When I first covered the festival numerous years ago at the downtown Anthology Film Archives, I was struck by several features not encountered in any of the other established festivals. The organizers of the festival performed antics on the stage before the films and threw presents like videos and books into the audience. They were greeted by an adoring and enthusiastic crowd who seemed to be familiar with directors and principal characters of the films screened. In short an audience addicted to...

Tony Rayns and Shelly Kraicer, programmers of the Vancouver International Film Festival's big Dragons & Tigers: The Cinemas of East Asia section, today announced that the program will showcase a total of 35 features, four mid-length films and 22 shorts (programmed to date). Dragons & Tigers, one of the pre-eminent showcases of East Asian films in the world, is presented with the generous support of Brad Birarda and Robert Sali. The series will feature five World Premieres, eight Internat...