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<\/a>But festival director Kathy Kay was able to breathe a sigh of relief after successful fundraising efforts allowed them to keep up with the technology required to screen the latest releases. Along with the Vic Theatre\u2019s brand new digital projector, Cineplex Entertainment has offered the Odeon to accommodate film fest crowds.<\/p>\n
Last year, the festival saw record-breaking attendance, with 22 feature screenings selling out. This is what makes it all worthwhile, according to Kay.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have a full house and people really love the movie, and you can tell that they\u2019re jiving with it, that feels really good,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
And with 17 years of festival planning under her belt, Kay really knows how to get people excited. To top last year\u2019s opening gala, VFF will be hosting a 1960\u2019s-themed event that will bring to life some of the momentous occasions of that vibrant decade. \u201cThis has become one of my favourite things to do,\u201d says Kay, grinning as she talks about the gala.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not all about the mixed drinks and theme parties: the festival is important because it provides an opportunity for the many facets of our identities to play out onscreen.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now mainstream cinema really is black and white,\u201d says Kay. \u201cWith independent film you get a different perspective; people are grey… good people do bad things sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flipping through the 50-plus films in the festival guide, the variety is refreshing: something that big blockbuster films are often unable to offer.<\/p>\n
One particularly interesting looking film is Call Me Kuchu.<\/i> This unsettling documentary exposes the dangers faced by Uganda\u2019s LGBT community amidst the country\u2019s introduction of an anti-homosexuality bill and the murder of gay rights activist David Kato.<\/p>\n
Another documentary that stands out, Finding Vivian Maier,<\/i> gives the audience an intriguing look at a solitary artist introduced to the world through the striking images uncovered in her private photography. Unseen until now, the late Maier\u2019s pictures were discovered at an auction and have become the inspiration and backdrop for this stunning film, directed by John Maloof.<\/p>\n
In addition, VFF makes a point of handing the programming over to voices less represented in the industry. For example, filmmaking is still a very male-dominated art form.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you look in the program guide, there are four feature films that were directed by women,\u201d says Kay.<\/p>\n
As a way to encourage and celebrate female participation, there\u2019s Women in the Director\u2019s Chair, a part of the fest that will feature three films made by women, including the documentary Cyber Seniors,<\/i> directed by Toronto\u2019s Saffron Cassaday.<\/p>\n
Originally an actress, Cassaday decided to get behind the camera for Cyber Seniors.<\/i> In the film, Cassaday and her entirely female crew follow the relationships that bloom out of a program called Cyber Seniors. Developed by Cassaday\u2019s younger sisters, the program teaches seniors how to use computers by pairing them up with a teenage mentor.<\/p>\n
But that isn\u2019t the program\u2019s only goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeniors and teenagers realize that they have a lot more in common than they thought,\u201d says Cassaday, revealing that the film is also about connecting generations.<\/p>\n
And, really, events like the Victoria Film Festival remind us how we all<\/i> have a lot more in common than we thought; the stories on screen can reach out and pull in every one of us, no matter what our background is.<\/p>\n