks the horrors of growing up, and what filmmaking teaches you about yourself

Ava Maria Safai describes Foreigner as “bubblegum horror”—a genre that layers a glossy, fun aesthetic over a dark underbelly of pain. Following an Iranian teenager who moves to Canada, dyes her hair blonde, and becomes a demon, Foreigner explores the ache of wanting to belong and how far you're willing to go to be accepted. In this episode of the VIFF Podcast, Safai shares how filmmaking can be brutal in what it teaches you about yourself—much like our formative teenage years. Reminiscent of ...

2 weeks ago

29 minutes

VIFF Podcast

Mayumi Yoshida on her debut feature, 'Akashi,' and the power that comes from existing in the in between

Mayumi Yoshida is THE multi-hyphenate filmmaker you need to watch. As writer, director, producer, and actor for her debut feature, Akashi, Yoshida's world premiere at VIFF 2025 was met with sold out audiences, celebrating her story tackling themes of identity, class struggle, and artistic aspiration. In this episode of the VIFF Podcast, we sit down with Yoshida to discuss her Japanese heritage, identity as an immigrant, and why existing in the in between can give you the greatest superpower o...

1 month ago

41 minutes

VIFF Podcast

Ari's Theme" documentary filmmaker, Jeff Petry, on how to capture a legacy

Ari Kinarthy’s existence is marked by worry and vigilance around his health, as he struggles with spinal muscular atrophy. Yet he was born with the soul of an artist, becoming a celebrated composer eager to share his story through the power of music. Making him the subject of Jeff Petry and Nathan Drillot's 'Ari's Theme,' Director of Programming at VIFF, Curtis Woloschuk, sits down with Petry to discuss what it takes to build trust with your documentary subject, the importance of centering th...

3 months ago

36 minutes

VIFF Podcast

VIFF Shorts team Casey Wei and Jaewoo Kang talk programming for your audience

In this special edition of the VIFF Podcast, get a glimpse of what goes on behind-the-scenes when it comes to VIFF programming, and how certain shorts make it to screen at our annual festival. VIFF Shorts Forum programmer Casey Wei and her coordinator, Jaewoo Kang discuss how to find the balance between telling the story, and film as a an art form. The pair also dive into the importance of choosing titles with urgent themes, providing an opportunity for audiences to stay engaged with the topi...

3 months ago

41 minutes

VIFF Podcast

'I Saw Three Black Lights' filmmaker Santiago Lozano on ritual as resistance in Colombia

In Santiago Lozano's 'I Saw Three Black Lights,' a wise old shaman embarks on a final journey into the Colombian jungle to settle a spiritual debt and reconnect with his late son. We sit down with the filmmaker to discuss how an immersive, lush setting can almost act as a character itself, the importance of connecting with cast in mind, body, and spirit, and more on this story of honouring the dead, and tradition. This episode was recorded during the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival...

4 months ago

39 minutes

VIFF Podcast

Filmmaker Sanja Zivkovic on motherhood, the broken system of adoption, and seeing a story from all points of view in 'Cat's Cry'

'Cat's Cry' filmmaker Sanja Zivkovic sits down with VIFF Festival Programmer & Program Lead, Sonja Baksa, to talk about her global career spanning all the way from SFU's Burnaby campus to Serbia. 'Cat's Cry' first fell into Zivkovic's lap when the son of famous Serbian filmmaker Goran Paskaljević, Vlad Paskaljević, approached her with the possibility of reviving this moving screenplay following Goran Paskaljević's passing in September 2020. The work, 'Cat's Cry', is the true story o...

4 months ago

34 minutes

VIFF Podcast

'Save My Soul' filmmaker Kam Fai Leung on loneliness and our primal desire to be loved

When a mute young man seeks to escape into the wilderness, he quickly realizes he's not suited to survive on his own. To adapt, the young man begins to embody a feline, finding solace in a blind man's home, someone also seeking connection and comfort. Together, the pair forge an unconventional path towards tenderness and intimacy, where the mute young man begins to forget his human identity altogether. Kam Fai Leung's 'Save My Soul' is a unique commentary on the war of loneliness and th...

4 months ago

37 minutes

VIFF Podcast

Director Devin Shears on his first feature, and the fascination with fatness in "Cherub"

Harvey is a lonely, overweight man who discovers new self-esteem when he submits a photo to Cherub, a gay magazine “For big men and their admirers.” Director Devin Shears talks from his move from shorts to features in this gentle, ambient character study, revealing the healing power of being admired. This episode was recorded during the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival. This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival. Presented on the traditional and unc...

5 months ago

26 minutes

VIFF Podcast

Kerr Holden wrestles with athleticism, performance, and metal in 'Judas Icarus Twists His Wrist'

In 'Judas Icarus Twists His Wrist,' Director Kerr Holden (she/her) follows BC-based wrestler, Judas Icarus, following his arduous road to recovery after an injury. On the choreography of wrestling, the power of score, and how to emphasize athleticism and physicality on screen, Holden joins VIFF Shorts programmer Casey Wei on the VIFF Podcast talking her filmmaking journey, how to identify a subject, and how metal music simply, rocks. This episode was recorded during the 2024 Vancouver...

5 months ago

27 minutes

VIFF Podcast

'Balomania' filmmaker Sissel Morell Dargis on the beauty behind Brazil's baloeiros, and getting your start in documentary filmmaking

Hot air ballooning has been illegal in São Paulo, Brazil since the 1990's. Intrigued by this underworld of guerilla artists, who risk their lives, and freedom in order to craft and release huge, lavishly decorated paper balloons up to 70 metres in height, Director Sissel Morell Dargis began creating 'Balomania' when she was 19, spending a decade earning the trust of these baloeiros to tell this story. Today, she joins the VIFF Podcast to talk starting from nothing as a filmmaker, how to finan...

6 months ago

54 minutes

VIFF Podcast

'78 Days' filmmaker Emilija Gašić on docufiction and telling personal history through found footage

Filmmaker Emilija Gašić joins VIFF’s Vanguard series programmer Sonja Baksa to discuss 78 Days, a found-footage film that won the Vanguard Award at VIFF 2024. Shot on hi-8 tapes in her native Serbia, the film follows three sisters documenting their lives during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999. Inspired by her own childhood memories, Gašić’s decision to use analog tape lent to the "docufiction" quality of the film. In this conversation, Sonja and Emilija unpack the film’s unconventional...

6 months ago

34 minutes

VIFF Podcast

Vancouver filmmaker Ann Marie Fleming explores mortality and imagines a future without waste with 'Can I Get a Witness?'

In this episode of the VIFF Podcast, program manager and senior programmer PoChu AuYeung sits down with acclaimed Canadian animator and filmmaker Ann Marie Fleming to discuss her latest film, Can I Get a Witness?, which screened at VIFF 2024. Set in a near future where citizens are required to exit life at 50 to combat climate change and inequality, the live-action film stars veteran Vancouver actor Sandra Oh, along with newcomers Keira Jang and Joel Oulette. Ann Marie reflects on the emotion...

7 months ago

43 minutes

VIFF Podcast

Veteran Documentarian Connie Field Exposes Democracy’s Fragility in 'Democracy Noir'

In this episode of the VIFF Podcast, programmer Alan Franey interviews American filmmaker Connie Field about her documentary feature Democracy Noir, which explores the rise of Viktor Orbán in Hungary and its global implications. The film follows three women—a journalist, a nurse, and a politician—who fight against Orbán's regime, highlighting Orbán's manipulation of democracy to maintain power, including changing the constitution to require a two-thirds parliamentary majority for amendments. ...

7 months ago

33 minutes

VIFF Podcast

'Uncommon Ground' filmmaker Faith Sparrow-Crawford on ancestral connections and Musqueam Storytelling

Musqueam filmmaker Faith Sparrow-Crawford joins VIFF short programmer Casey Wei to talk about Uncommon Ground, her haunting sci-fi short set in 2171. They dig into themes of ancestral connection, mental health, and the deep bond between main character Tawny and her aunt. Faith shares how storytelling runs in her family, why the short film format speaks to her, and how she's collaborating with her father on a larger TV series. Plus: a glimpse into her next project exploring Musqueam traditions...

8 months ago

35 minutes

VIFF Podcast

'Curl Power' director Josephine Anderson on girlhood and the long-game of filmmaking

In this episode of the VIFF Podcast, Curtis Woloschuk sits down with Canadian filmmaker Josephine Anderson to talk about her latest documentary Curl Power. Having premiered at VIFF 2024, Curl Power follows five teenage girls chasing curling glory while navigating the emotional terrain of adolescence. Anderson reflects on the challenges of long-term observational filmmaking, the power of trust between subject and filmmaker, and the unexpected mentorship of Olympic champion mothers. Plus, Josep...

8 months ago

20 minutes

VIFF Podcast

'The Universe in a Grain of Sand' filmmaker Mark Levinson on art, physics, and AI as an extension of human creativity

On this episode of the VIFF podcast, programmer Alan Franey sits down with Mark Levinson to talk about his film, The Universe in a Grain of Sand. Levinson, who is a former theoretical particle physicist as well as a producer on films such as Mystic Pizza and Teen Wolf, details why he transitioned from physicist to filmmaker—influenced by his findings at Berkeley's Pacific Film Archive. The Universe in a Grain of Sand premiered at the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival and explores the...

9 months ago

53 minutes

VIFF Podcast

'Inedia' director Liz Cairns on intuitive writing and filmmaking

On this episode of the VIFF podcast, director Liz Cairns joins VIFF programmer Curtis Woloschuck to talk about her feature film debut, Inedia. The film, which premiered at VIFF 2024, follows a young woman with mysterious food allergies who joins a remote island community practicing alternative healing methods. Curtis and Liz discuss the director's deep attachment to the writing of Inedia, casting and directing, and how to maintain intuition on a larger production. This episode was recor...

9 months ago

31 minutes

VIFF Podcast

Legendary Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan on artistic evolution and representations of trauma in 'Seven Veils'

In this episode of the VIFF Podcast, Year Round Programmer Tom Charity sits down with iconic Canadian filmmaker and (sometimes) opera director Atom Egoyan to discuss his latest film, Seven Veils, starring Amanda Seyfried. The film premiered during VIFF 2023 and was inspired by his remount of the opera Salome. Touching on trauma, abuse, and the artistic interpretation thereof, Adam talks about his experience directing opera and the controversies surrounding the original production. This episod...

9 months ago

58 minutes

VIFF Podcast

'Preface to a History' director Devan Scott on experimental filmmaking and mental health

In this episode of the VIFF Podcast, Vancouver filmmaker Devan Scott speaks with VIFF Year-Round Programmer Tom Charity about his experimental feature Preface to a History, co-directed with Willa Ross. The film explores mental health struggles through the characters Vlad and Sophie—Vlad immerses himself in audiobooks, while Sophie grapples with career dissatisfaction. Scott shares how his experience listening to a 105-hour audiobook about the Third Reich while on a ski trip inspired the film ...

10 months ago

41 minutes

VIFF Podcast

'Village Keeper' director Karen Chapman on telling "lived-in" stories through cinema

In this episode of the VIFF Podcast, Director of Programming Curtis Woloschuk speaks with filmmaker Karen Chapman about her narrative feature Village Keeper, which explores themes of trauma, grief, and economic disparity through the story of a Toronto single mother. Chapman shares her desire to capture "lived-in" moments on screen, and how location plays a vital role in shaping character and story, highlighting the impact of class and economic realities on filmmaking. Chapman reflects on the ...

10 months ago

20 minutes