Five years ago, Alan Franey had a vision. Frustrated by abysmal office quarters and a lack of screens for non-mainstream movies, the director of the Vancouver International Film Festival decided that a new film center – run by VIFF’s non-profit society – would solve a lot of problems.

This month, the Vancouver International Film Centre and VanCity Theatre officially opens its doors.

The $5-million, 14,000-square-foot complex in downtown Vancouver houses VIFF offices, a multipurpose gallery, an editing room, office space, screening rooms, a three-storey glass atrium and – the crowning jewel – a 175-seat theater.

‘This is a huge watershed in our industry,’ explains Franey. ‘It gives us a home we can depend on, allows us to have equity, working capital. We can escape the cycle of poverty.’

And – the bonus – he can now develop year-round programming. Franey is counting on the luxurious new cinema – Parisienne seats, German-made 35mm, 16mm and digital projectors – to lure cinephiles away from their DVDs and home theaters.

Screenings during VIFF (Sept. 29-Oct. 14) include a tribute to Argentine filmmaker Adolfo Aristarain and screenings of Ten Skies and 13 Lakes by Vancouver’s avant-garde director James Benning.

The center is also home to the VIFF Film and Television Trade Forum (Sept. 28-Oct. 1), ‘the place to be for budding filmmakers, producers, writers, directors – anyone who wants to know about the business from the world’s best,’ according to organizer Melanie Friesen.

Friesen has rounded up some heavy hitters for the forum’s 20th anniversary, including Oscar-winning screenwriter James L. White (Ray); production designer Dennis Gassner (Big Fish, Road to Perdition); West Wing writer Michael Oates Palmer; acclaimed screenwriter, director and playwright, Neil LaBute (Nurse Betty, Your Friends and Neighbours); and – the biggest catch, she says – director Catherine Hardwicke (Lords of Dogtown, Thirteen) in a session with producer Elizabeth Yake (It’s All Gone Pete Tong).

Organizers expect to see more than 150,000 filmgoers at this year’s VIFF, which includes 309 films from 50 countries, running at five venues including the film center.

The Canadian Images program culled 96 picks from 700 submissions, says programmer Diane Burgess.

‘This year there are quite a few impressive first features from B.C.,’ she says. ‘It’s been a rough year or two for the film industry, especially in B.C., so it’s good to see such a strong showing in indigenous films.’

The opener is A Simple Curve. Director/writer Aubrey Nealon’s debut feature was filmed in B.C.’s majestic Kootenay mountains, where he grew up. It’s the story of young man stuck living off the land with his hippie parents.

Also from B.C. and making its world premiere is The Score, a groundbreaking musical drama that explores the implications of the human genome project, from director Kim Collier.

Other VIFF picks include Dylan Akio Smith’s darkly comic The Cabin Movie, Eve and the Fire Horse from Vancouver writer/director Julia Kwan, and The French Guy, an absurdist comedy from Ann Marie Fleming (The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam), starring Babz Chula and Tygh Runyan.

Jennifer Beals, Ed Begley Jr. and Ian Tracey (Da Vinci’s Inquest) star in the Scott Weber thriller Desolation Sound, while director Barbara Willis Sweete will premier her Five Days in September, a documentary about the Toronto Symphony Orchestra featuring Renée Fleming, Emmanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma.

www.viff.org