Lump-in-the-throat love story but should also resonate on a political level as a testimony to the power of activism to awaken an indifferent world
Date/Time: Oct 2 2017, 6:15 pm to 8:40 pm
Vancouver, Vancouver Playhouse | Event calendarCost: $15.00
Find tickets: here
In 2017, VIFF continues to expand the frame to create multi-experiential streams that include some of the best cinema from around the world fused with related talks and events in a unique Film+ model. VIFF audiences and creators have a chance to discover, discuss and connect more at one of North America's most accessible festivals, in one of the most beautiful cities on the planet.
With more than 300 films from 73 countries, VIFF 2016 audiences were treated to narratives and documentaries that entertained, informed, inspired and left viewers in awe of the filmmaking talent that exists here in Canada and from creators around the world. Look here for a list of
2016 award-winners. We can't wait to see what the 2017 Festival line-up!
BPM (Beats Per Minute)
120 battements par minute
Panorama | Spotlight on France
Frequent screenwriter for Laurent Cantet (whose The Workshop is also in the VIFF 17 program), Robin Campillo has managed a considerable feat with this pulsating and poignant winner: to dramatize the daily grind and meticulous process of 1990s ACT UP AIDS activists in Paris.
Drawing from his own experiences in the movement, the Eastern Boys director recreates the weekly meetings and intermittent demonstrations with the breakneck pace of a thriller, one where the ticking clock directly corresponds to each character’s rapidly decreasing T-cell counts. The first half’s expansive ensemble portrait gives way to an immeasurably affecting romance between Nathan (Arnaud Valois), a newbie, and Sean (Nahuel Perez Biscayart), an HIV-positive veteran. Campillo positions their intimate encounters as necessary acts of caring and connection, however ephemeral they might be. It’s just one example of BPM (Beats per Minute) weighing the personal affects of political complacency. This is a film that asks us to step into the lives of those unable to live life any other way but one propulsive beat at time.
"BPM (Beats Per Minute) is a moving, lump-in-the-throat love story but should also resonate on a political level as a testimony to the power of activism to awaken an indifferent world."—Allan Hunter, Screen
Grand Prix, FIPRESCI Award, Cannes 17
More info
The Vancouver International Film Festival 2017 Events