VIFF Podcast

In this VIFF podcast episode, we’re featuring a special talk from the 2021 Vancouver International Film Festival with Jonas Poher Rasmussen, the writer & director behind the Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning film, Flee.

Blurring the line between documentary and narrative filmmaking styles, Flee tells the personal story of pseudonymous Amin Nawabi (a longtime friend of Rasmussen’s) and his harrowing journey as a child refugee from Afghanistan.

Using a blend of animation and archival footage as both an aesthetic choice and an ethical necessity (to hide Amin’s true identity), the film is an illuminating and heartrending true story about the importance of personal freedom in all its meanings.

Speaking to Brishkay Ahmed, writer/director of In the Rumbling Belly of Motherland, Rasmussen discusses how he employed a technique he learned when working in radio to elicit descriptive memories from Amin, his unique editing process and how Riz Ahmed came on board as a co–executive producer.

This conversation was recorded on October 6, 2021.

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This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

The Greater Vancouver International Film Festival Society is a not-for-profit cultural organization that operates the internationally acclaimed Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF), the year-round programming of the theatres at the VIFF Centre and the online streaming platform, VIFF Connect. See what's playing now.

As a nonprofit cultural organization, VIFF relies on community support to help make everything we do possible.  You can show your love of cinema by making a tax-deductible gift to VIFF. goviff.org/donate

This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.

Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

This week on the VIFF podcast, we’re featuring a conversation from our year-round virtual Creator Talk series with Dune Production Designer, Patrice Vermette

When it comes to making movies, it’s a production designer’s job to transport audiences to a different world. But in the case of Denis Villeneuve’s epic sci-fi film Dune, that also involved creating entire planets.

To pull off the godlike feat, Villeneuve teamed with frequent collaborator and fellow Canadian Patrice Vermette, a two-time Oscar-nominee who has dreamed up the sets for films such as Arrival, Sicario, and The Young Victoria.

Speaking to production designer, David Brisbin, Patrice shares his process and expertise in creating the incredibly detailed sets and immersive environments for Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal bestseller, Dune.

Recorded November 20, 2021.

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This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

The Greater Vancouver International Film Festival Society is a not-for-profit cultural organization that operates the internationally acclaimed Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF), the year-round programming of the theatres at the VIFF Centre and the online streaming platform, VIFF Connect. See what's playing now.

As a nonprofit cultural organization, VIFF relies on community support to help make everything we do possible.  You can show your love of cinema by making a tax-deductible gift to VIFF. goviff.org/donate

This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.

Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

Hello! And welcome to the VIFF Podcast – a place to revisit some of our favourite conversations recorded at the Vancouver International Film Festival and year-round.

We’re back with another season of in-depth interviews with some of the film industry’s most exciting creators including the Production Designer for sci-fi epic, Dune , Patrice Vermette; Editor of The Suicide Squad, Fred Raskin; The Green Knight Production Designer, Jade Healy; House of Gucci cinematographer, Dariusz Wolski, and many more!

We’ll be kicking things off on January 19th, 2022, with new episodes every two weeks. So hit subscribe in your favourite podcast app to get each one as it drops. 

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This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

As a nonprofit cultural organization, VIFF relies on community support to help make everything we do possible.  You can show your love of cinema by making a tax-deductible gift to VIFF. goviff.org/donate

This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.

Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

In this episode, Emmy Award-winning production designer Mark Friedberg dives into the process behind creating the iconic cinematic worlds of films such as The Ice Storm, Joker, If Beale Street Could Talk, Selma and Barry Jenkins' limited series adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel for Amazon Studios, The Underground Railroad.

Speaking to writer and film critic Nathalie Atkinson at VIFF 2020, Friedberg discusses collaborating with a long list of beloved directors including Ang Lee, Wes Anderson, Barry Jenkins, Ava DuVernay and Todd Haynes.

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This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

We've taken our VIFF Talks online with a series of virtual events lined up over the coming weeks, including conversations with The Underground Railroad and Moonlight editor, Joi McMillon and director of WandaVision, Matt Shakman.  Keep an eye out for upcoming events at goviff.org

VIFF is running an online cinema on VIFF Connect, showcasing a program of compelling films for you to stream from the comfort of your home.  View what's streaming.

You can show your love of cinema by making a tax-deductible gift to VIFF. goviff.org/donate

This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.

Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

In this episode, Joel Bakan and Jennifer Abbott join us for a conversation to dissect their approach to The Corporation follow-up. 

After Mark Akbar and Jennifer Abbott transformed VIFF audiences in 2003 with The Corporation, Bakan and Abbott returned to the 2020 Festival with  The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel. 

Refreshing the corporation’s evolution as a legal "person" to a virtue signalling chameleon, the second film is a comprehensive exploration of power and hypocrisy in the face of a growing resistance. 

Speaking to NDP Candidate and lawyer Niki Sharma, Bakan and Abbott take the conversation beyond the screen, expanding on why, seventeen years on, the urgency for an update was essential.

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This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

We've taken our VIFF Talks online with a series of virtual events lined up over the coming weeks. Keep an eye out for upcoming events at goviff.org

VIFF is also running an online cinema on VIFF Connect, showcasing a program of compelling films for you to stream from the comfort of your home.  View what's streaming.

You can show your love of cinema by making a tax-deductible gift to VIFF. goviff.org/donate

This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.

Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

In this episode, we’re joined by one of the most iconic musical voices in the world. 

From his start in 1980 as trumpeter with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra to his collaboration with Spike Lee on Da 5 Bloods (for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score), Terence Blanchard has been an idol in the worlds of jazz, theatre, film and television. 

Headlining the 2020 VIFF AMP Music in Film Summit, Terence joined Variety journalist and editor Jazz Tangcay in a keynote event. 

He talked about growing up in the New Orleans jazz scene, how he found his path to becoming a film composer on Spike Lee’s School Daze, dissecting the score to BlacKkKlansman and why writing for film requires you to “put your ego aside”.

VIFF AMP is a Music in Film Summit dedicated to inspiring emerging composers and music supervisors. The annual summit features a powerhouse lineup of world-class creative experts and decision-makers from the music and film/TV industry.
Sign up for AMP News to get the latest announcements.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

We've taken our VIFF Talks online with a series of virtual events lined up over the coming weeks. Keep an eye out for upcoming events at goviff.org

VIFF is also running an online cinema on VIFF Connect, showcasing a program of compelling films for you to stream from the comfort of your home.  View what's streaming.

You can show your love of cinema by making a tax-deductible gift to VIFF. goviff.org/donate

This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.

Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

In this episode, we’re joined by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Charlie Kaufman who shares insights into his Netflix adaptation of Iain Reid’s novel I’m Thinking of Ending Things – a tightly wound metaphysical thriller that tackles our assumptions about identity and relationships in Kaufman’s signature surrealistic style. 

Speaking with VIFF’s Associate Director of Programming, Curtis Woloschuk at the 2020 Festival, Kaufman discusses why he was drawn to adapting Reid’s novel for the screen, the challenges of filming the long driving scenes and how his work leaves a lot open for viewer interpretation.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

We've taken our VIFF Talks online with a series of virtual events lined up over the coming weeks. Keep an eye out for upcoming events at goviff.org

VIFF is also running an online cinema on VIFF Connect, showcasing a program of compelling films for you to stream from the comfort of your home.  View what's streaming.

You can show your love of cinema by making a tax-deductible gift to VIFF. goviff.org/donate

This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.

Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

In this episode, filmmakers Eliza Hittman, Director of Never Rarely, Sometimes Always, Kris Rey, Director of I Used To Go Here and Amy Seimetz, Director of She Dies Tomorrow, discuss how they navigated the disrupted 2020 festival-circuit to ensure their stories were brought to life – earning them multiple awards and rave reviews along the way.

This conversation is hosted by VIFF’s Associate Director of Programming, Curtis Woloschuk and was recorded at the Festival’s 2020 Totally Indie Day – a gathering space for emerging filmmakers and independent creators to share stories, gain insights, and learn more about the art and business of cinema.

We've expanded our Totally Indie programming into year-round with a series of Indie Spirit talks to celebrate bold independent filmmaking. Detailing how influential directors guide their ambitious projects from the page to the screen, these sessions offer the next generation of storytellers insights into how to employ both vision and resourcefulness.

Register for the online Indie Spirits talks with documentarians Lance Oppenheim (Some Kind of Heaven) and Elizabeth Lo (Stray) on March 30, 6pm PST and with director Emma Seligman (Shiva Baby) on April 12 goviff.org/year-round-talks

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This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

We've taken our VIFF Talks online with a series of virtual events lined up over the coming weeks. Keep an eye out for upcoming events at goviff.org

VIFF is also running an online cinema on VIFF Connect, showcasing a program of compelling films for you to stream from the comfort of your home.  View what's streaming.

You can show your love of cinema by making a tax-deductible gift to VIFF. goviff.org/donate

This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.

Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

In this episode, we’re joined by the creators behind two of the most audaciously funny series of the last year. 

Tony McNamara is the creator of the Emmy-nominated The Great, a genre-bending, anti-historical ride through 18th-century Russia – following the wildly comedic rise of Catherine the Nothing to Catherine the Great.

Tony is joined by Peabody Award-winning Alena Smith, creator of Dickinson – a coming of age story featuring Hailee Steinfeld that takes place during Emily Dickinson's era with a modern sensibility and tone.

In this talk recorded at VIFF 2020, Tony and Alena chat with host Noelle Carbone (Executive Producer, Coroner) about crafting comedic language through the ages and why period pieces are no longer just about petticoats and pretentiousness.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

We've taken our VIFF Talks online with a series of virtual events lined up over the coming weeks. Keep an eye out for upcoming events at goviff.org

VIFF is also running an online cinema on VIFF Connect, showcasing a program of compelling films for you to stream from the comfort of your home.  View what's streaming.

You can show your love of cinema by making a tax-deductible gift to VIFF. goviff.org/donate

This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.

Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

In this episode, we revisit a conversation with Bill Lawrence – the creator behind hit sitcoms Scrubs, Cougar Town, Spin City, and the animated series Clone High. 

Joining us online as part of our 2020 virtual Creator Talk series, Bill shared a behind the scenes look at his latest big-hearted comedy Ted Lasso. 

The Apple TV+ show finds Jason Sudeikis recruited to manage an English Premiere League soccer team, despite having no experience in the role (or even a clear concept of the sport). The series, which proves that comedy and sincerity can be potent strike partners, has garnered a lot of awards season buzz, with nominations across SAG, Golden Globes, Critics Choice, Writers Guild Awards and more.

Speaking to Warrior Nun Creator Simon Barry, Bill discusses mixing sensibilities in the writers’ room, and why some of the best comedies are the ones with a little bit of heart.

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This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

We've taken our VIFF Talks online with a series of virtual events lined up over the coming weeks. Register now for our Creator Talk with the veteran writers of Bob's Burgers and creators of the new animated sitcom, The Great North, Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin. Happening February 23, 6PM PST. Tickets: http://goviff.org/ct-the-great-north

VIFF is also running an online cinema on VIFF Connect, showcasing a program of compelling films for you to stream from the comfort of your home.  View what's streaming.

You can show your love of cinema by making a tax-deductible gift to VIFF. goviff.org/donate

This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.

Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.