Vancouver's esports scene is on the cusp to unstoppable growth. The local fighting games community tells all on what it took to get this far.
Social & External
Follow three professional video game players as they overcome personal adversity, family pressures, and the realities of life to compete in a $1,000,000 tournament that could change their lives forever.
To Win It All: The Road to the Six Invitational is an exciting view into Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, one of the world's fastest-growing esports. Three top players from around the globe try to balance lives, relationships, and training while chasing a chance to compete in the Six Invitational and win its life-changing $2,000,000 prize pool.
Record-breaking gamer Narcissa Wright grapples with her toxic obsession for attention and her space in the streaming community after coming out as transgender, all while attempting to set a new world record for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
In the late 1990s, some officers at Vancouver Police Department made a documentary film (THROUGH A BLUE LENS) about the everyday lives of six drug addicts in Vancouver's skid row, the Downtown Eastside. TEARS FOR APRIL reintroduces us to these six people; with footage shot over a period of nearly ten years, it continues their biography.
Some of the most secluded beaches of British Columbia are home to a unique wolf species that has evolved to gather their sustenance from both land and sea. Call of the Coastal Wolves follows a group of filmmakers over a two week expedition as they endeavour to film the elusive wolf. This short film asks us to reflect on our impacts to the natural world as we witness these compassionate, loving animals that deserve more attention and respect.
Filmed at the end of the tour in Vancouver, B.C., with the entire Tortured Poets Department set.
NiiSoTeWak means “walking the path together.” Tapwewin and Pawaken are 10-year-old brothers trying to make sense of the world, their family and each other. They’re already grappling with some heady questions about identity. What does it mean to be a twin? What does it mean to be Cree? How do you define yourself when you’re forever linked to someone else? The twins discuss these questions with their two elder brothers — 22-year-old actor Asivak and 20-year-old basketball player Mahiigan — and their parents, Jules and Jake.
Closing Ceremony
Sundance award-winning director Julia Kwan’s documentary Everything Will Be captures the subtle nuances of a culturally diverse neighbourhood—Vancouver’s once thriving Chinatown—in the midst of transformation. The community’s oldest and newest members offer their intimate perspectives on the shifting landscape as they reflect on change, memory and legacy. Night and day, a neon sign that reads "EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT" looms over Chinatown. Everything is going to be alright, indeed, but the big question is for whom?
In thirty years, the video game has conquered an increasingly wide audience. Drawing on the recent work of economists, sociologists, experts and interviewing major players in this field, this investigation unravels the overwhelming domination of this new mass media.
Tien is the first Asian trans man to publicly come out in the Vancouver, then, gay and lesbian community of 2001. In this profound and inspiring film, Tien shares his story as a trailblazing, racialised, transgender immigrant and his journey to discovering his true purpose in life — cultivating and becoming joy.
In the picture-postcard community of North Vancouver, filmmaker Murray Siple follows men who have turned bottle-picking, their primary source of income, into the extreme sport of shopping cart racing. Enduring hardships from everyday life on the streets of Vancouver, this sub-culture depicts street life as much more than stereotypes portrayed in mainstream media. The films takes a deep look into the lives of the men who race carts, the adversity they face, and the appeal of cart racing despite the risk.
12 Years of League of Legends in Brazil!
This documentary offers an honest look at our fraught, complex relationship to video games from the perspectives of gamers and their concerned parents.
This documentary takes a game-by-game deep dive into the history and evolution of a genre that has grown from the simple wireframe graphics of Maze War and Spasim to become a staple of popular culture that is enjoyed by millions of gamers worldwide. Explore the creation and legacy of the most popular and significant FPS titles from the last 48 years, including favorites such as Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Quake, GoldenEye, Half-Life, Unreal Tournament, Deus Ex, Halo… and many more.
Gamer Girl follows Allison Drouillard, a college freshman and top ranked Valorant player. While fighting off virtual enemies, she’ll recount her battles with very real ones as she balances her interest and skill in collegiate esports with everyone else’s expectations.
The life of pop superstar Sarah McLachlan comes alive in this intimate documentary that has McLachlan talking about her fame, her loves, her family and her music. Learn about her relationship with her adoptive parents, when she first discovered her musical talent, and how she came up with the idea for the Lilith Fair music festival. The film also includes performances of hits "Building a Mystery," "Into the Fire" and "I Will Remember You."
Live / Play is a documentary that tells the stories of five different players from around the world, woven together by one unifying passion: League of Legends. In Sao Paulo, Brazil, Mariana transforms into Mafia Jinx during one of the country’s biggest cosplay competition, while over 10,000 kilometers away, Eyjo battles across Summoner’s Rift on a boat drifting off the coast of Stykkishólmur, Iceland. In Cairo, Egypt, Amin connects with other cultures through League just as Braeden, a pro League player known as PorpoisePops, hones his skills, practicing up to 12 hours a day, in Los Angeles, USA. Across the globe, robotics hobbyist Yong-Seung displays his latest creation, a massive remote controlled Baron Nashor, at Maker’s Faire in Seoul, South Korea.
A bunch of Vancouver dykes take hand held hi8 to new heights. In this improvisational short, which offers a wake up call to political complacency. Short on plot, big on subtext. Amidst comic moments these intrepid lesbians go searching for political dykes. What else can you do when the lesbian centre becomes a tattooparlour?
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
A documentary focused on plastic pollution in the world's oceans.
The Making-of James Cameron's Avatar. It shows interesting parts of the work on the set.
A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.
From executive producer Zach Braff and director Jeremy Snead, "Video Games: The Movie" is an epic feature length documentary chronicling the meteoric rise of video games from nerd niche to multi-billion dollar industry. Narrated by Sean Astin and featuring in-depth interviews with the godfathers who started it all, the icons of game design, and the geek gurus who are leading us into the future, "Video Games: The Movie" is a celebration of gaming from Atari to Xbox and an eye-opening look at what lies ahead.
A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
A documentary that explores the downloading revolution; the kids that created it, the bands and the businesses that were affected by it, and its impact on the world at large.
Join the likes of Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh, and Vincent D’Onofrio as they reveal how Marvel Studios’ “Hawkeye” was conceived and created. Witness firsthand what it took to pull off the show’s pulse-pounding action set pieces, and discover how iconic characters from the pages of Marvel Comics such as Kate Bishop were adapted and brought to life for the six-episode series.
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
This raucous journey into the heart of democracy captures an unusual rite of passage: 1,100 teenage boys from across Texas coming together to build a representative government from the ground up.
From the heights of her modeling fame to her tragic death, this documentary reveals Anna Nicole Smith through the eyes of the people closest to her.
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
A look at the fight choreography being developed for the film.
A look at the origins, history and conspiracies behind the "Majestic 12", a clandestine group of military and corporate figureheads charged with reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology.
A journey inside the world of real life caped crusaders. From all over America, these self-proclaimed crime fighters, don masks, homemade costumes and elaborate utility belts in an attempt to bring justice to evildoers everywhere.
When six teenage boys came together as a skateboarding team in the 1980s, they reinvented not only their chosen sport but themselves too – as they evolved from insecure outsiders to the most influential athletes in the field.
A group of British children aged 7 from widely ranging backgrounds are interviewed about a range of subjects. The filmmakers plan to re-interview them at 7 year intervals to track how their lives and attitudes change as they age.
Lyrical and powerfully personal essay film that reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother, her beloved dog, and such diverse subjects as family memories, surveillance, and Buddhist teachings.
