2017 Archives | Otaku No Culture

[Victoria Film Festival 2017] Beware the Girl With All The Gifts & What That Brings …

Plays Feb 10, 9pm
Cineplex Silvercity Tillicum
Victoria, BC

Please check local film festival listings for a screening near you.

* Spoiler Alert

In the movie The Girl With All The Gifts (GWatG), Professor Helen Justineau (Gemma Arterton) and Doctor Caroline Caldwell (Glenn Close) represents opposite sides of a belief in how to deal with a fungal outbreak turning humanity into mindless creatures. They are the walking dead and they are not the traditional kind of zombie Voodoo practitioners would expect. When they are born as children, they seem normal, but as they age, their behaviour and cognitive ability changes. These two academics have to interact with them in order to find a solution to save the world.

Instead, they are at odds with one another. It’s a battle of philosophies between the educator taking on one approach and the doctor who simply wants to cut them up. This film is a nail-biting look which looks at the inevitable. The big question is whether or not these children are indeed children.

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Putting Together “The Hollow Child” — An Interview with Jeremy Lutter and Ben Rollo

When the supernatural is involved, anything can be found in the wilds of British Columbia, where The Hollow Child was filmed. Just what terror is involved, well….

Jeremy Lutter and Ben Rollo behind the scenes of The Hollow Child — (left) Jeremy Lutter (right) Ben Rollo

Plays
Feb 9, 9:00pm and Feb 11, 4:00pm

Silvercity
3130 Tillicum Rd.
Victoria, BC

The supernatural world of malevolent entities is never far in “The Hollow Child.” It’s in the woods and the neighbourhood — a concept director Jeremy Lutter and writer Ben Rollo effectively convey in their debut feature film premiering at the 2017 Victoria Film Festival, which starts today.

One of the telling visuals is how Lutter wanted the woods to appear outside of every window of the abode. Living by the forest can sometimes create a certain air of unease, especially if it’s everywhere. You never know what can thunder out. This danger is effervescent in “The Witch” (2016) and it may have inspired these two when making this work. Instead, in conversation, Lutter mused about the possibility of Rollo having his own dealings with those spirits since he lived by the woods. Part of the experiences seen in this film might be considered autobiographical.

“When living in the West Coast of Canada, it made sense to make the woods scary and have the story focus on the wild vs civilization,” said Lutter.

When the supernatural is involved, anything can be found in the wilds of British Columbia and this movie was filmed here. This province is well-known for its Bigfoot legends than fears over the ‘wee folks, namely gnomes or fairies from European tradition — to which this film takes inspiration from. With this movie, there’s a certain type of ‘tree-folk’ known to cause problems and, according to these filmmakers, the sleepy township is sort of aware of but does not talk about, which adds to this film’s ominous tone.

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The Vintage Tempest’s Picks of 2017 Animated Films to See

Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest) — *By Ed Sum*
*(The Vintage Tempest)*

2017 is upon us, and this year seems light in comparison to last year’s stellar line-up of animated movies and direct-to-video products to must-see. DreamWorks Animation (one of my favourite studios) had three titles, but sadly with The Croods 2 dropped, the remainder does not seem as exciting. Time will tell, however, until official trailers for The Boss Baby and Captain Underpants are released.

In the international front, Tad Jones: The Hero Returns might be fun, though this title ranks more in the honourable mention front. Also coming is Howard Lovecraft and the Underworld Kingdom. No official word has been made yet, but if Arcana Studios is sticking to schedule, we can expect this release in September.

In a holdover from last year’s releases in the film festival circuit, a few reports is suggesting The Red Turtle will get a wider distribution. This winner deserves to arrive at more shores, as it’s a powerful story about a man stranded on a deserted island, and how he connects with a particular turtle. Leading the pack of movies I must see is one that is making rounds at festivals:

Window Horses
(Please check local listings, Q2 wide release)

Director: Ann Marie Fleming

This colourful animation caught my attention when the National Film Board of Canada reported about its West Coast première at the Vancouver International Film Festival. If only it was playing the same or next day when I was in Vancouver, I could have gone to see it. Thankfully it will be getting a wider distribution in the new year.

When considering it is about a young poet of mixed descent going to Iran to learn about her past, I feel she will discover that the world is interconnected in more ways than she realizes. The unique character designs is also another selling point, and I’ll be anxious to see where the plot goes.

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