This past long weekend marked the debut of the twelfth annual Vancouver Latin American Film Festival (VLAFF), the largest festival of Latin American cinema in Canada. This year’s audience response has been unprecedented as the festival reached record-breaking attendance.
The festival’s activities kicked off on August 28 with the opening film LION’S HEART by Marcos Carnevale, one of the best romantic comedies to come out of Argentina in the last decade. Other notable events were the Chilean Spotlight cocktail reception followed by the screening of the film, ILLITERATE, by director Moisés Sepúlveda, and the sold-out screening of director Marc Silver’s WHO IS DAYANI CRISTAL? featuring Gael García Bernal.
“We had a record number of sold-out shows for the opening weekend of the twelfth edition of VLAFF,” said Festival Director Christian Sida-Valenzuela. “Not only that, but the attendance at the free screenings at SFU Woodward’s exceeded expectations.”
VLAFF will run all week, starting with a retrospective on the highly acclaimed and much-loved Chilean actor Manuela Martelli, who will be in attendance at all three of her screenings. On Thursday evening, the Brazilian Gala will feature the film THE WAY HE LOOKS by director Daniel Ribeiro, with actor Fabio Audi in attendance.
As part of the Canada Looks South Program, this Saturday, VLAFF will be showing three films with all three directors in attendance. For the first time ever at the festival, there will be a mixed media performance for DOUBLE EXPOSURE. Director and composer Edgardo Moreno will be using video, pre-recorded and live music as well as real-time sound manipulation tell a story of immigration. The additional two films screening as part of this section are WE WERE THERE by director Sandra Rodríguez, and THE INTERRUPTED CHILEAN by by Camilo Martín-Flórez.
”This year we have had guest directors from Chile, Bolivia, the Basque region in Spain and more,” said Sida-Valenzuela. “Guest directors have engaged the audience in stimulating dialogues and have taken the festival to the next level.”
The festival is coming to a close on September 7 with the animated film ANINA by director Alfredo Soderguit. Back by popular demand is the film WHO IS DAYANI CRISTAL? which will be playing on September 7 at 7:30 pm. Tickets to screenings and galas can be bought online at www.vlaff.org, at the box office at The Cinematheque, or through the mintyfusion app.
About the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival:
VLAFF is a registered non-profit charitable organization and the largest annual festival of Latin American film in Canada. The festival promotes dialogue among cultures and explores the art of contemporary Latin American cinema through the eyes of its filmmakers. Since 2003, VLAFF has provided audiences with the unique opportunity to watch inspiring films and interact with guest filmmakers from across Latin America and the diaspora. For more information please visit: http://www.vlaff.org.
