Having been a long time support of Vancouver International Film Festival otherwise known as VIFF, I was right chuffed to land a seasonal contract position, creating content and managing their social media during their festival season.
Over the years, I had seen many films or attended events, like last year’s RZA: Live from the 36th Chamber of Shaolin. But now I was privy to all the behind-the-scenes planning on how to mount a large scale event which sees over 100,000 people attending the festival each year. Not only was I able to access most screenings, but I also got to sit in on Master Classes, Creator Talks, and live events, as well as, be all fancy for the Opening and Closing galas.
The 10 week stint packed a wallop though. The workload was hella intensive. For 3 weeks straight leading up to and during the festival, I pulled 24 to 30 hours of overtime on top of 40 hours. Each week. But that is the norm when it comes to productions. Remember my job at Vancouver Opera? VIFF was hella exhausting and left me with zero down time, but like working at Vancouver Opera, I enjoyed all the buzz and excitement. Especially upon reflecting after the festival wrapped.
Here are just some of the cool things I got up to at VIFF:
Worked the red carpet on the opening night gala.
IG Live with Phillip Youmans, the 19 year old director of Burning Cane, who won all kinds of accolades. Plus his film was picked up by filmmaker and distributor Ava DuVernay’s company, Array. DuVernay was the first black woman director to be nominated for Oscar best picture for Selma.
Live coverage of VIFF Creator Talk with Academy Award nominated costume designer Arianne Phillips, whose illustrious career include Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Kingsman: Golden Circle, The Crow, Tank Girl, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Walk the Line, A Single Man, and W.E. Basically she has my dream career.
Oh and Phillips was Madonna’s personal stylist for the past 20 years and outfitted her music videos, red carpet moments and 6 of her tours.
Hey-oooo! Sitting in at the Creator Talk with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia‘s Rob McElhenney and laughing my ass off at his stories. He was so engaging that I started to watch the show. 14 years late, I know.
Getting my fan girl on at VIFF Amp’s keynote with composer Cliff Martinez and ex-Chili Peppers drummer. (that’s me in the front row, fifth from the right!) He’s a frequent collaborator with Steven Soderbergh and Nicholas Winding Refn. Martinez composed the soundtrack for notable movies like Pump Up the Volume, Traffic, Solaris, Wicker Park, Drive, Spring Breakers, Neon Demon, and Hotel Artemis. You know how much I love film scores and even flew to New York to watch composer Clint Mansell perform in a historic church.
Providing live coverage of director Michael Moore’s Creator Talk. Moore was supposed to be talking about the 30th anniversary of Roger and Me which was screened, but we all know that wasn’t going to happen. Instead, most of the riotous conversation with CBC’s Stephen Quinn was of course, all about dragging 45. (I refuse to write his name on my blog)
And then Moore did the coolest thing. He invited the audience to join him for a drink at the nearby Library Square Public House to continue with the Q&A. He’s been a VIFF special guest for a number of years, so he’s totally chill with our crowd and Vancouver.
Sitting in on at Song Exploder Live with Chuck D., as he talks about the 30th anniversary of Fight the Power from Spike Lee’s movie, Do the Right Thing.
What a wild 10 weeks it has been! I feel so lucky to have been a part of this year’s festival. It was hella fun and I got to work with some incredibly hardworking, dedicated, and talented folks in the biz. You know that I’d be up to do it all again next year.
For more VIFF goodness, hit up my Flickr and Instagram Highlights for more photos. For my VIFF coverage and highlights of the festival, check out my Twitter for Moments part 1, part 2, and part 3. Also be sure to check out my work on the VIFF’s Instagram Highlights.
Photos of me taken by: Kat Roman, Alan Franey, Jose Suarez, and Christopher Edmonstone.
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