What the VIFF…

As if it were necessary to prove the expression that everything happens at once, but here I go anyways. This weekend I’m heading down to Seattle for Bumbershoot (Neko Case and Jenny Lewis on the same weekend) and PAX but am cursing the fact that I won’t get to see The Secret of Kells at the Vancouver International Film Centre or the sold out The Agony And The Ecstasy Of Steve Jobs as part of the PuSH Festival.

Vancouverites are in for an animated treat this weekend a the Secret of the Kells is a gorgeous piece of cinema. The 2009 Academy Award nominated film is a complete crowd pleaser with stunning design and a really engaging story about 12 year-old Brendan that is learning to be a scribe while facing off against raiding Vikings and a Celtic serpent god. It’s really not necessary to throw any more adjectives at the film, but the Cartoon Saloon studio in Ireland really hit one out of the park. Plus I’m for anything that’s also sings the praises of book design and illuminated manuscripts. So if you started to think about why the title sounds familiar, it’s because the story is also a reference to the famous Books of Kells which was done by Celtic Monks in the 9th Century.

The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs is a monologue by Mike Daisey who actually went to China to see what was going on in those factories where workers were committing suicide. I’m interested in the way that Daisey presents his findings because he’s an Apple user and I’m fascinated by the way he was willing to face his own complicity. Especially the day after the big September 1st keynote.