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Oscar-nominated filmmaker invited

Kathy Kay isn’t betting money on it, but she’s holding onto a glimmer of hope that Asghar Farhadi, the Iranian filmmaker who faces being denied entry to the U.S.
C3-VFF-After Love.jpg
A scene from After Love, one of the films featured at the 10-day Victoria Film Festival, which opens Friday with a gala at the Atrium.

Kathy Kay isn’t betting money on it, but she’s holding onto a glimmer of hope that Asghar Farhadi, the Iranian filmmaker who faces being denied entry to the U.S. because of President Donald Trump’s travel ban, will show up at the Victoria Film Festival.

Farhadi was invited to attend the screening on Feb. 11 of his Oscar-nominated suspense drama The Salesman at SilverCity.

Kay is the festival director, after all, who persuaded John Waters, Kris Kristofferson, Linda Blair and the late Arthur Hiller to come to Victoria in the past.

“His company wrote back and he said ‘maybe,’ ” said Kay, now awaiting response to her followup.

“It wouldn’t hurt. He might decide that coming here would be more fun.”

Don’t expect Kristen Stewart, however. The star of opening-night feature Personal Shopper is in New York preparing for her Saturday Night Live hosting gig this week.

The Victoria Film Festival has traditionally focused less on star power than on its diverse array of Canadian and international films.

The 23rd edition of the 10-day festival is no exception, with 124 features, documentaries, shorts and animated films being screened at six venues: SilverCity, Cineplex Odeon, Vic Theatre, Parkside Hotel, Sidney’s Star Cinema and Capitol 6.

Movie buffs seeking refuge from our resurgent cold snap will find it at Friday’s opening gala at the Atrium, where the rites of spring will be celebrated.

“We’ve got a great local artist [Anna Shkuratoff] doing a thunderstorm for us, and we’ll have blue skies and the Vic High R&B band, and fabulous De Vine spirits and wine and Spinnakers beer and cider,” said Kay, whose volunteer crews have been busy creating giant flowers and other spring-themed props.

Forty actors, directors, producers and other industry players are on the guest list. Filmmakers include Don McKellar, featured in opening gala presentation Window Horses; Justin Oakey (Riverhead); Trevor Meier (A New Economy); and Jamie Kastner (The Skyjacker’s Tale). Other guests include Duane Howard (The Sun at Midnight), the Port Alberni-born actor best known for playing Elk Dog in The Revenant; Quebec actor Yves Jacques, who stars in the Canadian opening feature Boundaries (Pays); film critic Richard Crouse; and D Films Distribution’s Angie Burns.

This year’s lineup explores topics that include socially minded businesses (A New Economy); an esteemed Polish scientist (Marie Curie: The Courage of Knowledge); gay culture challenges (Strike a Pose); international whaling (The Islands and the Whales); and armed female guerrillas who battle Islamic extremism (Gulistan: Land of Roses).

You can also witness the adventures of teenage Canucks on a journey of self-discovery in Nova Scotia during the mid-1970s in Bruce McDonald’s Weirdos, and the troubled birth of the Stephen Sondheim musical Merrily We Roll Along, in Best Worst Thing That Ever Happened.

Fans of stylized horror and fantasy might be tempted by entries such as Prevenge, British director Alice Lowe’s darkly comic feature debut about a pregnant woman’s killing spree, and the world première of The Hollow Child, Jeremy Lutter’s folklore-inspired thriller about the mystery surrounding a young girl’s disappearance in the woods.

Other Oscar-nominated entries include the Canadian short Blind Vaysha and My Life as a Zucchini, Swiss director Claude Barras’s animated tale about a youngster who finds his place in the world at a foster home after his alcoholic mother’s sudden death.

Hot-buzz entries include two films propelled by the antics of provocateurs — Thanks, Boss! (Merci, Patron!), French journalist-turned-filmmaker Francois Ruffin’s confrontational Roger and Me-inspired documentary about the evils of capitalism, targeting French billionaire Bernard Arnault; and My Scientology Movie, with irreverent BBC broadcaster Louis Theroux playfully messing with the Church of Scientology.

The Vancouver Independent Film Professionals Association Night is back after a brief hiatus with a program that includes Bugs on the Menu, from local director Ian Toews and producer Mark Bradley.

Kay is also excited about Franca: Chaos and Creation, an intimate documentary portrait of the late Franca Sozzani, the controversial editor-in-chief of Italian Vogue.

“At the Bay Centre we’re going to have some Italian Vogues people can look at, and books and things by people who are subjects of our films,” she said.

She was referring to See@The Bay, a new attraction that combines an art exhibit of Canadian film posters, a pop-up cinema showcasing the works of regional filmmakers, and recorded interviews with featured festival filmmakers and their subjects.

It’s part of the new Amplify initiative, encompassing popular features such as Sips n Cinema wine and cocktails pairings and the Springboard Film Forum, at which events include seminars on new content-delivery platforms, virtual reality, visual effects and online PR.

Fort Tectoria’s Play@The Fort will be the festival’s new social hub. Visitors can experience hands-on sessions extolling the potential of 360 Cinema, watch visual effects production by Victoria’s cebas Visual Technology Inc., and play virtual reality games courtesy of Vic VR, as well as classic board games and shuffleboard.

For complete festival details, visit victoriafilmfestival.com

mreid@timescolonist.com