film/tv
Film and literature tell the story of The Nickel Boys from different angles
March 12, 2025By: Yildiz Subuk, Staff Writer Content warning: this piece talks in-depth about slavery and racial segregation. Colson Whitehead’s novel The Nickel Boys tells the story of two boys doing time in a reform school. Elwood Curtis, who is falsely accused of a crime he didn’t commit, sees all his ambitions stripped from him when he is sent to Nickel Academy. He meets Turner, who has lost hope in any chance of freedom. They’re both victims of systemic racism, as the story unfolds during the Jim Crow era, when racial segregation was common. The two characters have different viewpoints of life,…
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MAUVEY TO A BAWAH: A name, legacy, and cinematic journey
March 5, 2025By: Yasmin Hassan, Staff Writer On a bone-chillingly cold Friday night, I made my way down to the VIFF Centre to watch the film premiere of MAUVEY TO A BAWAH. It’s directed by Andrew Huculiak and shot by Joseph Schweers.…
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No Other Land takes a haunting look at the horrors of Israeli occupation
February 24, 2025By: Yildiz Subuk, Staff Writer Content warning: mentions of genocide. No Other Land had been on my watch list since the day I heard about it. The lack of distribution for this film has been frustrating, as there aren’t many…
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Tezeta, a dive into Ethiopia’s music scene and its Armenian influences
February 21, 2025By: Yildiz Subuk, Staff Writer Content warning: brief mention of genocide. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) film festival, held at the VIFF centre, has had an expansive catalogue of unique films and documentaries which capture stories from these…
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Love, intimacy, and more in The Peak’s February TV picks
February 13, 2025By: Karly Burns, Fact Checker; Mason Mattu, News Writer; Izzy Cheung, Arts & Culture Editor; Petra Chase, Editor-in-Chief A love letter to XO, Kitty — Karly Burns, Fact Checker [caption id="attachment_130766" align="alignnone" width="300"] PHOTO: Courtesy of Awesomeness and ACE Entertainment[/caption]…
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Emilia Pérez is entertaining — but reductive
January 15, 2025By: Michelle Young, Copy Editor Content warning: mentions of transphobia, homicides, and missing peoples cases. A crime-thriller musical about a trans Mexican cartel leader is an intriguing premise for a film, to say the least. Emilia Pérez (2024) received four…
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The everlasting power of community in It Takes A Village
December 3, 2024By: Yildiz Subuk, Staff Writer The Vancouver Asian Film Festival was memorable, bringing community members together through a collective love of storytelling. The power of community is sometimes overlooked for stigmatized communities like East Hastings. It Takes A Village: An…
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Nobuko Miyamoto: A Song in Movement — establishing a cultural voice
November 26, 2024By: Yildiz Subuk, Staff Writer Content warning: mentions of internment camps. The Vancouver Asian Film Festival premiered brilliant films and documentaries this year. One that stood out was Nobuko Miyamoto: A Song in Movement, which tracks the life of third-generation…
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Ninan Auassat platforms the self-told stories of Indigenous youth
October 30, 2024By: Abigail Streifel, Peak Associate Content warning: mentions of genocide, racism, and suicide. Filmmaker Kim O’Bomsawin wants us all to learn from Indigenous children and young adults. Her documentary, Ninan Auassat: We, The Children, premiered at the Vancouver International Film…
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The surreal story of masks and an art movement
October 24, 2024By: Tam Nguyen, staff writer Content warning: mentions of racial discrimination, cultural genocide, and colonization. One of the best documentaries I saw this year was So Surreal: Behind the Masks, which played during the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival. Created…
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