Fall film festival roundup: Asian, Jewish, Serbian, Labour, Cinesonika, DSLR

There’s no doubt about it—we’re in the thick of fall film festivals.

The Vancouver Asian Film Festival just wrapped up on November 7, with the short film “Serum 1831” by director Anand Kanna winning the VAFF and NFB best Canadian short award. Aaron Au's "The Tea Master" came in second, with Mangla Bansal's "Sindoor" came in third. Honorable mention went to Angelina Cantada's "Sikat".

Tonight (November 9), two film festivals kick off. The fourth annual Vancouver Serbian Film Festival (www.vsfilmfest.com/ ) continues until Friday (November 12), and the 22nd annual Vancouver Jewish Film Festival (www.vjff.org/ ) runs until next Thursday (November 18).

What's more, the second annual Canadian Labour International Film Festival, which showcases films about work issues, is also being held tonight at the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union Theatre (4911 Canada Way, Burnaby) at 7 p.m. There'll be a screening of the film The Nanny Business, about Filipinas who come to Canada but wind up being cheated or abused by recruiters or employers.

But as if that’s not enough, two new film festivals debut this week. Cinesonika (November 12 to 14) explores the importance of the soundtrack in film. International avant-garde and experimental short films from countries as varied as Argentina, Cyprus, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, and Portugal will be screened at Simon Fraser University’s Surrey campus. It’ll be accompanied by a conference with academic presentations on subjects such as the use of sound in Barton Fink, electronics in Italian cinema, and Australian feature-film sound design.

Meanwhile, the first Vancouver DSLR Film Festival will showcase international films made with digital single-lens reflex cameras. Everything from animation and sci-fi to dramas and documentaries will be shown at four screenings on the weekend (November 13 and 14) at the Pacific Cinémathí¨que (1131 Howe Street).

Needless to say, there's certainly plenty to keep local cinephiles busy. Keep in mind that's there's still more on the way, including the Amnesty International Film Festival (November 18 to 21), the European Union Film Festival (November 26 to December 9), and the Whistler Film Festival (December 1 to 5). Phew!