Experience essential cinema at the Cinematheque
If you’ve ever wanted to expand your taste in film and are sick of the selection on Netflix, this is a good place to start. The Cinematheque — one of the last remaining independent theatres in Vancouver — is offering a few retrospectives that highlight cinema’s masters through January, February, and March. Included is a four-day-long showing of work by Claire Denis, who has been called one of the most daring filmmakers to come out of France; Canada’s Top 10 will feature some of the best of the year’s Canuck cinema, as selected by TIFF; and Jean-Luc Cinéma Godard will celebrate the early career of one of the most important artists in the field, with screenings of Breathless and Weekend.
PuSh International Performing Arts Festival
One of the most cutting edge performing arts festivals in the city, PuSh brings 150 different shows to several venues across the city. And what better way to wind down after the holidays than to settle into some great storytelling arts? Highlights include Gob Squad’s Kitchen, a reimagined version of Andy Warhol’s Kitchen — which starred the pop-icon’s muse Edie Sedgewick — where we’re transported back to the underground cinemas of New York City in the 1960s through a mix of live video and performance techniques. Also, be sure to check out L.A. Party and An Evening with William Shatner Asterisk, two shows conceived by New York theatre artist Phil Soltanoff, featuring collaboration at its finest and a big screen with Captain Kirk’s face.
New exhibits at the Vancouver Art Gallery
Here’s a good new years resolution to keep: get into the arts in Vancouver, because there’s good stuff here. A good way to start is to check out the Vancouver Art Gallery, which usually has something to satisfy any art lover. A few things coming soon include A Terrible Beauty: Edward Burtynsky, an exhibition of works by the Toronto-based photographer who captures images of nature and man-made landscapes; Myfanwy Macleod, Or There and Back Again is a presentation of the Vancouver-based artist who examines the male fantasy as associated with Led Zeppelin and J.R.R Tolkien. Plus, a few months down the road in May, Douglas Coupland: everywhere is anywhere is anything is everything will become the first major survey of the beloved author and artist’s work. That’s reason enough for a membership renewal.
ICONS: A Vintage Clothing Market
The people who brought you the Eastside Flea are now rolling out a new vintage market, which will take place at the red-velvet draped Biltmore Cabaret. On January 26 from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., the cabaret will become a “labyrinth of counterculture,” bringing out a hand-picked vendor roster focusing on the psychedelia and design cues from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and a bit of the 90s. Expect to find posters, antiques and collectibles, records, taxidermy, retro lamps, small furniture, cameras, and some one-of-a-kind vintage clothing items. There will also be drink specials, an afternoon food happy hour, a photobooth, and a DJ spinning some tunes to match.
