FX’s Shōgun transports us so vividly into the world of feudal Japan that it comes as a surprise that it was shot right here in BC.
This seamless immersion is thanks to Vancouver’s own Michael Cliett (The 100, Vice) and his visual effects team who earned a well-deserved Emmy for their collective efforts as part of Shogun’s record-setting 18 Emmy wins in a single year.
Michael’s crew dedicated countless hours and endless focus to delivering a visually stunning depiction of 17th century Japan with meticulous detail and painstaking historical accuracy.
Join us as Michael delivers a VFX masterclass on the world-building behind the exceptionally conceived and beautifully rendered hit series.
Presented by
Talks Supported by
 |
 |
Community Broadcast Partner
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Michael Cliett
Michael Cliett is an Emmy winning visual effects supervisor, most recently serving as the overall VFX supervisor for the acclaimed series Shōgun for which he won the Emmy for Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Season or Movie. Beginning his career some 20 years ago as a VFX artist on Joss Whedon’s Serenity, he then continued for a number of years as a VFX artist and CG supervisor on some of the top TV shows and films of the time, along with amassing several Emmy nominations. In 2011 he transitioned into VFX supervision while overseeing the VFX on several feature films in India. Upon returning to North America, Michael continued working in a supervisory capacity on shows such as Falling Skies and the Twilight film series. He was the overall series VFX supervisor and VFX producer for the Warner Bros. series The 100, where he also received his 4th Emmy nomination as well as directing a pivotal episode in the final season of the show. When Shōgun came calling, it presented itself as a dream project for Michael. Like so many, Michael is a fan of James Clavell and the classic novel as well as having a real love and fascination with Japanese culture and history. A fascination that started in his childhood while living in Tokyo. And so as ambitious and as challenging as Shōgun promised to be, it would prove to be the perfect fit for Michael. In addition to heading up the visual effects for the show, he also directed many sequences as second unit director.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Short Forum 2: Anthropomaxx
Dogs, frogs, hogs, and more!
The Liberation
Haunted by her past, Rita (a magnificent Carrie Coon) is lured to an all-female commune by a magnetic, manipulative spiritual leader (Lily James). An unsettling yet deeply empathetic exploration of personal freedom, devotion, and control.
Image: © Bleecker Street
Tender Loving Care
Mike Leigh’s film depicts the lives of Amy and Rosie, best friends and fellow social workers, who care for the dispossessed with all the strength they have. Sometimes it's funny, tragic, and often it's balancing both, this is a work of humble compassion.
The Story of Documentary Film – The 2010s & 2020s
In The Story of Documentary Film – The 2010s & 2020s, Mark Cousins follows nonfiction into phones, GoPros, YouTube, TikTok, live streams, and feeds to look at bodily autonomy, surveillance, racism, borders, and truth after vérité.
Image: © Fire of Love, 2022, dir. Sara Dosa, Canada, USA, Sandbox Films, Cottage M, Intuitive Pictures, National Geographic Documentary Films
A Girl Unknown
In this tender, compassionate drama, we see the hardships endured by a young girl adopted in the early 1980s during China’s one-child policy. As a teenager in the 90s, she’s still fighting to find a sense of belonging and assert her worth.
Concrete Land
Filmed over eight years, Concrete Land follows the Najar family, one of Jordan’s last Afro-Palestinian-Bedouin families, as luxury villas close in on their grazing space outside Amman. Asmahan Bkerat preserves their way of life in the face of erasure.