VAFF Review: Emergence: Out of the Shadows

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VAFF Review: Emergence: Out of the Shadows

Nobody tells you explicitly how intimate oppression is; it is not only in the streets or institutionally. It is also while you brush your teeth and right before you go to bed, and when you say a prayer to the deity you question exists. You are not man enough, says the patriarchy as you wash your face. You are nowhere near rich enough for your dreams, says capitalism as you floss. You are not beautiful enough, says white supremacy as you bring yourself into meditation to attempt to chase out the world you will one day transcend.

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Cosmic Forecast November 2021

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Cosmic Forecast November 2021

Scorpio season is time to get acquainted with our shadows and the unknown. We’re tasked with achieving certainty in so many parts of our lives, knowing where we’ll be in the next five years, even the next five months. We have to know how our creative projects and relationships will work out—what success they will bring, how long they will last—before diving into them. The pandemic has brought us face-to-face with the fact that the future is in shadow, like walking through a dark wood with only a small lantern in hand. Scorpio season allows us the opportunity to integrate that truth instead of running away from it.

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Liminal Spaces: a Digital Play Trilogy - Review

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Liminal Spaces: a Digital Play Trilogy - Review

Liminal Spaces is a piece of theatre, filmed by multiple cameras, in one take. It is an ambitious hybrid of media, in and of itself a liminal space between theatre and film. Viewed by livestream, audiences consume a piece of theatrical media from wherever they’d like—viewing theatre, but not at the theatre. We are also in a stage (ha, pun intended) of thea global pandemic wherein theatres can be opened, but at limited capacity, necessitating hybrid works such as this. Moreover, each of the three one-act plays focuses on discussions between two people, examining the liminal spaces of human relationships.

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October Artist of the Month: Ariane Lapointe

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October Artist of the Month: Ariane Lapointe

Ariane Lapointe invites everyone to her ghost club. The tattoo and print artist has become well-known in Vancouver for her whimsical artistry, especially the kindred ghost tattoos uniquely tailored for each client. The ghosts are everywhere. “People on the street meet each other and spot them. It’s so recognizable,” says Lapointe.

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The (sur)Real Life of Hannah Maynard: Be Still at the 2021 VIFF

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The (sur)Real Life of Hannah Maynard: Be Still at the 2021 VIFF

When you think of Surrealism, what do you picture? Dali’s melting clocks? A pipe that claims it isn’t a pipe? Maybe even a Neo-Dadaist-turned-Millennial-Meme video proclaiming “I’m still a piece of garbage,” as if it were a local television jingle. What you probably aren’t imagining is a middle-aged woman dressed in 19th-century mourning attire. In fact, it’s likely that you’ve never even heard of the acclaimed Canadian photographer Hannah Maynard.

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