Around the World in 9 days and 11 films! Now in its sixth year, but visiting Vancouver for the first time, the Global Film Initiative brings an annual program of narrative movies from Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia to audiences throughout North America. The Global Film board includes Pedro Almodovar, Mira Nair, Carlos Reygadas, Lars von Trier, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Each film is selected for its authentic voice, strong cinematics and unique cultural perspective – yet each reminds us of our common humanity and our shared responsibility as global citizens.

The Global Lens series is a branch of the San-Francisco based not-for-profit The Global Film Initiative. The organization provides granting, education and distribution programs for filmmakers from the Global South in an effort to promote cross-cultural understanding. Read more about the GFI in SF360.

Global Lens 2009 program:

MUTUM Dir. Sandra Kogut // Brazil 2007 // 86 min // 35mm
Fri 11 Dec 6.30; Sun 20 7.40

MY TIME WILL COME Dir. Victor Aregui // Ecuador 2008 // 90 min // 35mm
Fri 11 Dec 6.30; Sun 20 7.40

SONG FROM THE SOUTHERN SEAS Dir. Marat Sarulu // Kazakhstan 2008 // 80 min // 35mm
Sat 12 Dec 6.00; Tues 15 8.30

GETTING HOME Dir. Zhang Yang // China 2007 // 101 min // 35mm
Sat 12 Dec 7.45; Fri 18 6.30

THOSE THREE Dir. Naghi Nemati // Iran 2007 // 80 mins // 35mm
Sun 13 Dec 6.00; Sat 19 8.20

THE PHOTOGRAPH Dir. Nan Achnas // Indonesia 2007 // 98 min // 35mm
Sun 13 Dec 7.45; Thur 17 6.30

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD Dir. Faouzi Bensaidi // Morocco 2006 // 94 min // 35mm
Mon 14 Dec 6.30; Sat 19 6.30

SLEEPWALKING LAND Dir. Teresa Prata // Mozambique 2007 // 97 min // 35mm
Mon Dec 14 8.20; Fri 18 8.45

I AM FROM TITOV VELES Dir. Teona Strugar Mitevska // Macedonia 2007 // 102 min // 35mm
Tues Dec 15 6.30; Sun 20 4.00

POSSIBLE LIVES Dir. Sandra Gugliotta // Argentina 2006 // 80 min // 35mm
Weds 16 Dec 6.30; Thurs 17 8.30

MARGARETTE’S FEAST Dir. Renato Falcao // Brazil 2002 // 80 min // 35mm
Sun 20 Dec 6.00

HIGH SCHOOL OUTREACH PROGRAM

The Vancouver International Film Festival is proud to extend the VIFF High School Outreach Program year-round at the Vancity Theatre.  The program offers a unique opportunity for Vancouver-area students to experience the best that international cinema has to offer. Given that an overwhelming number of films distributed in Canada are made in Hollywood, we like to present a program to counter that fact, a program that reflects the Festival's "Same Planet, Different Worlds" theme. Fitting seamlessly with this theme, the Global Film Initiative has developed complimentary educational guides that are specially-designed to encourage students to gain a deeper understanding of different cultural points of view through film studies. Global Lens films Mutum and Getting Home have been included in the High School Outreach Program.

Related Links

For publicity materials for the Global Lens 2009 click here - User: press Password: GFI