I want to visit another diamond in the rough that I happened across during my VIFF screening this year. Of the 130+ films I screened, there were perhaps 6 films that stood out as being something special. Perhaps the most enigmatic and surprising of these was Devin Shears’ Cherub.

Benjamin Turnbull stars as Harvey, a lonely, overweight, straight man who works in the bio lab at York university. He moves through his day with little to no interaction with other people. If it weren’t for Harvey being constantly in frame, you’d think he was completely invisible. One day, while browsing an adult book store, Harvey stumbles upon a gay black and white rag called “Cherub,” billed as a magazine “for big men and their admirers.” Starved for affection, he decides to submit a photo of himself to the magazines “Cherub of the month” contest.

The beauty of Shears’ film lies in the gentle and caring way he portrays Harvey. A lesser filmmaker would have made fun of him, but in Cherub Harvey is seen as beautiful, both inside and out. The love that Shears’ has for his protagonist is clear from the outset, framing the world around his presence. While Harvey lacks confidence, he isn’t without humanity and Benjamin Turnbull’s performance paints a portrait of a man suffering from intense loneliness, but whose soul is ever present and available to us as an audience. In a world that feels less and less forthcoming with kindness, it’s a joy to see a film that treats its subject with such respect and admiration.

An ambient, calming experience, Cherub is dialogue free, but shines with a glistening score that highlights Harvey’s solitude and creates a warm and soft tone throughout. Shears made Cherub as his thesis at York, but his film is so much more than a thesis film. A simple, amusing premise unfurls to reveal a non-judgemental and deeply affectionate story about the power of affirmation. If art is an act of love, then Cherub is a piece of art of the highest order.

I’m excited to share this film with VIFF audiences and am looking forward to this afternoon’s Q&A with Devin and Ben.

I managed to take in 10 films over the festival’s first three days, alongside conducting a Q&A on the evening of day 3. Here are a few highlights from the festival so far.

Anora
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to hear that Anora is one of the year’s best films. The hype at Cannes was huge and most weren’t surprised when Sean Baker took home the Palme D’or. Mikey Madison is a force of nature as Anora (Ani) an exotic dancer who scores big when she meets the son of a Russian oligarch. Everything goes to hell when her new In Laws find out about the marriage and fly to New York to intervene.

Pure farce with Baker’s signature style of controlled chaos. A perfect mix of tension and humor, aggression and love, intensity and tenderness. This is undoubtedly the film of the year for me at this point and I really don’t see anything on the docket that has the potential to top this. I am always open to being wrong on that front, of course.

Perhaps a second viewing will inspire me enough to write more thoughts, but this was the perfect way to start my VIFF 2024 and has set the tone through the rest of the festival so far. The media screening was sparsely attended, but the usually quiet crowd at those screenings was loud with laughter and gasps throughout. Quite the invigorating experience.

Rumours
The new Guy Maddin film is quite the surprising turn for the director. Following a G7 Summit meeting where the world leaders have joined together to write a statement over dinner in a scenic gazebo. Things go bad when they are abandoned at the gazebo and the world undergoes some sort of apocalyptic event. Sounds vague? That’s intentional. The leaders of the 7 countries are all uniquely aloof and the statement they intend to write seems to be more in the nature of “Concepts of a plan” than anything substantial or useful.

Things escalate in the most bizarre ways and the group is left to fend for themselves in a dense forest, fighting their way back to the estate hosting the summit, so they can deliver their declaration to what little is left of the destroyed world. The experience is outrageously on the nose, but nevertheless hilarious and perhaps even funnier for it’s heavy handed approach. This was a perfect follow up to Anora. An absurd and over the top comedy that tried to do something completely different, but with an equal level of commitment.

Conclave
The media screenings for the first week wrapped up with Edward Berger’s papal drama. Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Lawrence, who is tasked with organizing the conclave to decide the new pope. Full of political intrigue, the Cardinals and higher-ups of the Catholic Church whisper to eachother in the hallways of the Vatican, conspiring amongst themselves to steer the direction of the church to their desired pathway. Traditional, conservative views clash with the younger progressive values of the new church and the conclave finds itself at an extended standstill.

Unable to organize his compatriots to agree on a progressive candidate, Lawrence begins to uncover a trail of secrets and lies that threatens the sanctity of the process and leads to a high stakes faceoff between different sects of the papacy. Conclave is taut and effective and serves as a unique look into a process that is heavily shrouded in mystery. Likely to be present during awards season next year, I’d recommend Conclave for people who like a classic political thriller with a stalwart cast.