VANCOUVER — Sofia Coppola's buzzworthy biopic "Priscilla," about a young Priscilla Presley's budding romance with music superstar Elvis, is headed to this year's Vancouver International Film Festival.
Organizers say they're returning to the first fully in-person festival since before the COVID-19 pandemic with a selection of roughly 140 feature films and 100 shorts.
"Priscilla," based on Priscilla Presley’s own autobiography, "Elvis and Me," is among the standouts. Earlier this week, the film swept through the Venice Film Festival earning strong reviews from critics and positioning it as a potential awards season contender.
Other big VIFF titles include "The Boy and the Heron," which is expected to be the last film of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, and opens the Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday.
And "Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe" takes a documentary lens to the life and career of Canadian children's entertainer Ernie Coombs.
The Vancouver film festival runs from Sept. 28 to Oct. 8. Public tickets go on sale Thursday.
This year's festival opens with Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki’s "Fallen Leaves," which won the jury prize at Cannes earlier this year, and closes with acclaimed Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hùng's "The Pot-au-Feu."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2023.
The Canadian Press
