The funniest, and certainly the furriest movie you will see this year, Hundreds of Beavers channels the zany slapstick shtick of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Bugs Bunny through a videogame quest narrative to retell the eternal saga of Man vs Nature. Man, in this case, is an inebriate applejack distiller, Jean Kayak (Ryland Brickson Cole Tews) who takes up fur trapping to survive a harsh winter. As for nature, the local fauna — beavers, raccoons, horses, skunks — stand tall in mascot costumes with zippers up the back, and they are as plentiful as the title suggests. Unimpressed with Jean’s antics, the critters put up stout resistance.
All proceeds from this screening go to the Vancouver Food Bank.
A marvel of slapstick invention […] puts most big-screen comedies to shame.
Nick Schager, Daily Beast
Soulful silliness… gleefully inventive lo-fi madness… a gag-stuffed wilderness comedy… Gonzo cinema moonshine, distilled from the corny legacy of every loopy genius from Buster Keaton and Tex Avery to Mel Brooks and George Miller. You haven’t experienced anything remotely like it.
Robert Abele, LA Times
This is richly imagined escapist entertainment, a fun machine that opens up rarely used neural pathways and gets you thinking about what cinema could be, in addition to all of the things it already is. Future generations of low-budget filmmakers will derive inspiration and comfort from it. It’s one for the ages: a dam fine movie.
Matt Zoller Seitz, rogerebert.com
Mike Cheslik
Ryland Brickson Cole Tews
USA
2022
English
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Producer
Ryland Brickson Cole Tews
Screenwriter
Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, Mike Cheslik
Editor
Mike Cheslik
Also Playing
Vancouver Mysteries Presents... Murder at the Movies
This summer, enter the world of film noir with a new immersive murder mystery blending elements of film with live performance and audience participation. This show turns the VIFF Centre into a crime scene and you, the audience, into detectives.
Bonnie Northgraves Quintet: To Louis with Love
Join us for To Louis with Love, a joyful celebration of the legendary Louis Armstrong by Bonnie Northgraves and her band, followed by Bert Stern's legendary concert film Jazz on a Summer's Day, featuring Monk, Gerry Mulligan, and of course Satchmo.
Oscar Peterson Centenary Tribute: Triology Plays Peterson
Celebrates Oscar Peterson's centenary with an evening of Canadian jazz and film. Triology — Jodi Proznick (bass), Bill Coon (guitar) and Miles Black (piano) — pays tribute to the legendary Oscar Peterson, followed by cult thriller The Silent Partner.
Women in Blues: LJ Mounteney
Canadian blues vocalist pays LJ Mounteney pays tribute to the pioneering women of the blues and R&B (including Tina Turner and Irma Thomas). After LJ's set, enjoy the Canadian premiere of a new doc on Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton.
Matt Grinke's Happiest Jazz Quintet Play Classic Disney Songs
Enjoy a set of beloved Disney movie tunes given the Matt Grinke treatment, and after the live music, groove to the original 1967 version of The Jungle Book, featuring songs like I Wanna Be Like You, The Bare Necessities and Trust In Me.
Image: © 1967, Disney
Cory Weeds Plays Sonny Rollins
Local sax legend Cory Weeds is joined by pianist Sharon Minemoto, bassist David Caballero and drummer Jesse Cahill to play music from Sonny Rollins' 1957 Riverside Records release The Sound Of Sonny, plus a screening of the acclaimed Saxophone Colossus doc.