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This year's Leading Lights filmmaker is B.C.-based Sophy Romvari, whose film 'Blue Heron' swept film festivals last year.
Those dialled in to film culture know the concept of Letterboxd’s “fave four” well: actors, directors and producers are asked by the film-focused social media platform on red carpets to name four films that have had a major impact on their lives or careers.does its own version through its Leading Lights program each year, inviting a rising filmmaker to select and curate a series highlighting films that have influenced their work.
, swept film festivals in 2025, picking up 10 awards and earning many more nominations. Now she’s back at VIFF, drawing connections between some of her most treasured films and her own work, with screenings kicking off October 3.triumphant run at art houses, we are thrilled to welcome Sophy Romvari back to VIFF as our guest curator for this year’s Leading Lights program,” said Curtis Woloschuk, VIFF director of programming, in a release.
“Sophy is a singular talent with an innate understanding of cinema’s complexities and possibilities. We can’t wait to have her back in Vancouver to present her curated selection of films by Jacques Doillon, Abbas Kiarostami, Terrence Malick and Michael Roemer. ”was eye-opening for its blending of documentary and fiction and for the way it plays with ideas of truth and authenticity.. It showed how a director’s script can include things that may not appear onscreen while still guiding the film.
The films also share thematic interests in siblings, grief and the movement between past and present. , which follows an adult character returning to the place where she grew up to understand her childhood and who she became. Its seaside setting and themes resonated with my film.was a key aesthetic touchstone. I was drawn to the way it sets the emotional core of a family’s dysfunction against a beautiful backdrop.
I even included images from it in the visual pitch deck forThese are visually rich films, and I think they’re best experienced with good sound, on a large screen and without the distractions that can come with watching at home. Each asks for the viewer’s attention while still being accessible. The communal experience of watching together matters, too. I’ll introduce the first screening of each film with an informal talk about why I chose it.
For audiences who have seen, I may also discuss connections between my film and the one being screened. I’m looking forward to watching them again myself. It’s a relief not to carry the pressure of wondering how people will receive my own work. Because I madein Vancouver, it mattered a lot to me how Vancouver audiences responded to it.
As a curator, I can share my tastes and inspirations without feeling that I’m presenting myself. I love talking about film, and after spending so much time discussing my own, it’s refreshing to talk about other people’s work. Releasing my first feature has been a whirlwind. I wanted to commit fully to bringing the film into the world, so I said yes to many opportunities.
That was a privilege, but the travel took a toll physically and mentally and left little room to work on anything else. I’m excited to move on to another project, but I need some space to get back into a creative state of mind. After working onHow do you think about short films compared with features? I see short films as their own medium, not just a stepping stone to a feature.
For me, they’re often better suited to expressing a point of view, exploring an emotion or trying something aesthetically different than telling a complete beginning-middle-end story. With a feature, my priority was finding a story and structure that genuinely needed the longer form. The length should serve the story. It’s exciting for filmmakers to engage with a festival in a way that isn’t only about their own work.
Programming gives them a chance to share their perspective and take part in the festival community from a different angle. Kristi Alexandra is the managing editor, food and culture, at Canada Wide Media. She loves food, travel, film and wine .
Send any food and culture-related pitches to her atThe Long Exposure: Photographer Greg Girard’s Hidden Vancouver Finally Comes Into FocusVancouver Filmmaker Jon Chiang’s “Spring After Spring” Tells the Story Behind Chinatown Parade
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