BIRDERS: THE CENTRAL PARK EFFECT

USA | Dir: Jeffrey Kimball

Related Links: Trailer

International Premiere

Sat. Sep 29, 2:00 pm, Granville 6
Mon. Oct 8, 3:15 pm, Granville 1
Wed. Oct 10, 6:15 pm, Granville 4

The more birds can’t find hospitable landings, the more they need places like Central Park. While Manhattan’s chaos hardly seems conducive to a meditative pursuit like birding, amateur ornithologists flock there to catch glimpses of over 117 species. Bolstered by stellar cinematography, Jeffrey Kimball’s documentary catalogues these beguiling creatures and their equally colourful admirers (including author Jonathan Franzen).

BUY TICKETS

MORE THAN HONEY

Switzerland/Germany/Austria | Dir: Markus Imhoof

Related Links: Trailer

Fri. Sep 28, 11:40 am, Granville 3
Tue. Oct 2, 3:00 pm, Granville 3
Thu. Oct 4, 6:20 pm, Granville 3

Millions of bees have disappeared worldwide over the past few years. Given the importance of bees to life on earth, are we facing a total system collapse? Looking for answers, Markus Imhoof travels from the Alps to the Arizona desert, interviewing experts ranging from beekeepers to scientists. Unlike earlier films on the subject, Imhoof’s offers up a possible solution…

BUY TICKETS

OTHER FILMS WITH A FOCUS ON ANIMALS

STREET DOGS OF SOUTH CENTRAL

USA | Dir: Bill Marin

Related Links: Official Website

International Premiere

Tue. Oct 2, 3:20 pm, Granville 5
Thu. Oct 4, 6:15 pm, Granville 5
Sat. Oct 6, 3:20 pm, Granville 5

Tailing a mutt and her pups as they scour Los Angeles streets for food and shelter, Bill Marin helms a wildlife documentary set in a concrete jungle. A sobering account of the ordeals of 30,000 abandoned canines, the documentary ultimately celebrates their survival instincts and fierce determination.

BUY TICKETS

BESTIAIRE

Canada/France | Dir: Denis Côté

Related Links: Trailer

Sun. Sep 30, 9:30 pm, Granville 1
Mon. Oct 1, 11:00 am, Vancity

Director Denis Côté weaves together beautiful, haunting and disquieting images in this filmic essay. Close, lingering observations of animals in an open-air zoo are both heavy with emotion and intriguing to watch. The result is a fascinating meditation on nature, civilization and human perception.

BUY TICKETS

POSTCARDS FROM THE ZOO

(Kebun binatang)

Indonesia/Germany/Hong Kong | Dir: Edwin

Canadian Premiere

Thu. Sep 27, 8:00 pm, Granville 6
Sat. Sep 29, 1:15 pm, Cinematheque

Edwin’s soft/hard fantasy imagines an abandoned girl who grew up in a zoo… and the magician who led her into the outside world but then left her to cope with sex-work alone. The feeling of yearning, redefined.

BUY TICKETS

FRANCINE

USA/Canada | Dir: Brian M. Cassidy, Melanie Shatzky

Related Links: Trailer | Review | Official Website

International Premiere

Thu. Oct 4, 9:15 pm, Granville 4
Fri. Oct 5, 1:30 pm, Vancity
Fri. Oct 12, 2:00 pm, Granville 6

Newly released from prison, Francine (the restrained yet devastating Melissa Leo) remains isolated and detached, incapable of easing back into society. She begins working with animals, and finds herself growing increasingly isolated from the community. Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky craft "a minimalist, image-based character study that is almost impossibly fragile and yet emotionally robust… Raw, intimate and observed with penetrating acuity."—Hollywood Reporter

BUY TICKETS

LEVIATHAN

USA/France/UK | Dir: Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Véréna Paravel

Related Links: Official Website | Article

Sun. Oct 7, 9:15 pm, Vancity
Tue. Oct 9, 4:15 pm, Granville 2

Off the New Bedford coast, bobbing on the ink-black Atlantic, a roaring vessel harvests nets full of fish from the great deep. Having pushed the boundaries of the documentary form with Sweetgrass (VIFF 09) and Foreign Parts (VIFF 10), Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel now collaborate on a "gorgeous-looking paean to the world of fishing… a breathtakingly lyrical take on the ritualistic hunting process at its center."—Indiewire. But beware! Leviathan is also a monster, an abstract, anarchic horror film. Winner, FIPRESCI prize, Locarno 2012.

BUY TICKETS