Editor

The Victoria Film Festival (VFF), a proud supporter of Canadian talent, will be screening films made by notable and emerging Canadian film directors. Two attending Canadian luminaries are Ron Mann and Nick Versteeg.

Ron Mann’s career has spanned three decades. At the age of 21, he made his first feature, which got funding on the basis of an award-winning short he had made in 1979 called The Only Game in Town. Mann’s contribution to film has earned him awards at many prestigious events including the Gemini Awards and the Genie Awards. He was also nominated at the Sundance Film Festival for his film Comic Book Confidential (1988).

Over the years Mann’s work has shown influences of North American popular culture; addressing challenging issues like racism, oppression and revisionism. Now Mann’s new film called In the Wake of the Flood will be screened at the Victoria Film Festival. The film is unusual in that it follows famed Canadian author Margaret Atwood on a 100-day tour to promote her 2009 novel The Year of the Flood. Mann was inspired to follow Atwood because she created a unique way to promote her new book's environmental themes while she was on tour.

Also in attendance will be Director Nick Versteeg. Environmental aficionados and food enthusiasts will be happy to know that the Festival will have a World Premiere of Versteeg’s film Food Security, simple and safe; it's in your hands. This documentary shows what is needed and what is happening to create a sustainable agriculture for our future. Versteeg has been recognized at numerous award ceremonies, including The James Beard Foundation Awards, which have been termed "the Oscars of the Food World" by Time magazine.

Versteeg said “The Victoria Film Festival is special because it is a small festival where local producers get a chance to show their productions. It is also very important for the film and documentary industry to have discussions with the people in the industry on how to create more locally produced productions”.

The Festival screens about 160 films from all over the world. Each film is carefully handpicked to make sure that that the Film Festival audience sees the best of new cinema from a wide range of perspectives.