A scene from Polterheist, a 2018 UK flick that kicks off this year’s Badass Film Festival.
Two UK films kick off The Fifth Annual International Vancouver Badass Film Festival.
From March 29-31, the festival presents genre films from Vancouver and around the world, along with interactive events featuring filmmakers and live shows. Badass takes over VIFF/Vancity Theatre for its first two days and the Rio on Sunday, March 31. Find out more about films like Polterheist, Perfect Skin (both from the UK), and The Hollow Child below.
On Friday evening, March 29, Badass V kicks off with what organizers are calling a “very Hard Brexit UK double bill.” Both films are making their Canadian premieres with filmmakers in attendance.
The evening begins with a licensed opening party hosted by Gidget Gravedigger and Aleister Crane (light magic and Badass V genre film award nominees). The party is followed by:
Polterheist (UK, 2018) – Director Dave Gilbank presents his 2018 film, originally a short. According to Starburst.com, “… Gilbank’s film is beautifully shot, despite its low budget and plays more realistically than any of the London-based gangster flicks we’re subjected to on a regular basis. What it does most successfully is mix the violence with comedy… Jo Mousley is fantastic as psychic Alice, particularly when she’s channeling the deceased Frank; she genuinely shines.” (Frank is a deceased gangster; his former partners are trying to find out where he hid some stolen money.) 7:30 p.m. at Vancity Theatre (preceded by the short Parlour Tricks directed by local actor Tristan Risk).
Perfect Skin (UK, 2018) – Bloodydisgusting.com raves about Richard Brake (The Night King on Game of Thrones), here playing a nut-job tattoo artist named Bob. “As Bob, Brake is absolutely terrifying, making it clear that his standout performance in Rob Zombie’s 31 wasn’t a fluke.” Not for the squeamish – especially if you don’t like needles. Production Designer Charles Whiteway attending. 9:30 p.m. at Vancity Theatre (preceded by the short Skin Deep).
The rest of Badass V includes:
Day 2: Welcome to the Jungle. Programming includes blocks of short films from around the world and North America, as well as the Brazilian feature A Mata Negra (The Black Forest). The 2018 film is making its North American premiere, and so English-language reviews are hard to come by.
Scene from A Mata Negra.
A Mata Negra screens at 5:30. Later that evening, at 9:30, Amazon Hot Box screens. The 2018 film is a modern (but not too modern) take on ’70s women-in-prison exploitation movies. The American film is, in the words of bloodygoodhorror.com, “unapologetically trashy and can be enjoyed with an appropriately calibrated perspective.”
Badass V programmers have dedicated Day 3 to Canadian films. They include The Hollow Child, Knuckleball (“an admirably lean thriller,” according to variety.com) an, at 9:30, the Vancouver-shot A.M.I. It will be preceded by local shorts as well as the Genre Film Awards Show.
For a full schedule and tickets, visit Vbaff.com.
