The Amnesty International Film Festival starts tomorrow and runs through this weekend. It's the 11th festival in Vancouver and features 22 films this year at the Pacific Cinematheque on Howe Street. The festival intends to celebrate film's role in raising awareness about human rights struggles, both locally and internationally. There are definitely some fine looking films that are worth checking out.

The whole thing starts off with Finding Dawn, a NFB film about the estimated 500 aboriginal women who have gone missing in Canada - from downtown Vancouver, the "Highway of Tears" in northern BC and beyond. Other films delve into human rights issues in Israel, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Uganda, Rwanda, Burma, the former Soviet Union, Guatemala, the U.S. and Mexico.

A few of my picks after the jump.

The Vancouver Snow Show is this coming weekend. That means it's almost November, which means the snow is coming. Yoop! It's got all sorts of exhibitors, from ski and snowboard retailers selling things at super prices, to all things skiish and snowboardish and a handful of random corporations try to cash in on your extreme lifestyle (and recreational spending habits). Cram it all into the Convention Centre at Canada Place alongside the Canadian Ski Patrol's Ski and Board Swap and you've got a preseason fiesta.

If you're a fan of two of my favourite things: Vancouver and YouTube, then you might like this. Beyond Robson's got a YouTube group, much like our Flickr group but for images that move. So if you enjoy videos of the people, places and things of Vancouver, feel free to join the group and post your videos. Every week, we'll post a Vancouver related video right here. For now, here's a pretty mesmerizing compilation of timelapse videos of downtown. Sort of gives the city life of its own.

After a drawn out bout of 'maybes' and 'I hope not's, there she goes. I can't say I'm too devastated by this news. I went to Storyeum once when my parents were visiting last March. It was a bit of a grey day, and we found ourselves in Gastown with nothing to do so we (they) shelled out the cash to take in the show. I think it was one of the most bizarre museum experiences I've ever had. And that's counting the time my family got trapped inside the digestive system of a giant model human being and my baby sister had to save us. Oh wait, no.

I went to see The Science of Sleep last week, after much anticipation. It's the latest from director Michel Gondry, the guy that teamed up with Charlie Kaufman to bring us Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The movie takes a similar spin on a love story amidst a suspended reality. So if you liked Eternal Sunshine, you may love The Science of Sleep. Or you might not.

The Vancouver Home & Interior Design Show is coming back to the city shortly and if you fancy the excessive and unnecessary, head on over. Fortunately, the show is putting a bit of an emphasis on sustainable design trends. On the other hand, they're also having a dog fashion show.

I give two thumbs up to the show's initiative in taking a green slant on things. Not only are environmentally conscious organizations exhibiting at the event (like the David Suzuki Foundation and the City of Vancouver's Sustainability Group), but the organizers themselves are attempting to pull off a "greener show" - including using recycled paper for their advertising and minimizing paper communication, extensive on-site recycling and BC Hydro is sponsoring Green Power Certificates for all the electricity used at the event. Not bad.