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consciousness Leading the winners of this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival. The film, directed by Banchi Hanuse, won the Tides Award for Best Canadian Documentary. The award comes with a $15,000 prize, courtesy of Rogers.
The film explores the efforts of members of the Nuxalk Nation to restore the beloved Wooligan fish population that has supported families in the Bella Coola region for generations. Hanuse parallels restoration efforts with Nuxalk’s resilience in the face of colonialism. The film depicts the intimate relationship between the participants and the land containing their history. consciousness Previously, it won the Special Canadian Jury Award for Feature Documentary at Hot Docs.
“The mystery of the disappearance of the Ulligan fish from Bella Coola is slowly revealed in this timely and passionate story of the Nuxalk Nation’s efforts to protect and preserve its lands and waters,” the jury said in a statement. “Through beautiful cinematography and original storytelling, this film documents the strength of community members who continue to challenge the boundaries of imposed systems while leveraging the resilience and generosity of their ancestors. The film encourages us to consider how cultural resurgence can serve the collective good.” VIFF’s Canadian Document Award judges were Selwyn Jacob, Lyana Patrick and Jeff Lee Petry. By Carol Nguyen Silent night, burning house Received honorable mention.
Other VIFF winners included Canada’s Oscar bid; Nina RosaIt won the Summit Award for Outstanding Canadian Narrative Feature. Directed by Genevieve Dulude-De Celles, the drama tells the story of a Bulgarian curator’s foray into the Canadian art world. The win comes with a $15,000 cash prize provided by the Directors Guild of Canada and marks a great start for the drama as it begins its Canadian release outside of Quebec. An honorary award was given to Ian Bawa’s drama. Strong son.
Meanwhile, Nyla Innuksuk’s in the heart of the south It won the Horizons Award for outstanding first or second Canadian narrative feature. The art scene satire won a $3,000 prize at the festival for its horror-movie twist on the expectations First Nations, Inuit and Métis creatives face in the cultural world. Nathan Donovan’s clubfoot It received special mention.
Domestically, the Arbutus Award for Outstanding BC Film went to Marie Clements’ magical realist drama. our position It’s a story about two strong-willed sisters who stand up to Canada’s colonial system. The award comes with a $10,000 cash prize from Creative BC and $15,000 in post-production services from Company 3. send rain Hayley Gray and Kaayla Whachell received honorable mentions.
VIFF Jury Awards include overseas winners listen to yellowdirected by Banu Sıvacı, won Outstanding International First or Second Narrative Feature, while the short film award went to Yu Yu’s re-Parenting. VIFF runs through the weekend, and audience awards are announced after the festival ends.