Canadian Premiere
Veteran filmmaker James Ivory takes a look back at his life in this warm, engrossing documentary. Co-directed with Giles Gardner, A Cooler Climate recalls Ivory’s unfinished film about Afghanistan; those reminiscences are paired with a wider biographical summary, which takes us from his childhood in Klamath, Oregon through his beginnings as a director and his partnerships with producer Ismail Merchant and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Shot in and around Kabul, the Afghanistan footage is notable for its air of mystery as much as for its beauty. Ivory had planned to make a documentary that followed the city’s long, winding river, and there are beautiful shots of sun reflecting off its waters mixed in with what is now a fascinating time capsule. No less engrossing are the reminiscences of small-town life, Hollywood dreams, and beginnings as a documentarian of Venice and India. Ever discreet and tasteful, Ivory discusses his sexuality honestly but without salaciousness. Ultimately, the film is a record of triumph—a moving valediction to a great career.
Series Media Partner
James Ivory
France
2022
Portraits
English
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Producer
Bertrand Faivre
Screenwriter
James Ivory
Editor
Giles Gardner
Original Music
Alexandre Desplat
Directors
James Ivory
James Francis Ivory (born June 7, 1928) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. For many years, he worked extensively with film producer Ismail Merchant, his domestic as well as professional partner, and with screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. All three were principals in Merchant Ivory Productions. Ivory won awards for Best Adapted Screenplay from the Academy Awards, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and many others. Upon winning the Oscar and BAFTA for Best Adapted Screenplay for Call Me By Your Name at the age of 89, Ivory became the oldest-ever winner in any category for both awards.
Filmography: Shakespeare Wallah (1965); A Room with A View (1985); Howard’s End (1992); The Remains of the Day (1993); The White Countess (2005)
Giles Gardner
Giles Gardner has been working with James Ivory for over twenty years. He lives in Paris where he has edited numerous award winning documentaries that regularly appear on the International Festival Circuit.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Giant
This was the Yellowstone of its time: a big, sweeping modern Western built around an imposing ranch and family dynamics -- except Giant is much more subversive. James Dean strikes it rich as Jett Rink, much to the disgust of his former boss, Rock Hudson.
Familiar Touch
A loving portrait of an octogenarian transitioning into an assisted living facility, this award-winning first feature by choreographer Sarah Friedland has a simplicity and warmth that's exceptionally poignant.
Super Happy Forever
This beguiling film depicts a man’s return to the Japanese seaside town where he met his now-deceased wife five years earlier. He tries to relive the past, and in the film's final section -- a flashback to 2018 -- the audience is afforded that privilege.
A Streetcar Named Desire
"I don't want realism. I want magic!" declares Blanche du Bois, the tragic heroine who meets her nemesis in her sister's husband, Stanley Kowalski, in Tennessee Williams' great play. Brando's performance as Stanley is a turning point in American acting.
Georgia O'Keeffe: the Brightness of Light
Drawing on her copious correspondence and the world's leading scholars, this is a definitive documentary on the life and work of "the mother of American Modernism."
