Now Playing
Possible Love
Lee Chang-dong’s first film since Burning (2018) is a sardonic, slow-burning satire about two couples: a documentary filmmaker married to a wealthy businessman, and a working-class family struggling to make ends meet after the husband has been laid off.
The Exorcist
Thirteen-year-old Linda Blair is Regan, the movie star daughter who is possessed by a demon, and whose body becomes a spiritual battleground. It builds slowly, carefully, into a maelstrom of sheer unadulterated horror.
La Bola Negra
A big, old-school historical melodrama gets a thrillingly modern, queer makeover from Spanish duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, who artfully juggle three gay protagonists across stories set in 1932, 1937, and 2017. Winner: Best Director, Cannes. Screening on 35mm.
The History of Concrete
After attending a workshop on pitching saccharine Hallmark movies, John Wilson tries to apply all the same best practices to his documentary about concrete. Frequently absurd and endlessly entertaining detours, asides, and digressions ensue.
Once Upon a Time in Harlem
Once Upon a Time in Harlem splices together footage shot by William Greaves in 1972 of a group of Harlem Renaissance luminaries in conversation at Duke Ellington’s townhouse. The film is a living archive of memory, disagreement, style, and Black genius.
An American Werewolf in London
Two American students get into a spot of bother with the wildlife in rural England. Then they introduce the virus to the big city... John Landis's goofy horror comedy is a very good night out. So long as it's not a full moon...
Festival Encores
Whether you missed a movie at VIFF, or want to give a title a second look, here’s your chance. Catch these audience favourites as they return to the big screen.
NAZA
NAZA is a codeword euphemistically used by Israeli intelligence to indicate the number of civilians it expects will be killed in an airstrike. This chilling documentary exposes the policy and process of state-sanctioned mass killings.
Once Upon a Time in Harlem
Once Upon a Time in Harlem splices together footage shot by William Greaves in 1972 of a group of Harlem Renaissance luminaries in conversation at Duke Ellington’s townhouse. The film is a living archive of memory, disagreement, style, and Black genius.
Possible Love
Lee Chang-dong’s first film since Burning (2018) is a sardonic, slow-burning satire about two couples: a documentary filmmaker married to a wealthy businessman, and a working-class family struggling to make ends meet after the husband has been laid off.
The History of Concrete
After attending a workshop on pitching saccharine Hallmark movies, John Wilson tries to apply all the same best practices to his documentary about concrete. Frequently absurd and endlessly entertaining detours, asides, and digressions ensue.
La Bola Negra
A big, old-school historical melodrama gets a thrillingly modern, queer makeover from Spanish duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, who artfully juggle three gay protagonists across stories set in 1932, 1937, and 2017. Winner: Best Director, Cannes. Screening on 35mm.
Premium Horror
Oct 25 – 31
To celebrate Halloween, we invited our VIFF+ Premium members to nominate the scariest movies they have ever seen.
The Exorcist
Thirteen-year-old Linda Blair is Regan, the movie star daughter who is possessed by a demon, and whose body becomes a spiritual battleground. It builds slowly, carefully, into a maelstrom of sheer unadulterated horror.
An American Werewolf in London
Two American students get into a spot of bother with the wildlife in rural England. Then they introduce the virus to the big city... John Landis's goofy horror comedy is a very good night out. So long as it's not a full moon...
Cure
This month's VIFF Premium member selection is a spellbinding thriller from Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Detective Kenichi Takabe (Koji Yakusho) is faced with a string of apparently unmotivated murders committed by different people, but bearing the same signature.
FRAMEWORK
Film Studies | Mondays, 11:00 am
Introducing a new type of Film Studies, FRAMEWORK brings the history of cinema to life with lighthearted but insightful introductions combined with classic film screenings.
Each series will be structured across a four-week period devoted to a key director in the advancement of the form. The inaugural series will dive into the one and only Alfred Hitchcock.
Live
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.
Shrek Cabaret
+ Shrek Film Screening
Nov 1
Dig out your greenest glad rags to celebrate Shrek. Before the movie, enjoy the ale of your choice at the Shrek Cabaret: expect songs, gags, acrobat princesses, a juggling Pinocchio, maybe even a talking ass… uh, donkey. It’s a fairy tale come true!
African Cinema Now!
The Witch at the Edge of the Screen | Curated by Akojo Film Collective
“Women are by nature witches.” So claims the son of a town’s Chief, cementing the outdated mentality that women are inherently bad. But what happens when these women answer back cinematically? The films of this season of African Cinema Now! zero in on this mentality and satirize the concept, showcasing it for what it truly is: absurd.
The Bloodettes
In this early Afro-futurist shlocker from Cameroonian director Jean-Pierre Bekolo (made in 2005 and set in 2025), two sex workers try to dispose of the body of a high profile politician who's died on the job (theirs, not his).
I Am Not a Witch
Rungano Nyoni's acclaimed debut feature is a visually striking satire about a 9-year-old orphan accused of witchcraft in contemporary Zambia. Screening in the latest African Cinema Now! series, The Witch at the Edge of the Screen.
Xalé
This singular Senegalese melodrama charts the struggles of orphaned teenage twins Awa and her brother Adama. The latter dreams of a new life in Europe while Adama has to cope with the unwanted attentions of her uncle. Curated by Akojo Film Collective.
Andrzej Wajda 100: War & Peace
Coming Soon | Nov 19 – Dec 27
The father of Polish cinema, Andrzej Wajda worked with, influenced, and mentored the likes of Krzysztof Kieslowski, Roman Polanski, Jerzy Skolimowski, Andrzej Zulawski, and Agnieszka Holland. Many of his movies are long-established art house classics; many more demand to be rediscovered, in sparkling 4K restorations, in this, his centennial year.
17 of these films will be coming soon to VIFF Centre, opening on November 19.
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