Juno nominated Cris Derksen is an internationally respected Indigenous cellist and composer. Originally from Treaty 8 in Northern Alberta, she comes from NorthTall Cree Reserve on her father’s side and Mennonite homesteaders on her mother’s.
Derksen will introduce audiences to the unforgettable virtuosity that has led to her break-out solo career, while also collaborating with some of Canada’s Finest; Tanya Tagaq, Buffy Sainte Marie, Naomi Klein, and Leanne Simpson to name just a few.
About the Ironworks Series
VIFF Live is giving four Resident Artists the opportunity to immerse themselves in the 2023 Festival and perform at The Ironworks.
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Guest
Cris Derksen
Cellist/Composer
Juno-nominated Cris Derksen is an Internationally respected Indigenous cellist and composer. Originally from Treaty 8 in Northern Alberta, she comes from NorthTall Cree Reserve on her father’s side and Mennonite homesteaders on her mother’s. Derksen’s composition strength lies in her diversity for all artistic fields including dance, theatre, film, television, animation, fashion, podcasts, symphonic, chamber, choral, and installations. She performs as soloist-composer for symphonies and chamber orchestras across Canada and has been commissioned by the Calgary Philharmonic, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Thunder Bay Symphony and Orchestre Metropolitan – Yannick Nézet-Séguin. In 2022 Derksen was the composer for the Canadian Pavilion for the World Expo in Dubai. Her work on the podcast Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s by Connie Walker and Gimlet Media won both a Pulitzer and a Peabody. Derksen is always up for the challenge of bringing an Indigenous perspective to all aspects of sonic storytelling.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Snowtime!
VIFF Kids Club is our monthly family series with films, crafts and more! Doors at 11 am for activities, film at 12 pm. Snowtime! is an epic Canadian winter tale about kids who turn their winter break into the ultimate snowball war.
Little Amelie or the Character of Rain
Baby Amelie believes herself to be a god. Her parents (Belgian diplomats in 60s Japan) can barely cope -- but find the perfect nanny to restore order in this delightful animated feature.
Jay Kelly
In Noah Baumbach's wise and witty comedy, George Clooney plays Jay Kelly, a world-famous movie star touring Europe with his friend and manager, Ron (Adam Sandler). Faced with nagging dissatisfaction, Jay starts to ask himself some tough questions.
Peter Hujar's Day
Ben Whishaw is extraordinary in this conjuring trick of a movie from Ira Sachs (Passages), a minimalist masterpiece recreating a conversation between New York photographer Hujar and writer Linda Rosenkrantz in 1974.
The Librarians
Dispatches from the front line of America's culture wars (and ours too): librarians speak out about the war against ideas, history, freedom of expression and sexual identity, a campaign in which an open mind is the ultimate enemy.
