September 03 2008

The Gastown Drive-In

Co-curated by cheyanne turions and Peeroj Tackre.

The drive-in movie is a classic form of entertainment but the Gastown Drive-In is putting a contemporary spin on this nostalgic, suburban experience. For three consecutive Wednesday evenings in September, the roof level of the EasyPark parkade on Water Street will be transformed into a drive-in that welcomes drive-in, bike-in and walk-in audiences for a celebration of BC film.

The theme of the film series is “Vancouver Stars as Itself.” Featuring shorts and feature films that have been shot in part or wholly within the Metro Vancouver area, the drive-in will showcase the talents of BC filmmakers. The provocative venue for the film series is an enticement to draw in audiences and demonstrate the potential of functional infrastructure to be re-imagined as a social and cultural resource.

To wrap up the evenings, audience members are invited to meet people involved in the making of the films at informal gatherings, locations TBA.

GASTOWN DRIVE-IN
Wednesday, 03 + 10 + 17 September 2008, 8pm
150 Water Street [Roof level of the EasyPark parkade]
Admission to the screenings is FREE, but the usual EasyPark evening rate of $5 per car will be in effect.

ROAD FILMS
03 SEPTEMBER 2008, 8PM

Hard Core Logo (1996)
Director: Bruce McDonald
Writers: Noel S. Baker, Michael Turner
Staring: Hugh Dillon, Callum Keith Rennie, John Pyper-Ferguson, Bernie Coulson.

A psuedo-rockumentary along the lines of This is Spinal Tap, Hard Core Logo follows director Bruce McDonald as he tracks Vancouver-based punk bank Hard Core Logo on a harrowing last-gasp reunion tour through Western Canada, starting right here. As magnetic lead-singer Joe Dick holds the whole magilla together through sheer force of will, all the tensions and pitfalls of life on the road come bubbling to the surface. 4 guys, 5 nights, 3000 miles, 764 gallons of gas, 987 bottles of beer, 3457 cigarettes and 1 last shot.

preceded by Alice and Martha (2007)
Directors: Roy + McHardy

Alice and Martha is the tale of two women who earn their living at a tedious delivery job. The film follows the protagonists through their daily routine; against the backdrop of Vancouver, Martha monopolizes the conversation with her nostalgic memories of the old country, her disenchantment of modern-day life, and her dreams of escape. Alice’s pent-up anxieties and emotions translate into anger as she is forced to respond to Martha’s antics. She wonders if she’ll be able to keep it together in the presence of her overbearing companion whose observations force her to question such a mundane existence. To what lengths will they go to escape their repetitive daily lives?

SPACE + TIME FILMS
10 SEPTEMBER 2008, 8PM

Fetching Cody (2005)
Director + Writer: David Ray
Staring: Jay Baruchel, Sarah Lind

Fetching Cody is an edgy yet sweet romantic comedy set in the Downtown Eastside. Art Frankel (Baruchel) is a hustler and general lay-about who is head over heels in love with the luminous Cody (Lind). When she falls into a coma from an apparent overdose, it is up to Art to seek out the one person who offers him any kind of hope: his homeless friend Harvey–and the time machine he found in a dumpster. Desperate to reach her, Art suspends disbelief and embarks on a quest through time and space, deep into Cody’s past. A thought provoking and funny movie about the sacrifices people will make for love.

preceded by Two Impossible Films (1995)
Director: Mark Lewis
Staring: Francoise Yip, Paul Cum, Alastair Bird, David Pan, Michael Jocelyn, Lucy Moojabber

A witty meditation on Vancouver as Hollywood's most popular stand-in city, Two Impossible Films exploits the excitement that mounts during opening scenes, title, and credits. The film is based on two projects that were never realized. The first involves Sergei Eisenstein's plan, post-1924, to make a feature-length film version of Marx's Das Kapital. The next involves Samuel Goldwyn's idea to produce "the greatest love story from the world's most famous doctor of love," an attempt in the 1920s to get Sigmund Freud to write a screenplay for a love story.

JOURNEY FILMS
17 SEPTEMBER 2008, 8PM

Eve and the Fire Horse (2005)
Director + Writer: Julia Kwan
Staring: Vivian Wu, Lester Chit-Man Chan, Hollie Lo, Phoebe Kut

Eve is a precocious nine year-old girl with a wild imagination growing up in a traditional Chinese immigrant family in Vancouver where Confucian doctrines, superstitious obsessions and divine visions abound. When Buddhism and Catholicism are thrown into the mix, life for Eve and her 11-year-old prim and authoritative sister Karena escalates into a fantasia of catastrophe, sainthood and cultural confusion. The journey of a young girl and her sister striving to grow up in world where childhood is lonely and the world is full of wonder.

preceded by The Reincarnation of W (2008)
Director: Yun Lam Li

The Reincarnation of W is a metaphorical journey of W. It is set in the background of the re-construction of Vancouver’s controversial Woodward’s building. Chapter One: As 8:30am approaches, clouds gather strength over Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. As water mist sprays over his hollow body, W faces the moment he hopes will lead to enlightenment. Chapter Two: The journey of W is now complete. He waits for his turn to reincarnate while solemnly watching the world he left behind.