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Image: A Girl Unknown

Let the Festival Begin!

The wait is over! We are excited to share with you the stellar line-up for the 45th Vancouver International Film Festival, October 1 – 11. Over 160 films, 85 shorts, VIFF Live performances, VIFF Talks, and special events will light up the screens and stages across Vancouver. Take a moment, explore the program and get ready to VIFF!

Today's Highlights

Ticket Release

Is the movie you want to see on Standby? Check the VIFF Daily emails or this page every morning for seats to your most-wanted films! More tickets may become available throughout the Festival.

Tickets will become available online only at 12:00 pm.

Add These Films to Your Watchlist!

See something you’re interested in? Log into your VIFF account and click the heart icon to add it to your personal watchlist!

The Difficult Bride
The Difficult Bride film image; two women dressed in saris

The Difficult Bride

Dir. Rubaiyat Hossain
87 min

The Difficult Bride follows Zaineen, a young woman preparing for her marriage. Through a blend of feminist social commentary, psychological horror, and surreal imagery, the film explores female desire, fear, and the weight of societal expectations.

Lindsay Family Stage at Granville Island International Village 9

Linka Linka

Dir. Kangdrun
100 min

Kangdrun's feature debut depicts a twentysomething filmmaker coming to grips with a shameful act she committed in childhood. Moving between past and present, with each main character played by two actors, this is a provocative and challenging work.

International Village 8 The Cinematheque
Kikuyu Land
Kikuyu Land film image; man spreading out a sheet of paper on grass

Kikuyu Land

Dir. Andrew H. Brown, Bea Wangondu
93 min

Kikuyu Land follows Mr. Mungai’s struggle to reclaim family land taken during the colonial era. Through personal stories and archival research, the film explores the enduring impact of land dispossession in Kenya.

International Village 9 VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

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Turtle Island Rap
Turtle Island Rap film image; woman singing into a microphone

Turtle Island Rap

Dir. Alexandra Lazarowich
97 min

Taking us into the world of Indigenous hip-hop, this soulful doc profiles three up-and-comers in the genre. Exploring its subject’s personal lives as well as their career moves, the film is a work of complex human portraiture — and the music is terrific.

International Village 9

Send the Rain

Dir. Hayley Gray, Kaayla Whachell
94 min

In Kaayla Whachell and Hayley Gray's tender drama Send the Rain, a young Okinawan-Canadian attempts to evacuate her stubborn grandmother from a wildfire zone, forcing both women to confront family history, responsibility, and the pull of home.

Fifth Avenue Cinema - 19+ only
The Difficult Bride
The Difficult Bride film image; two women dressed in saris

The Difficult Bride

Dir. Rubaiyat Hossain
87 min

The Difficult Bride follows Zaineen, a young woman preparing for her marriage. Through a blend of feminist social commentary, psychological horror, and surreal imagery, the film explores female desire, fear, and the weight of societal expectations.

Lindsay Family Stage at Granville Island International Village 9

A Bit of Light

Dir. Ali Asgari
87 min

A Bit of Light follows a doctor who plans to end his life following his arrest and the closure of his practice. The film ultimately asks what might reconnect a person to life when faith in institutions, work, and the future have been exhausted.

The Park Theatre Fifth Avenue Cinema - 19+ only
17
17 film image; girl looking out a window

17

Dir. Kosara Mitić
105 min

Seventeen-year-old Sara is hiding a big secret during her school trip, but when she witnesses the sexual assault of her best friend, her secret becomes impossible to hide. Kosara Mitić shines a light on the most volatile corners of the teenage experience.

International Village 10
A Girl Unknown
A Girl Unknown film image; woman crouching by a child on the beach

A Girl Unknown

Dir. Zou Jing
128 min

In this tender, compassionate drama, we see the hardships endured by a young girl adopted in the early 1980s during China’s one-child policy. As a teenager in the 90s, she’s still fighting to find a sense of belonging and assert her worth.

International Village 8 VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

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Live performances that push the boundaries of traditional film programming, intersecting cinema culture with music, comedy, podcasting, and performance in unique, cinema-infused live shows.

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