Director’s Picks For This Years Vancouver International Film Festival

Programming director Alan Franey’s early picks for this year’s VIFF.

THE MEASURE OF A MAN (France)“Vincent Lindon took the best actor award at Cannes this year, playing a man forced to work as a security guard in a supermarket after losing a good job. Most of the cast is made up of non-actors playing themselves. It’s a touching and very real eye-opener into French economics.”STEAK (R)EVOLUTION (France)“This globe-trotting documentary looks at best practices and traditions in cattle rearing and ecology—as well as the different cooking traditions—found from Argentina to Scotland to Japan. It’s beautiful to go from country to country and see people working in the fields with animals.”VICTORIA (Germany)“A cinematic treat, all shot in one take—no cuts at all. The script is also truly gripping, forcing you to constantly re-evaluate your view of the characters as you spend a summer’s night with them. Unexpected and wonderful.”VERY SEMI-SERIOUS (USA)“This documentary about the cartoonists at the New Yorker is fascinating. We meet these people and see how the magazine comes together every week. Following these eccentric cartoonists as they try and make sense of life is a brilliant device.”LOVE IS ALL: 100 YEARS OF LOVE AND COURTSHIP (UK)“A beautiful, breezy collage of British movie history, culled from the archives and cut to a soundtrack from ex-Pulp guitarist Richard Hawley. It really is so delightful and romantic.”The Vancouver International Film Festival runs sept. 24 to oct. 9. For showtimes and more information, see Viff.org