THE MONKEY KING—UPROAR IN HEAVEN 3D

(Da nao tian gong)

China | Dir: Su Da, Chen Zhihong

Related Links: Trailer

Classification: G—Violence

Sat. Oct 6, 2:00 pm, Park Theatre
Thu. Oct 11, 7:00 pm, Park Theatre

A grand spectacle, Su Da and Chen Zhihong’s 50th anniversary 3D restoration of China’s most lauded animated feature is truly a special event. Based on the the Ming Dynasty classic Journey to the West, it chronicles the adventures of the magical Monkey King, a mischievous character who creates havoc in the palace of Heaven by refusing to kowtow to the Celestial Jade Emperor… Bring the kids! This film has been classified so that those under 18 may attend. Classification: G—violence. Special price for children 12 yrs or under at the matinee screening: $8.

Advance tickets available only in person at VIFF venues up until two hours before showtime, then half hour before showtime at the door.

A LIAR’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY: THE UNTRUE STORY OF MONTY PYTHON’S GRAHAM CHAPMAN

UK | Dir: Bill Jones, Jeff Simpson, Ben Timlett

Related Links: Trailer

Sat. Oct 6, 4:15 pm, Park Theatre
Thu. Oct 11, 9:15 pm, Park Theatre

Ready for something completely different? In the spirit of Graham Chapman’s five-author, highly fictionalized autobiography, this carnivalesque 3D adaptation/animation enlists three directors (Bill Jones, Ben Timlett, Jeff Simpson), 15 animation studios (each using different techniques) and the remaining Monty Python members (minus Eric Idle) to pay irreverent tribute to "the dead one."

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MCDULL: THE PORK OF MUSIC

(Maidou dang dang ban wo xin)

Hong Kong | Dir: Brian Tse

Related Links: Official Website | Trailer

North American Premiere

Sat. Sep 29, 12:00 pm, Granville 4
Sat. Oct 6, 6:15 pm, Granville 4

Hong Kong’s funniest and most subversively popular avatar, the cartoon piglet McDull, is back in an animated musical by Brian Tse and Alice Mak. Mixing hilarious, weird and deliciously profane humour with ultra-sharp social critique, McDull & Company sing about HK’s uniqueness with a poignant charm all their own.

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ERNEST ET CÉLESTINE

France/Belgium/Luxembourg | Dir: Benjamin Renner, Vincent Patar, Stéphane Aubier

Related Links: Film Clip

Classification: G—No advisory

Sat. Oct 6, 1:00 pm, Granville 7
Mon. Oct 8, 10:30 am, Granville 2

Like-minded Ernest, a busking bear, and Célestine, a boho mouse, forge an interspecies friendship and instantly become a cause célèbre. Teaming with Benjamin Renner, A Town Called Panic’s Vincent Patar and Stéphane Aubier curb their anarchic tendencies and delicately craft "a cautionary fable where friendship tries to stand the test of bigotry and intolerance."—Hollywood Reporter. To be classified so all ages can attend! This film has been classified so that those under 18 may attend. Classification: G—no advisory. Special price for children 12yrs or under at the matinee screening: $8.

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CONSUMING SPIRITS

USA | Dir: Chris Sullivan

Related Links: Article | Trailer

International Premiere

Fri. Oct 5, 8:30 pm, Granville 5
Sun. Oct 7, 5:00 pm, Granville 6
Wed. Oct 10, 9:15 pm, Cinematheque

In this spiralling animated tale, the darkly humorous, seemingly random misadventures of three Rust Belt grotesques coalesce into a single affecting narrative. "Shot frame-by-frame using models, multi-plane paper cutouts and traditional pencil-drawn cartoons… this labor of love from do-it-all animator Chris Sullivan has the same rough-edged, cantankerous charms as the characters that populate it."—Variety

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CARTOON COLLEGE

USA | Dir: Josh Melrod, Tara Wray

Related Links: Official Website | Trailer

Canadian Premiere

Sat. Sep 29, 2:50 pm, Granville 1
Thu. Oct 4, 3:20 pm, Granville 5
Fri. Oct 5, 6:30 pm, Cinematheque

This bittersweet, charming documentary introduces us to some of the world’s greatest graphic novelists, and the extraordinary college in White River Junction, Vermont, where the comic artists of tomorrow get inspired and get to work! Chris Ware, Lynda Barry, Art Spiegelman, Françoise Mouly and Scott McCloud are among the many artists to take us into their imaginative inner lives and craft. The fabulous soundtrack includes an original score by Jason Zumpano.

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PERSISTENCE OF VISION

USA/UK/Canada | Dir: Kevin Schreck

Related Links: Facebook | Trailer | Twitter

World Premiere

Thu. Oct 4, 6:00 pm, Granville 4
Sun. Oct 7, 3:00 pm, Granville 4
Fri. Oct 12, 10:45 am, Cinematheque

Stupendous! After toiling on his masterpiece The Thief and the Cobbler for 28 years, top British animator Richard Williams—famous for Who Framed Roger Rabbit—saw it wrested from his control and savagely recut. Pairing unreleased scenes from Williams’ virtuoso fairytale with horror stories of creativity falling prey to commerce, Kevin Schreck takes us inside "the greatest animated film never made."

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WRINKLES

(Arrugas)

Spain | Dir: Ignacio Ferreras

Related Links: Official Website | Trailer

Canadian? Premiere

Fri. Sep 28, 10:30 am, Granville 7
Wed. Oct 10, 6:45 pm, Vancity

By turns moving and funny, Ignacio Ferreras’ animated tale of two elderly men who become friends at a care facility for the aged "has heart and humour… Wrinkles ranks as an extraordinarily involving and poignant film… likely to inspire laughter and deep sympathy for the characters, if not tears, in equal measure."—SBS Film. Winner, Best Animated Film, Best Adapted Screenplay, Goya Awards 2012.

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ALTERNATIVE ANIME: THE NEXT GENERATION

Japan/South Korea | Dir: Various

International Premiere

Sat. Sep 29, 9:15 pm, Cinematheque
Wed. Oct 3, 2:00 pm, Granville 6
Sat. Oct 6, 10:30 pm, Granville 6

Graphic isn’t the word for this spectacular collection of new indie animation by hot young artists in Japan and South Korea. Expect every type of animation… and maybe at least one big name.

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ENCOUNTERS

Japan | Dir: Takashi Iitsuka

Related Links: Trailer

North American Premiere

Sat. Sep 29, 11:00 pm, Granville 4
Thu. Oct 4, 2:50 pm, Granville 1

It’s Brick Novak’s Diary meets Japanese mad-scientist monster movie with a liberal dose of politeness in this unpolished, cheezy and wonderfully hilarious animated adventure.

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THE END OF TIME

Canada/Switzerland | Dir: Peter Mettler

Related Links: Trailer | Official Website | Facebook

Sat. Oct 6, 3:15 pm, Granville 4
Thu. Oct 11, 9:30 pm, Granville 1

In the years since the transcendental epic Gambling, Gods and LSD (2002), Swiss-Canadian filmmaker Peter Mettler has once again travelled the world amassing mind-blowing images and sensations, which take form in this meditation on a subject we experience daily but rarely take the time to ponder: time itself.

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RECONVERSÃO

Portugal | Dir: Thom Andersen

Related Links: Trailer

North American Premiere

Fri. Sep 28, 6:45 pm, Cinematheque
Mon. Oct 1, 3:20 pm, Granville 5

Thom Andersen (Los Angeles Plays Itself) portrays 17 buildings and unrealized projects by 2011 Pritzker Prize-winning Portuguese "starchitect" Eduardo Souto Moura. Political engagement vies with a fair amount of Andersen’s dry humour as Souto Moura’s reconverted ruins and Andersen’s visual style come together in a Vertovian dialectic.

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TECTONICS

USA/ Mexico | Dir: Peter Bo Rappmund

Related Links: Trailer | Official Website

Canadian Premiere

Mon. Oct 1, 9:45 pm, Vancity
Thu. Oct 4, 12:00 pm, Granville 5

A refreshing antidote to the burgeoning genre of films that focus on illegal immigration and cross-border violence, Peter Bo Rappmund’s experimental portrait of the US-Mexico boundary surveys this wide swath of land’s physical qualities and metaphysical quandaries with an artist’s gaze. Special Mention, Filmmakers of the Present, Locarno 2012.

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