As the 43rd edition of the Vancouver International Film Festival drew to a close, I couldn’t help but reflect on the previous twelve editions of the festival I’ve attended (two virtually) and whether the films I’ve seen there over the years had gained new audiences or faded into oblivion. Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash, my favourite title of VIFF ‘14, recently had a 10th anniversary theatrical re-issue while I can’t find hide nor hair of Peter Benson’s Marrying the Family, a quirky found-footage comedy from VIFF ‘16.
VIFF has screened literally thousands of titles since its inaugural edition in 1982, just as hundreds of new movies are released to theatres, TV and streaming every year. Only a handful of these titles manage to stick in the cultural consciousness, whether through winning awards, making critics top ten lists, or via good old fashioned box office success. I couldn’t help but wonder how many famous titles may have screened at VIFF over the years. It may not have the prestige or star power of TIFF, but there were bound to be some titles of note.
Luckily for me, almost all the VIFF programs are available for reference at the downtown branch of the Vancouver Public Library. I decided to peruse a random selection of printed programs to see which titles had earned their place in the collective cultural canon. I found the search so rich and engaging that I decided to turn this search into a series. This first entry consists of titles from five editions of the festival in the 1980s and 1990s, including the first.
1st Annual (1982) – THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION
Over a decade before she would leave her mark on popular cinema with Wayne’s World, Penelope Spheeris ruffled some feathers with this doc examining the LA punk rock scene. This searing look at a rebellious and nihilistic subculture raised the ire of then-LAPD chief Daryl Gates who infamously wrote a letter demanding the film not be screened in the city.
Instead, Spheeris decided to make two sequels, released in 1988 and 98 respectively. The first entry was eventually selected for preservation by the Library of Congress in 2016.
Also featured: The Making of Raiders of the Lost Ark
4th Annual (1985) – BREWSTER’S MILLIONS
After making a career in action and thriller films, Walter Hill tried his hand at comedy with the fifth screen adaptation of the 1902 novel by George Barr McCutcheon. This ageless tale of a man challenged to spend piles of money while ending up with nothing to show for it in order to claim a larger inheritance proved a winning vehicle for legendary Richard Pryor and then-rising Canadian star John Candy and has since become the popular default version of the timeless story.
Interestingly, Brewster’s Millions was billed as a world premiere at VIFF, showing the day before its wide release in North America. It’s iMDB page has now been updated. 😉
Also featured: The Plague Dogs, Aces Go Places III
8th Annual (1989) – AKIRA
“If you haven’t seen Akira, then you haven’t seen anime” an old friend in junior high once told me. While far from my favourite animated work to be exported from Japan, Akira is undeniably a landmark sci-fi film that takes the art of hand drawn animation to heights that CGI could never hope to match. Often imitated but never equaled, Katsuhiro Otomo’s masterpiece remains a starling touchstone in the history of both anime and cinema itself. I wish I could’ve seen it on the big screen when it was new.
Also featured: Drugstore Cowboy, Twin Peaks pilot, Mr. Canton and Lady Rose
11th Annual (1992) – RESERVOIR DOGS
The unquestionable king of film geeks everywhere, Quentin Tarantino practically exploded onto the scene with his heist drama that uniquely neglected to actually show the heist gone wrong. With the participants gathered at the rendezvous point, the temperature slowly rises to the boiling point as the increasingly paranoid criminals attempt to suss out the rat amongst them. Both deplored and adored for its boundary-pushing violence (more implied than shown), Reservoir Dogs launched the career of a man who is either the auteur of auteurs, or a video-store clerk who just got lucky, depending on your level of snobbery.
Also featured: Braindead, Hard Boiled, The Crying Game
16th Annual (1997) – THE SWEET HEREAFTER
Lest you think I’m only highlighting International and Hollywood films here, I’m pleased to point out that VIFF ‘97 was a banner year for Canadian film with the standout arguably being Atom Egoyan’s finest work. Making a rare sojourn to BC, the Ontario-based Egoyan weaves a rich tale of a small town dealing with a tragic school bus crash and an out-of-town lawyer convincing them to sign onto a class-action lawsuit against the town for negligence.
What could’ve been undercooked movie-of-the-week material in less capable hands is transformed into an emotional roller coaster that captured the hearts of critics and audiences plus two Academy Award nominations to boot. Bonus points for introducing this writer to The Tragically Hip’s hit single “Courage”.
Also featured: Cube, Twilight of the Ice Nymphs, The Big One