As festival season kicks into high gear in YVR, BC BuzZ got a dose of the 30th Annual Vancouver International Film Festival this past weekend, aka VIFF which runs from September 29 to October 14.

For all of you VIFF’ers you know what we are talking about when we say this festival is big, its one of the largest in North America.  As for the British Columbians that haven’t made the trip to the festival, here’s how big by numbers:

VIFF 2011 Facts & Figures

  • 375+ films (235+ of which are feature-length)
  • 75 countries
  • more than 600 screenings
  • 80 Canadian films
  • 93 Documentaries
  • 147,956 admissions in 2010
  • 700 volunteers
  • 10 screens at five theatres:
  • 600 accredited industry guests in 2010
  • 1,200 Film & Television Forum delegates

The festival started off with their opening gala film starring Antonio Banderas “The Skin I Live In”, followed by a party that is always a crowd favourite (how can it not be, food, drinks, entertainment and a massive room filled with many of BC’s best talent….as for the food, Joe Fortes wins everytime for their healthy serving of freshly-shucked oysters!).  As for serving it up, thats what the festival does, from gala parties to canadian films to shorts, docs & more, this festival is filled with so much you’ll never get to see it all, so enjoy what you can and support your local film fest!

www.viff.org for more details