IBFF 2013 VANCOUVER completed its week-long run at the Vancity Theatre on August 1 after seven days of sunshine and two nights of citywide fireworks. Fifteen films from eight countries were screened: eight Canadian premieres, two Vancouver premieres, a Special Preview Presentation of a new feature from China, and a number of classics.
“A total pleasure,” said Vancity Theatre manager J. Bradford, adding, “70% of the audience had not been here before!”
Audiences were treated to live Q&A sessions with several of the filmmakers via Skype, and there was a panel discussion on stage following the screening of David Grubin’s The Buddha featuring Vancity Theatre Program Coordinator Tom Charity, The Vancouver Sun columnist Douglas Todd, film critic for The Tyee (and director of programming for DOXA Documentary Film Festival) Dorothy Woodend and Buddhist Film Foundation Executive Director Gaetano Maida. Todd later wrote in The Vancouver Sun that the festival was “deeply refreshing.”
This was the first time the Berkeley, California-based IBFF had been presented in Canada after over a decade of IBFF events in seven countries on three continents. Diverse and provocative programming has always been the hallmark of the IBFF. Vancouver’s Georgia Straight columnist Adrian Mack noted, “It was this kind of imaginative and thoughtful curating that got Vancity programmer Tom Charity interested in the festival, which has made stops around the world in cities including London, Bangkok, and Amsterdam.”
The Vancity Theatre is part of the Vancouver International Film Centre which presents the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) in a number of venues around the city every fall, with over 150,000 seats filled last year. Vancity Theatre offers a varied calendar program throughout the year.
The complete IBFF 2013 VANCOUVER program is available and photos and comments are posted on the Buddhist Film Foundation Facebook page.
