When: November 4th – 7th

Where: Cinemark Tinseltown (88 W Pender St) and Praxis Theatre (149 W Hastings St)

Admission: $10 evenings / $8 matinees / $7 student and seniors + $2 one-time membership fee

Event Info: for more information, visit www.vaff.org

This year’s annual Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF) will be showcasing the works of many local and international filmmakers for all audiences. The Vancouver Asian Film Festival Society’s mission is to “foster an understanding and appreciation of today’s independent North American Asian filmmakers, while providing a springboard to larger film festivals.” In its fourteenth year, VAFF continues to “represent the often ignored North American Asians caught between two cultures” in hopes to serve as a cultural bridge to link the Asian and non-Asian communities as well as connect the mosaic of Asian communities with each other.

On Sunday, November 7th at 1:45pm, you can check out nine short films at Cinemark Tinseltown Theatre. Three of the nine are animated films made by local Vancouver artists and are highlighted below.

Orizuru (Paper Crane)
Canada, 2009, 4 minutes
DIR: Andy Cheung
(In Japanese and Chinese)

Orizuru (Paper Crane) was directed and almost entirely created by Andy Cheung, a recent graduate of Vancouver Film School’s animation program. The film is a tribute to Sadako Sasaki, a Japanese girl who developed leukemia as a result of radiation from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during World War II. While in the hospital, she began folding paper cranes, hoping to complete one thousand, in order to grant her wish for peace. The film tells this beautiful story through a form of stop motion animation, a time-consuming and labour-intensive process that results in a unique visual style.

Nature on its Course
Canada, 2009, 3 minutes
DIR: Su-An Ng

Nature on its Course is a short mixed media animation produced as a graduation project at Emily Carr University by Su-An Ng. It deals with the relationship of humans and their environment through the character of a hunter. In the words of the director: “The film was inspired by the contrasting differences in attitudes toward our environment, from what I’ve observed living in Singapore and living here in Vancouver.” The film has received much praise at film festivals and in the media. When asked how family and friends reacted to the film, Ms. Ng replied: “They say it has an interesting look and always ask how I did it.”

Winter Memories
Canada, 2010, 5 minutes
DIR: Stephen Arriola

Winter Memories was produced at the Art Institute of Vancouver and won the audience choice award. The characters include a little girl, her dog, and a snowman. I did not have a chance to speak with the director of this imaginative film, but he will be attending the festival screening of his film. The directors of both films described previously will be in attendance as well, so be sure to congratulate them after viewing their films.