From sea to sea: west coast.

There has been a changing of the guard at the Canadian Images section of the 19th Vancouver International Film Festival, running from September 22 through October 5 this year. Diane Burgess and Michael Ghent are the new co-programmers of the sidebar, replacing four-term head Ken Anderlini who left to concentrate on his teaching at Simon Fraser University. Burgess had been Anderlini's second-in-command for the past two years while Ghent moves over from his role as director of Moving Pictures: Canadian Films on Tour. Asked for some sense of how things were coming together, Ghent said, only half-jokingly, "It's shaping up to be the Canadian Images substance-abuse festival. An unusually large number of the films have a lot of heroin and cocaine use by the leads. It's not the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll type of high-octane drug use but the down-and--out, skid row type." For Burgess, the most promising aspect of this year's program is the "strength of the local features." It seems that, finally, the film programs at the various schools around Vancouver are producing filmmakers interested in local material (instead of settling for third-assistant-director jobs on U.S.-produced TV shows).... If critical mass has finally been achieved, then Cineworks, Vancouver's filmmaking co-op (currently celebrating its 20th anniversary and busier than ever), deserves recognition for its efforts to serve as a central collective for local filmmakers. One film that perfectly illustrates both the "substance abuse" and the "coming together of local talent" angles mentioned above is Bruce Spangler's remarkable Protection, a gritty, classical humanist look at insoluble problems faced by social workers trying to deal with heroin-addicted clients and their client's efforts to toe the line while leading miserable lives. Reminiscent of the best of Ken Loach in its treatment of social issues, of Jean Renoir in its "everyone has his reasons" humanism and of the Dogma 95 aesthetic in its hand-held, ultra-realistic approach, Protection also features brilliant work from cast members Nancy Sivak, Jillian Fargey William MacDonald and solid technical support on all levels. While not perfect--it makes two small narrative turns that I disagree with--it is one of the finest local features--no, Canadian features--I've seen in two decades. Although nobody out east will care, it would be a major scandal if, as rumour has it, it does not make the cut at the Toronto festival. (It didn't. Ed's note)