Ariadne’s note: The World Poetry Café and www.worldpoetry.ca are honoured to present the talented filmmaker Vic Sarin with his new film Hue, A Matter of Colour being shown at the Vancouver International Film Festival. This is a thought provoking film on the effects of colour  worldwide. It was one of my Must See Films in  reviews for TAN, The Afro News. Vic Sarin will be calling in on October 8th,at 9:45 pm PST, World Poetry Café Radio Show, 100.5 FM to talk about the show. For more information and tickets: viff@viff.org |  

VIC SARIN – Director/Writer/Cinematographer

A passionate and diverse filmmaker, Vic Sarin‘s career includes award-winning feature films, documentaries and television movies.

Sarin began his career in Australia making documentaries that he produced, wrote, directed and shot, while working for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as a cameraman. He then emigrated to Canada and went on to become one of Canada’s most celebrated Directors of Photography, receiving numerous accolades including Genie, Gemini and Emmy nominations and awards among others. He is the recipient of the prestigious Kodak Lifetime Achievement Award for having created some of Canadian cinema’s most moving and memorable images. Vic’s outstanding work on feature films such as Margaret’s Museum, Whale Music, Bye Bye Blues, Dancing in the Dark and On My Own earned him world renown as one of Canada’s premier cinematographers.

Sarin then turned his focus to directing where he often wears both hats as Director and Cinematographer, creating a distinct look and feel with breathtaking visuals and a unique storytelling style that seamlessly weaves together the emotional and visual aspects of his films. As a director, Sarin has won recognition for a diverse range of films such as the feature Cold Comfort, starring Maury Chaykin and Paul Gross, which garnered five Genie (Canadian Academy Award) nominations including Best Picture. He has thrice received Emmy nominations for his family films for television: In His Father’s Shoes, starring Lou Gossett (five Emmy nominations including Best Direction and Best Picture), Sea People starring Hume Cronyn, (four Emmy nods including Best Direction and Best Picture) The Legend of Gatorface and Trial at Fortitude Bay starring Lolita Davidovitch and Henry Czerny which garnered both Emmy and Cable Ace nods. He received critical acclaim for the controversial television movie, “Murder Unveiled – A Love Story.”

Sarin wrote his first feature film screenplay Partition, a story of love against all odds, set against the turmoil at the end of the British reign of India in 1947, based on events he had heard about and witnessed growing up in Kashmir. Partition became a $10 million feature that Sarin directed and shot in India and Canada in 2006 starring Jimi Mistry, Neve Campbell, Kristin Kreuk and Irfan Khan. It was released theatrically internationally in 2007 and has won numerous accolades.

Continuing to work with the themes of belonging, family, and what we leave behind, Sarin co-wrote the screenplay adaptation for the feature film A Shine Of Rainbows, based on the novel by Lillian Beckwith. Sarin completed production on A Shine of Rainbows in 2009 starring Connie Nielsen, Aidan Quinn and newcomer John Bell. The film had its North American premiere at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival, has won numerous awards, including the prestigious Truly Moving Picture award, and had its theatrical release in April 2010.

Sarin has recently completed Desert Riders, a feature documentary exploring the world of children camel jockeys in the Middle East, and is presently in post-production on the feature documentary Hue, an exploration of colourism in various cultures through Sarin’s perspective. He is also co-writing and will direct the epic feature film Jack of Diamonds, celebrating the journey of maverick Canadian geologist Jack Williamson.

Sarin’s films, though unique in character and setting, share a common thread — the exploration of the human need for connection, tolerance and opening the boundaries of the human heart.

 In a brief e-mail interview with Mr. Sarin, he kindly responded to my questions below:

How long did it take to make Hue?

It took about 2 years to film Hue across the world.  It is a story which has no beginning, middle or end and yet the film had to engage the audience. It was a challenge to gain trust of the subjects on this very personal and emotional subject.

What message are you trying to convey to the world?

I didn’t really have a mandate when making this film. I just wanted to have a discussion and to open up the dialogue. We talk about height, weight, eye colour etc., freely, yet we are so hesitant to discuss skin colour. I hope this film will start a more open conversation because this issue often plays a devastating role in people’s lives.

Were there any surprises in making the movie?

I thought it might be difficult for people to open up about this preference; however, to my surprise it wasn’t the case (though women were more open to discuss than men.) When I embarked on this film, I was aware of how a billion dollar cosmetic industry assists to satisfy this desire of millions of people of colour. While filming though, I discovered how deep this desire has gone beyond looks only.