Films for Youth and Families

THE BOY MIR: TEN YEARS IN AFGHANISTAN

UK | Dir: Phil Grabsky | View Trailer

Classification: G (no advisory) | High School Outreach Program

[BOYMI] | Fri. Sep 30, 6:40pm, Granville #4
Sat. Oct 1, 2:30pm, Granville #4
Thu. Oct 13, 1:15pm, Granville #2

Mir is the subject of The Boy Who Plays on the Buddhas of Bamiyan, Phil Grabsky's 2004 documentary that looked at life in Afghanistan for the infectious eight-year-old and his family. Sensing that there was more to tell—and knowing that the delightful Mir was a once-in-a-lifetime subject—Grabsky followed him for ten years. "Makes you laugh and breaks your heart in equal measure."—Village Voice

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CORPO CELESTE

Italy/Switzerland/France | Dir: Alice Rohrwacher | View Trailer

Classification: PG (no advisory) | High School Outreach Program

[CORPO] | Fri. Sep 30, 5:30pm, Granville #6
Sat. Oct 1, 9:00pm, Granville #3
Mon. Oct 3, 1:00pm, Granville #7

Graced by superb naturalistic performances and often truly funny, Alice Rohrwacher's debut dramatic comedy focuses on 13-year-old Marta as she copes with her new life in Reggio, Calabria after a decade in Switzerland. Catholic traditions are strong in her new city, but as Marta prepares to be confirmed, her growing sense of self causes her to question everything.

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DONOVAN'S ECHO

Canada | Dir: Jim Cliffe

Classification: PG (violence; coarse language) | High School Outreach Program

[DONOV] | Sun. Oct 9, 6:20pm, Granville #3
Tue. Oct 11, 1:00pm, Granville #7

Thirty years after a tragic accident, Donovan returns to his family home. Convinced history is repeating itself, he risks everything to save an unsuspecting family from the same fate. Directed by Jim Cliffe, Danny Glover adeptly brings a deeply conflicted character to the screen.

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FIRST POSITION

USA | Dir: Bess Kargman | View Trailer

Classification: G (no advisory)

[FIRST] | Fri. Oct 7, 6:40pm, Granville #4
Sat. Oct 8, 10:30am, Granville #2
Fri. Oct 14, 12:40pm, Granville #5

Six ballet dancers struggle and sacrifice as they endure an arduous year of preparation for the prestigious Youth America Grand Prix. Bess Kargman's documentary captures the high stakes drama that unfolds as these young talents vie to achieve their ultimate goal. Be warned: Ballet is not for sissies.

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THE KID WHO LIES

(Elchico que miente)

Venezuela/Peru | Dir: Marité Ugás | View Trailer

Classification: PG (coarse language)

[KIDWH] | Tue. Oct 4, 8:00pm, Granville #6
Wed. Oct 5, 12:30pm, Granville #6

Using a real-life disaster as inspiration, Marité Ugás spins a yarn about a 13-year-old runaway. Trekking along Venezuela's stunning coastline, the "kid" tells contradictory tall tales about the fate that befell his family during the infamous Vargas mudslides. Just as there's some truth to every lie, there's a wealth of honesty in Ugás' entrancing fiction.

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KORAN BY HEART

USA/UK | Dir: Greg Barker

Classification: G--no advisory

[KORAN] | Sat. Oct 1, 3:20pm, Granville #5
Sat. Oct 8, 1:00pm, Granville #7
Thu. Oct 13, 6:40pm, Granville #4

Perhaps inevitably referred to as "Spellbound in Arabic," Greg Barker's utterly engaging documentary concentrates on a competition in Cairo between 110 young students from across the Islamic world to see not only who has best memorized the Koran, but who can recite it with the most spirit and beauty. "The competition... is nerve-wracking and rich in surprises."—Variety

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KOOKY

(Kuky se vrací)

Czech Republic | Dir: Jan Sverák | View Trailer

Classification: PG (coarse language)

[KOOKY] | Mon. Oct 10, 1:15pm, Granville #7
Tue. Oct 11, 7:00pm, Granville #7

It's amazing what Jan Sverák (Kolya) and his team have achieved here with the simplest of means. Cutting between live actors and a forest alive with puppet and stick animation, Kooky tells of a small, bright-red stuffed toy lost in an adventure fantasy that adults will enjoy as much as children. "The Wind in the Willows meets the early work of Jan Švankmajer."—Variety. In English.

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MISS REPRESENTATION

USA | Dir: Jennifer Siebel Newsom | View Trailer

Classification: PG (coarse and sexual language; violence)

[MIREP] | Fri. Sep 30, 1:15pm, Granville #2
Sun. Oct 9, 6:40pm, Granville #4
Fri. Oct 14, 1:15pm, Granville #2

Outraged by the damage wrought by media misogyny, Jennifer Siebel Newsom issues this angry yet cogent call to arms. Damning statistics speak for themselves while the firsthand accounts of the discrimination endured by high-profile women set the blood boiling. Winner, Audience Award: Documentary, Sonoma 2011.

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MRS. CAREY'S CONCERT

Australia | Dir: Bob Connolly, Sophie Raymond

Classification: G (coarse language)

[MRCAR] | Sat. Oct 1, 4:20pm, Granville #2
Tue. Oct 4, 7:00pm, Granville #1
Sat. Oct 8, 10:30am, Granville #7

A glorious hymn to music and education, this sparkling [documentary] has perfect pitch. Directing team Bob Connolly (Black Harvest) and Sophie Raymond take a backstage look at a school orchestra performance and capture every nuance of the experience, ensuring audiences feel the drama as if it were their own children onstage...—Variety

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NASH--THE DOCUMENTARY

Canada | Dir: Michael Hamilton, Corey Ogilvie

Classification: TBA | High School Outreach Program

[NASHX] | Tue. Oct 11, 6:45pm, Vogue
Thu. Oct 13, 4:15pm, Vogue
Fri. Oct 14, 1:00pm, Granville #7

Directors Michael Hamilton and Corey Ogilvie deliver a delightful profile of BC's most famous basketball player in this exceptional doc. We get to know Nash the player as well as his other personae: entrepreneur, philanthropist, filmmaker and family man.

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ONE LUCKY ELEPHANT

USA | Dir: Lisa Leeman | View Trailer

Classification: G (violence) | High School Outreach Program

[ONELU] | Fri. Sep 30, 6:00pm, Granville #5
Sat. Oct 1, 11:00am, Granville #2
Wed. Oct 12, 12:20pm, Granville #1

After 16 years, circus ringleader David Balding has decided to let Flora, the African elephant he's raised from infancy, retire and rejoin her own kind. Lisa Leeman's "ten-thousand-pound love story" documents just how difficult it is for these longtime companions to say goodbye.

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TASTE THE WASTE

Germany | Dir: Valentin Thurn | View Trailer

Classification: G (no advisory)

[TASTE] | Thu. Oct 6, 12:00pm, Granville #4
Sun. Oct 9, 8:45pm, Granville #5
Tue. Oct 11, 3:20pm, Granville #5

Valentin Thurn's timely and startling documentary on global food waste (did you know that on the way from the farm to the dining-room table, more than half of all food ends up in the garbage?) is both a call to arms and a how-to for doing our best to eliminate this major problem.

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If you are a teacher, know teachers or are parents of High School aged students, you might be interested in VIFF's High School Outreach program. Now in its 14th successful year, the VIFF’s High School Outreach Program offers a unique opportunity for Vancouver-area students to experience the best that international cinema has to offer.

Program Guides Now Available

VIFF's indispensable 220-page full-colour program catalogue is available at the Vancouver International Film Centre and at these fine retailers

Plenty of seats available

Seats still available, but get there early

Rush tickets at the door just before show time; advance tickets sold out