It's the most wonderful time of the year...... ah VIFF, how much do I love thee and how much do I wish that I had more time and stamina to attend all of the films on my long list. The Vancouver International Film Festival is in full swing and has been running since September 25th and will close at the end of this week on October 10th.

I have already attended a number of great screenings-- so far, my hands down favourite for sheer jaw dropping visuals and spatial phantasmagoria overload is the epic three hours I spent watching Cathedrals of Culture. This was a 3D film project involving six directors (Wim Wenders, Michael Glawogger, Michael Madsen, Robert Redford, Margret Olin, and Karim Ainouz) exploring six iconic buildings through the simple question, "If buildings could talk, what would they say about us?" The film continues to stay with me and will prove very inspiring when I return to teaching the History of Architecture in the near future. However, I don't want to tell you about all the films I have seen that you can't watch anymore, so allow me to offer some suggestions for the remaining days of VIFF.

With less than a week left, and with many of my own students left with the task of viewing a screening as part of a class assignment (or for bonus points!), I thought I might share some titles for films to catch before VIFF closes. Among the films listed in the slider (click through for more information on the VIFF website) are picks that I am either planning on viewing this week, movies friends and colleagues have seen already and recommend, and of course those films that couldn't fit my schedule but are on that long wish list. I do hope that if you are in the city and get a chance to attend a screening, you come out and support one of the best celebrations of film that Vancouver enjoys each year. Many of the festival favourites do get a second life in future screenings around town (I will continue to tweet or share these on Facebook in the coming weeks and months), but there is nothing quite like the buzz and energy of attending a VIFF screening. Enjoy!

Regarding Susan Sontag

"Susan Sontag’s contributions to the intellectual zeitgeist of the 1960s, 70s and 80s is beyond reproach for its seriousness of purpose and wide-ranging influence."

Art and Craft

“Nothing is original under the sun now,” explains spindly, sleepy-voiced Mark Landis, an unlikely yet internationally prolific art forger. Prone to mischievousness and philanthropic binges, Landis has managed to donate some 100 forged artworks—everything from works by Picasso to a Dr. Seuss drawing."

Mr. Turner

"A labour of love from Mike Leigh, this warts-and-Spall portrait of 19th-century landscape artist J.M.W. Turner may also be a self-portrait à clef (though the famously contrarian Leigh inevitably denies it)."

Revivre

"In Korean, Hwajang has two possible meanings—"Live again" and "Make-up"—and both are relevant to this masterly film. Im Kwontaek is of course Korea’s greatest living director, the last man standing from the Chungmuro studio system, Korea’s answer to Hollywood."

Something Must Break

"Collecting the prestigious Tiger Award at its Rotterdam debut, Something Must Break elevates the typically generic romance of young love to liberating new heights."

The Vancouver Asahi

"Once upon a time in Vancouver, there was a baseball team called the Asahi, This was in the 1930s, when the city had a small Japantown on the downtown wharves, and the team was formed by the Canadian-born kids of immigrants."

Handmade With Love In France

"The French title—time suspended—perfectly captures this affectionate celebration of the artisans who create fabulous haute-couture outfits for Dior, Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent"

The Great Museum

"In this eye-opening documentary, Johannes Holzhauzen takes us behind the scenes to explore one of the world’s greatest museums: the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien. It’s a fascinating peek behind the curtains..."

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

"Looking for love (and hemoglobin) in the desolate streets of Iranian ghost town Bad City, an alluring vampire (Sheila Vand, entrancing) must also navigate the comically offbeat, unequivocally cool reality envisioned by director Ana Lily Amirpour."

Ilya and Emilia Kabakov: Enter Here

"Generally considered the most important living Russian artists, the husband-wife team of Ilya and Emilia Kabakov ("Ilya paints and draws. I do everything else,” Emilia has said) gave their full cooperation to this "marvelous documentary film"."