And MORE....

Yet another very quick VIFF post - I only have two more films to go before my 20 picks this year are done.

So - my picks from the last few I've seen?  Broke. ; Pop Star on Ice; Cedar Boys; and I Killed My Mother (see trailer above).

You may have heard of I Killed My Mother - it cleaned up a few awards at Cannes, and has been chosen as Canada's pick for the Academy Awards.   For those of you that haven't heard of it, it is written, directed, and stars (and has art direction by) the now 20 year old Xavier Dolan, based on a story he wrote when he was 17.  Let's stop and think about this for a second: write; direct; star in; 20 years old; first film; Cannes; Academy Awards....

INSANITY. 

But it is well deserved.  The film looks gorgeous, and does a great job of capturing the technicolor intensity of teenage life through the explosive love/hate relationship between a gay 16 year old boy and his mother.  It has shades of C.R.A.Z.Y. and a few drops of Tarnation (particularly the b&w footage the main character takes of himself talking about his mother), but remains a strong, unique story about a very complex relationship.  And it fulfills my seemingly annual film fest requirement to view a gay coming of age story...I don't plan it, it just happens that way.