Arts & Entertainment VIFF Reviews: Round Two Vancouver International Film Festival, September 27 to October 12 By Duncan DeLorenzi Garage (Ireland, 2007) This unassuming and deceptively simple film provides a glimpse into the sometimes lonely, but mostly contented world of a man with willfully good intentions. When Josie’s boss shrewdly asks him if he wouldn’t mind working some extra hours on weekends, Josie — being the slightly simple-minded and eager to please man that he is—accepts the extra workload with pleasure. As the sole employee of his boss’ dilapidated gas station in a small Irish town, Josie enjoys simple things like feeding apples to horses and listening to the rugby match on the radio. Though he is mocked and taken advantage of by the local guffs down at the pub, he persistently maintains an agreeable countenance which inevitably wins him community recognition and protection. When he is presented with a new employee, 15 year- old David, Josie welcomes him, even going so far as to invite him to enjoy a few cans of beer after work. However, small towns being what they are and people making the assumptions that they do, it is not long before this small act of kindness lands him in hot water. Josie’s honest search for friendship demonstrates the frustration and sacrifice often made by the easily misunderstood. Quietly affecting, this film won’t fail to touch even the most cynical among us. Garbage Warrior (Great Britain, 2006) An innovative and fiery architect by the name of Michael Reynolds started experimenting with building sustainable housing in New Mexico in the 1970s. Dubbed “earthships” his homes are built with old tires, empty bottles, and whatever other garbage happens to be available during construction. The interesting thing is that much of what constitutes “garbage” in America actually makes for fabulous building materials. Reynolds’ building designs are mostly sustainable and his buildings generate their own electricity, collect their own 10 water, and trap their own heat. They are also remarkably artistic and aesthetically pleasing. Not one for fancy titles or even experience when looking for workers, Reynolds chooses his partners based on his own idea of humanity. His problems basically start and end with the county, the state, and the American Architectural Association, who all decry his designs as unsafe, untried, and therefore illegal. Despite his eco-friendly intentions, it seems the legal world is utterly opposed to him and his wild ideas. Ironically, it is the helplessness that emerges after a natural disaster which ultimately becomes the catalyst for reconsidering the plausibility of his designs. One of the most remarkable aspects of this film is not necessarily the extraordinary nature of Reynolds’ innovative building ideas, but his determination to push on in the face of overwhelming adversity. At a time when our planet is facing imminent catastrophic devastation from the effects of global warming, here is affirmation that there are still members of our society who will voluntarily undertake enormous personal risk in order to affect positive change. Anyone concerned about the environment or global warming, and any and all who welcome the idea of change with respect to how we should be living our lives in the 21* century should make a point of seeing this film. (Winner: People’s Choice Award for the Most Popular International Nonfiction Film) The Band’s Visit (Israel, 2007) A concert police band from the Egyptian city of Alexandria lands in Israel with the intention of playing a show at a local Arab Cultural Centre. However, they take the wrong bus from the airport and wind up in the wrong small town. Under the leadership of the very stoic chief, who is also the band’s conductor, they get set to walk along the dusty, barren highway in search of the right place. But the hungry band members convince the chief to stop at the town’s local diner for lunch first. The woman running the place takes pity on this obviously stranded motley bunch and decides she will help them by putting them all up for the night. She convinces some of her employees, as well as a friend of hers, to help out by each taking a couple of them home. The unique situations that the band members and their patrons all find themselves in make for very humourous and entertaining scenes where cultural differences are often either made light of or pushed aside completely. The universality of the human condition is delightfully revealed through the feelings of the characters amidst their awkward situation. The filmmaker successfully manages to reveal the struggles with which people from opposing political and cultural regions interact with each other. The most resonant feeling I was left with after viewing this film was the profound revelation that unexpected moments of intimacy can arise just about anywhere, at any time, and take any one of us by surprise—a truly wonderful film, and one of my favourites at the festival this year. Award Winners at. the 2007 VIFF: It was a very successful festival this year with the number of admissions meeting or exceeding expected targets at just under 150,000. Juried Awards: Kyoto Planet Climate Change Award: Swedish film The Planet, by directors Michael Stenberg, Johan Soderberg and Linus Torell (includes a $25000 cash prize) Citytv Western Canada Feature _ Film Award: Vancouver director Carl Bessai’s film Normal (includes a $ 12 000 cash prize) Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film: BC director _ Anna McRoberts for the film The Windfisherman (included a $ 2000- anonymously donated-cash prize and a _ $5000 Avid Media Composer software package donated by Avid Technology Inc.) : Award: Quebec’s Yung Chang for the film Up the Yangtzey (includes $ 2500 in development money to go towards director’s next NFB documentary) Women in Film & Television Vancouver Artistic Merit Award: director Gwen Haworth for her film — She’s a Boy I Knew Audience Awards: Rogers People’s Choice Award for Film: Persepolis, directed by Marjane — Satrapi of Iran and Vincent Paronnaud of France Vancity People’s Choice Award for the Most Popular Canadian Film: She’s a Boy I Knew by Vancouver filmmaker Gwen Haworth People’s Choice Award for the Most Popular International Nonfiction Film: Garbage Warrior by UK — director Oliver Hodge Previously Announced Awards: Dragons & Tigers Award for Young Cinema: China’s Robin Weng for the film Fujian Blue and China’s Zhang Yuedong for the film Midafternoon Barks (the $ 10 000 cash prize was shared between the two)