Upfront with Row Three for VIFF

With 575 screenings one can get lost in the cinematic grandeur of the Vancouver International Film Festival that will be taking place from Sept 25 to Oct 10.

By Rebecca Bollwitt Sep 23, 2008 4:58 PMTags
Marina Antunes, VIFFDale McGladdery

With 575 screenings one can get lost in the cinematic grandeur of the Vancouver International Film Festival that will be taking place from September 25 - October 10. I've already had the chance to sift through the catalog however I also decided to sit down with someone who has her finger on the pulse of all things 'film' in Vancouver.

Marina Antunes is a co-host of the After the Credits podcast on RowThree.com and has been attending the VIFF since 1995. Row Three has become such an authority in local film that the VIFF listing to Atom Egoyan’s Adoration features a link to the trailer on their site.

Antunes definitely has her favourites, such as Deepa Mehta, whose film Heaven and Earth will be at the VIFF, as well as Mothers & Daughters by Carl Bessai, “if his name is on it, I’m there to watch it.”

However, aside from some of the big names we've been hearing about from coast to coast so far, she digs a little deeper by letting her movie-blogosphere knowledge shine through blogging, podcasting and using the micro-blogging platform, Twitter.

Across the web so far Religulous, starring Bill Maher, is getting heat from religious groups (as can probably be expected) but being a film from Borat director Larry Charles means that it will also be full of hit-and-run punch lines, and ridiculous entertainment value. It will be distributed by Vancouver-based studios Lions Gate on October 3rd but you can catch it at the VIFF on September 27th and 28th.

After its showing at TIFF, everyone in Vancouver has an interest in JCVD, and not only because the man himself, Jean-Claude Van Damme also owns an entire penthouse floor in the Shaw Tower. Antunes says that, "By all accounts it's an awesome flick. Not as action-packed but apparently, The Muscles from Brussels can act!"

She is also really looking forward to, "the little vampire movie from Sweden, Let the Right One In. It won at Tribeca and the reviews have all been really positive,” as well as Tokyo! "Unless you're in the far reaches of the internet, you probably haven't heard the buzz about it but it looks crazy. The trailer is so bizarre, I have to watch it!"

Throughout the interview Marina was flipping through a printed schedule of the films, but she's also praised the VIFF for how they have sorted everything online from PDF downloads to introducing MyFest, a personal way to sort your VIFF schedule online.

You can check out the latest episode of After the Credits on RowThree.com, featuring an audio VIFF preview and keep checking Eonline.com throughout the festival for the latest updates from Vancouver.

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