CAT: Welcome everybody. Catherine Barr here. We’re back with another episode of West Vancouver Magazine / Turner Magazine podcast. You can find us on Apple. You can find us on Spotify. But coming up, you’re going to find us on the red carpet because I have another fabulously exciting guest here with me today. It is Kyle Fostner, executive director of the Vancouver International Film Festival. All you film buffs will want to know this man because he knows everything there is to know about the upcoming festival. Kyle, welcome to our show. 

KYLE: Thank you. Great to be here.

CAT: Now, you’ve probably had a really hectic few weeks here. As the new Executive Director, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came to the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF).

KYLE: Sure, thank you. It’s true that my background is in music. I have always known that I wanted to be in the arts. I spent my 20s on the art side of things, making video art but also as an aspiring musician. I lived and worked in Montreal and released records, toured and did that whole business. Then I found myself working in music venues and worked my way up from the very bottom as a handyman to the general manager. I did this for about six to eight years before my partner and I moved out here to be closer to her family. When we arrived, I didn’t want to work in music any longer. So I dabbled in film production, and that opened the doors wider. I started as a venue manager for VIFF and quite literally worked my way back up again. This is the first full-tilt role at the festival since taking over, so I’m both excited and terrified. 

CAT: Well congratulations on everything. It takes a lot to get a festival like this off the ground, and there are so many people behind the scenes. And that’s something I really love about the Vancouver International Film Festival. There isn’t just an emphasis on the red carpets and the actors and stars - there’s a lot of focus on writers, directors, musicians and more. It is about the fundamentals. It’s about all the people who work in the industry.  

KYLE: The days of festivals being about ‘just going to the movies’ are over, to be honest. I think that we all spent the past few years getting through periods of isolation through streaming films, and we were able to do it on our terms. We’ve all got subscriptions to the many streaming services out there. So, you know, binge-watching is an option that’s available to everyone in their lives all the time. What VIFF offers is a deeper experience. The world is full of film festivals of all shapes and sizes, so it’s really important as a festival planner to define yourselves by your strengths. 

From the written word to the visual image to the sound behind it, film is a creative decision. We are not concerned with celebrity and are not concerned with the endless red carpets and the sponsors. We’re an audience-first festival. We’re here for the community.

CAT: And there’s so much inclusiveness here at the Vancouver festival. There’s diversity and variety and so much to take in. There are talks, speakers, and even a night with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra performing live. Tell us a little bit more about these features.

KYLE: So the ‘Talks’ series is one that I’m really proud of. It’s the bridge between industry and the general public. It’s for people who want to explore film culture beyond just the simple cinematic experience. The series is a way to find our favourite creators from around the world and then connect them with Vancouver audiences. We had a free online talk called ‘With Dean Fleischer Camp’, who’s the director and leader of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, a 2021 comedy. It started as a viral video, and it just went wild. It’s an adorable heart-wrenching animation of this little tiny shell with a single eye and these tiny shoes and the adventures it goes on. 

And then we have the industry conversations.