World Premiere
One of the few female monumental sculptors of her generation, feminist artist Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002) is best known for her playfully vibrant, voluptuous Nana statues, which stand proudly as icons of female empowerment in multiple countries’ public spaces.
Combining photos from her own archive with new footage, director Michiko Matsumoto guides us on a joyous retrospective of Saint Phalle’s breathtaking oeuvre. Gallerists, a sociologist, friends, and family weigh in on Saint Phalle’s life and legacy, from her early avant-garde Shooting paintings to her impressive architectural structures that visitors can enter and explore, such as The Dragon, a massive playhouse in Knokke, Belgium. Saint Phalle’s masterwork, The Tarot Garden, in Tuscany, took twenty years to construct. Adorned with stunning hand-laid ceramic and mirror mosaic pieces, her dreamy outdoor sculpture garden depicts the mystical meanings of the Tarot’s 22 Major Arcana.
A portrait of a fascinating woman who rebelled against childhood trauma and the patriarchy through her inspiring works, Viva Niki is a testament to the healing power of art.
Presented by
Supported by
Media Partner
Niki de Saint Phalle
Japan
2024
In English, French, Italian and Japanese with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Producer
Michiko Matsumoto
Screenwriter
Michiko Matsumoto
Cinematography
Michiko Matsumoto
Editor
Takeshi Ikeda
Original Music
Alliance de Chat Noir (Kenji Ueda & Kyoko Koizumi)
Michiko Matsumoto 松本路子
Filmmaker, photographer, and essayist, Michiko Matsumoto was born in Shizuoka, Japan in 1950. She started working as a freelance photographer after graduating from Hosei University in 1973. Matsumoto has published fifteen books of her photographs and essays including Portraits of Women Artists, DANCERS, and Portrait of Niki de Saint Phalle. Her photography is in the collections of museums internationally. Viva Niki – The Spirit of Niki de Saint Phalle is her first feature.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Late Fame
Based on a novella by Arthur Schnitzler (Eyes Wide Shut) this is a sly, poignant comedy about vanity and art from director Kent Jones, starring Willem Dafoe as a mailman belatedly acclaimed for a book of poetry he wrote in his youth.
A Sad and Beautiful World
This Lebanese love story chronicles the romance between a level-headed businesswoman and a romantic restauranteur across several decades in wartorn Beirut. It's funny, charming, melancholy and you'll feel it all.
Hanging by a Wire
The Himalayas, Aug 22, 2023: a cable car bearing 8 passengers (six of them schoolkids) is left dangling 900 feet above the ground when two out of three cables snap. This nailbiting documentary recounts the increasingly frantic rescue attempts.
The Sun Never Sets
At the suggestion of her much older (divorced) boyfriend, Wendy (Dakota Fanning) takes a summer to reevaluate her life and date other people. She's reluctant at first, but then reconnects with an old flame... A gentle indie comedy from Joe Swanberg.