Isabelle Huppert (third from left) stars in Michael Haneke’s latest armrest-gripper, Happy End.
Vancouver audiences will get their first peek at the high-profile Borg Vs. McEnroe at this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival (Sept. 28-Oct 13). But there are plenty of other films to watch for in this year’s lineup, including new films from controversial director Michael Haneke (Funny Games, Cache), Ruben Östlund (Force Majeure, a favourite on the 2014 festival circuit), and Yorgos Lanthimos. You may recall Lanthimos from 2015’s rather unorthodox The Lobster, one of the most divisive movies in recent memory.
Scroll down for more on the above movies, as well as other highlights of the Special Presentation series.
Borg Vs. McEnroe—A Sweden/Denmark/Finland co-production about the historic 1980 Wimbledon Men’s Final between Björn Borg and John McEnroe. Director Janus Metz “shoots the game in ways we have never seen before,” according to a VIFF press release. Shia LaBeouf stars as McEnroe and Sverrir Gudnason plays Borg.
Happy End—Controversial director Michael Haneke’s latest is set against the Calais refugee. The well-off Laurent family, which includes Isabelle Huppert as Aunt Anne, is sundered by the arrival of Anne’s 13-year-old niece.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer—Perhaps no movie divided 2015 film audiences more than The Lobster. Director Yorgos Lanthimos new one again stars Colin Farrell, this time as a heart surgeon whose home is threatened by a teenage interloper who convinces him that he must sacrifice one of his own family—son, daughter or wife (Nicole Kidman)—or lose them all.
Loving Vincent—The paintings of Vincent van Gogh are brought to animated life in this, the world’s first fully oil-painted feature film. Loving Vincent, which employed 115 professional oil painters to paint its 65,000 frames, is not only a visual feast but a mystery; how was the master painter driven to suicide in six weeks?
The Square—Festival favourite Ruben Östlund (Force Majeure, VIFF 14) returns with this art world satire. In the film, selfish Swedish art curator Christian prepares an upcoming piece called The Square, an interactive work described as “a sanctuary of trust and caring.” Christian’s personal and professional life soon spiral out of control. “A potent, disturbing work that explores the boundaries of political correctness, artistic liberty and free speech in provocative ways.”—Hollywood Reporter
A scene from The Square, Ruben Ostlund’s follow-up to the festival circuit hit Force Majeure.
Top of the Lake: China Girl—Director Jane Campion and actor Elizabeth Moss return for this sequel to 2013’s police procedural Top of the Lake. In this new production, also made-for-TV, the scene of the crime has changed from rural New Zealand to downtown Sydney, Australia, “[A]s beautiful and soul-stirring as anything you’ll see on any kind of screen this year.”—David Ehrlich, IndieWire
Stay tuned to viff.org, and this blog, for more announcements.
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