January 30 edition: Vancouver filmmaker wins big at Sundance

Hello! I’m filling in for V, who is out of office this week.

Our team is so small that we really feel it when one of us is off work. It makes me think about the value of what we do—here at the Straight, yes, but also more generally as storytellers and information-sharers.

Creativity, emotion, and critical thought are what make us human. So, we always write our own articles from our own minds—even when it’s a little more stressful with a team member OOO. AI is a shortcut we simply won’t take.

— Sara
Editor-in-Chief

FEATURE

Vancouver filmmaker wins big at Sundance

It’s been a big week for Vancouver director Natalie Rae, who recently took home two awards from the 40th iteration of the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Daughters—a new documentary following four young girls as they prepare for a special Daddy Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers, as part of a unique fatherhood program in a Washington, DC jail—made its world premiere at the esteemed festival, which ran this year from January 18 to 28.

CITY & CULTURE

Pop culture moments filmed in Vancouver

While Vancouver is known as Hollywood North, it rarely plays itself in a film or on a TV show, instead usually standing in for big cities like Seattle and San Francisco—but also for fictional ones like Rosedale and Star City. Many of our city’s locations are easily recognizable, but others tend to slip under the radar. Here are some easy-to-miss Lower Mainland spots that have seen airtime in pop culture’s biggest flicks and shows over the years.

• The Burnaby smell that just won’t quit

• Transit strike updates for this week

• MEC is having a rare warehouse sale

• Head to the Vancouver Convention Centre from February 17-19 for FAN EXPO Vancouver. See stars like Joseph Quinn and Elijah Wood while you celebrate fandom.*

*sponsored listing

SPONSORED BY THE POLYGON GALLERY

From Slander's Brand ends this weekend at The Polygon Gallery

Join The Polygon Gallery on the closing weekend of their blockbuster winter exhibition From Slander's Brand. The three-person exhibition features three monumental works by Hannah Darabi, Rachel Khedoori and Vancouver's Ron Terada that ask how art gives form to events that defy description.

Closing Celebration on Sunday, Feb 4 from 3-6pm featuring DJ Mikubat.

Admission to The Polygon is by always donation, courtesy of BMO Financial Group.

ARTS

Know Your Local: Justin Jacob Louis takes a streetwise approach to Indigenous fashion

Justin Jacob Louis harnesses the traditions and creativity of his Samson Cree heritage for his clothing brand, SECTION 35 (which, by the way, has a sleek brick-and-mortar store in Chilliwack). The result is streetwear that is both forward-thinking and celebratory of the past. We caught up with the designer to learn more about his approach.

• Mark You Calendar: You used to call me Marie… is an epic Métis love story

• The MENA Film Festival is on now

• As buoyant and bubbly as a glass of prosecco, Arts Club On Tour brings you Made in Italy. February 21–April 2. Find a venue near you!*

• A sly theatrical revelation, The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes asks how we collectively make decisions in the best interest of a civic society. February 1-3.*

*sponsored listing

MUSIC

Twitter trending of “Taylor Swift AI” should outrage everyone

“Taylor Swift AI” had a boggling 27,000 posts on X (Twitter) recently, and for all the wrong reasons. If you clicked on it, there were enough Swifties blessedly running interference that you had to do a deep dive to find out what all the outrage was about. And if, against your better judgement, you really had to know, eventually it was all enough to make you wonder what the hell is wrong with the world in 2024.

• ICYMI: The JUNO Awards are coming back to Vancouver

• Justin Timberlake is kicking off his world tour in Vancouver

• The Elevate Semi-Final is coming up! Join us for an electrifying night of music at the Biltmore Cabaret on February 10. Grab your tickets now!*

*sponsored listing

SPONSORED BY MODO-LIVE

This Thursday! Georgia Straight Concert Series ft. Babe Corner

Babe Corner is kicking off a new era of Vancouver alt-rock with a message of love, panic, longing, and satisfaction. Don't miss them live in concert in the second installation of The Georgia Straight Series at The Pearl this Thursday February 1st! With special guests Layten Kramer & Doohickey Cubicle.

FOOD & DRINK

Vancouver restaurants with special Valentine’s Day menus

This Valentine’s Day, we Vancouverites might not be able to crack a bottle of bubbly under the Eiffel Tower—but we sure could crack a non-alcoholic craft beer on a bench in Dude Chilling Park. For those looking for a slightly more elevated experience to share with their Valentine, though, there are a ton of local restaurants offering up special menus on February 14. Here are a few places to start.

• Oh dear: the McRib is back in Canada

• Get ready to mix up your morning routine, because Tacofino has been up early cooking something new for a breakfast table near you.*

*sponsored listing

SPONSORED BY FIREHALL THEATRE

'Chelsea Hotel' Celebrates the Music of Leonard Cohen at Firehall Arts Centre

Chelsea Hotel: The Songs of Leonard Cohen follows a writer's tumultuous love life haunted by the memories of the past. He checks into New York's infamous hotel, desperate to find inspiration. Told through song and old relationships, the production blends music, dance, and drama embodied as a poetic musical journey.

THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK

MUSIC: “Radioactive” rockers Imagine Dragons bring their sound to town. (Jan. 30 @ Rogers Arena)

ART: Dispossessed but Defiant is a free international photo exhibit that examines different aspects of Indigenous peoples’ experiences of dispossession, and their inspiring struggles to resist these processes. (To Jan. 31 @ St. Andrew’s United Church, North Vancouver)

DANCE: The Dance Centre presents Returns, an innovative artistic enquiry into the 30-day retail return policy an imaginative convergence of dance, labour, and garment fabrication. (To Feb. 3 @ Scotiabank Dance Centre)

FILM: Four Daughters follows a woman whose two eldest daughters, both still teenagers, fled Tunisia to fight for ISIS. (To Feb. 6 @ Vancity Theatre)

ART: This solo exhibition by Dani and Sheilah ReStack uses video, drawing, and photography to contemplate queer desire, family, and collaboration in a time of planetary crisis. (To April 6 @ Western Front)

SEX: Learn about BDSM in a safe, inclusive environment at Get Your Kink On! (Jan. 31 @ The Art of Loving)

KARAOKE: Belt your heart out in a lively bar, and indulge in a $6 Old Style Pilsner while you’re at it. (Jan. 31 @ Hero’s Welcome)

Want to know what else is happening in Vancouver? Check out our events listings.

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