Thursday, October 18, 2007

VIFF 2007 Sets Box Office Record...

Click images to enlarge...

Sneak Peek's Michael Stevens @ VIFF 2007...

Thanks to enthusiastic film fans and new media exposure, the annual Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) broke the $1 million box office mark for the first time in its 26 year history.

Here are the figures:

Attendance: 148,360
Films: 337 (232 features + 105 shorts)
Screenings: 598 (+ 50 media screenings)
Accredited Industry Guests: 400
World Premieres: 15
International Premieres: 31
North American Premieres: 37
Canadian Premieres: 40

Vancity People's Choice Award for Most Popular Canadian Film:

"She's A Boy I Knew", dir. Gwen Haworth (British Columbia)


"The Union: The Business Behind Getting High" (Runner-up) dir. Brett Harvey (British Columbia)


Also among the most popular Canadian features, in order of voting:

Yung Chang’s "Up the Yangtze"; Jeremy Podeswa’s "Fugitive Pieces" (Canada/Greece); Carl Bessai’s "Normal"; Jean-François Pouliot’s "Guide de la Petite Vengeance"; Tracy D. Smith’s "Taming Tammy"; Patrick Huard’s "Les 3 P'tits Cochons"; Laurie Lynd’s "Breakfast with Scot"; Guy Maddin’s "My Winnipeg"; Mark Leiren-Young’s "The Green Chain"; Suzanne Chisholm, Michael Parfit’s "Saving Luna"; Kari Skogland’s "The Stone Angel"; Martin Gero’s "Young People F*cking"

Rogers People's Choice Award for Most Popular International Film:

"Persepolis", dir. Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud (Iran/France)


People's Choice Award for Most Popular International Nonfiction Film:

"Garbage Warrior", dir. Oliver Hodge (UK)


Kyoto Planet 'Climate for Change' Award ($25,000):

"The Planet", dir. Michael Stenberg, Johan Soderberg, Linus Torell (Sweden)


Dragons and Tigers Award for Young Cinema ($10,000) sponsored by Brad Birarda:

Shared by "Fujian Blue" (Jin Bi Hui Huang), dir. Robin Weng (Weng Shouming) (China)
and "Mid-Afternoon Barks" (Xiawu Gou Jiao) dir. Zhang Yuedong (China)

Special Mention:

"Obah: A Girl's Older Brother" (Joyong Palae Changkok), dir. Kim Jong-Guk (South Korea)


Citytv Western Canadian Feature Film Award ($12,000):

"Normal", dir. Carl Bessai (British Columbia)


Special Mention:

"Young People F*cking", dir. Martin Gero (British Columbia/Ontario)


National Film Board of Canada Best Canadian Documentary Feature Award ($2,500):

"Up The Yangtze", dir. Yung Chang (Quebec)


Special Mention:

"The Suicide Tourist", dir. John Zaritsky (British Columbia)


Women In Film and Television Vancouver Artistic Merit Award:

Gwen Haworth for "She's A Boy I Knew"


Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film ($2000 + $5,000 Avid software):

"The Windfisherman", dir. Anna McRoberts (British Columbia)


VIFF is a not-for-profit cultural organization that also operates the Vancouver International Film Centre, year-round film programming at the Vancity Theatre and the annual Film and Television Forum...