The Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) recently announced the reopening of its popular hands-on Sound Lab exhibition. This news is terrific because its a sign that the pandemic is abating, and they are welcoming visitors far and wide.
Also announced is the Ruth E. Carter: Afrofuturism in Costume Design exhibit will open June 18, featuring more than 60 works from films such as Black Panther, Do the Right Thing, Selma, Malcolm X, and more. Also coming are the following events:
By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)
October 28 – November 7, 2021
Vancouver, BC‘s Spark Animation Festival has always been on my radar for years. To finally get to see the short and feature length films offered here meant this organization finally made the call to fully stream all of their programming. This includes the works theNFB has scheduled in this event and include past favourites which I saw at Fantasia.
Last year’s show (pardoning the pun) sparked my interest in watching more of their selections. The timing of this event falls in October, sometimes before Fan Expo Vancouver, which, for a short time, ran in November. The option to attend in-person is often tough because of my budget on how often I can make trips to the mainland.
From the handful of pieces I saw as midnight rolled in, the two annual programs that deserve full attention are:
By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)
We’re a little more than past the halfway point in 2021 and its amazing how time flies. There’s a lot more animation feature films being released than I realized, and had to compile a list of what’s still to come this year. We don’t have to be limited to the theatrical releases either. There’s a tiny selection coming to streaming services only. The bigger name films will no doubt have its run on the big screen before arriving on the smaller one a month or two later, if not at the same time.
In the same token, the film festivals that are operating also have a “virtual” component where they’re making their selection available to stream too. If it’s available to play in your part of the world, I advise checking these works out!
This list includes movies with known release dates:
Kadokawa Animation
Aug 7, 2021 at Fantasia Film Festival 2021
Based on the manga of the same name, this movie is not only a crash course for beginners on how movies get made but also a love letter to the art. We all see it through the eyes of a young girl, Pompo, and this work is sure to please and enlighten.
The organizers behind Victoria Film Festival is pleased to announce that the Free-B Film Festival is back in business! (under current BC Health Guidelines). It’s changed location so everyone can enjoy a clear view of the screen, and make out behind the bleachers (for those who are vaccinated) like Danny and Sandy from the movie Grease–the ultimate Summer movie–and have fun in the final days of summer. The new venue is at the Royal Athletic Park at 1014 Caledonia Ave.
Summer lovin’ is a blast, but to be safe, the company suggests bringing a blanket and booking a space well in advance. There’s only 500 seats available. Doors open at 8 pm.
The Fantasia International Film Festival will be celebrating its 25th edition as a virtual event accessible to audiences across Canada, with a dynamic program of scheduled screenings and premieres, panels, and workshops running from August 5 through August 25, 2021, once again using the leading-edge platform created by Festival Scope and Shift72.
As the summer approaches, the festival will be following advice from local health authorities, with the possibility of also adding a range of flagship physical events to the lineup.
Last summer’s virtual edition was a phenomenal success, screening to 85000 spectators and amassing a record amount of media coverage, with 475 accredited journalists from around the world covering Fantasia and its titles. The lineup showcased 104 features, a quarter of which were World Premieres, with the majority securing distribution out of the festival, with highlights including The Block Island Sound selling to Netflix, Come True to IFC, The Paper Tigers to WellGo USA, Anything for Jackson to Shudder, PVT Chat to Dark Star, and Minor Premise to Utopia.