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
Queen at Sea
Oct 8 & 11
Dir. Lance Hammer
Silver Bear Jury Prize, Berlinale 2026; Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance: Anna Calder-Marshall and Tom Courtenay, Berlinale 2026
© Seafaring
Dao
Oct 8 & 10
Dir. Alain Gomis
“Unlike any regular narrative feature, immersing the viewer in a collective experience that the actors seem to be living out in real time while we watch them.” Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter
The Peril at Pincer Point
Oct 8 & 11
Dir. Noah Stratton-Twine, Jake Kuhn
“Brazenly ludicrous but intriguing, [a] beautifully crafted oddity,” Guy Lodge, Variety
The Flight
Oct 8 & 11
Dir. Soran Mardookhi
A film that is both necessary and quietly devastating.
Nitassinan
Oct 8 & 9
Dir. Joséphine Bacon, Kim O’Bomsawin
An intimate testimony to the unbreakable bond the Inno have with the land that sustains them, even in their dreams.
Revolutionaries Never Die
Oct 8 & 10
Dir. Mohanad Yaqubi
“As soon as Revolutionaries Never Die opens it builds an incredibly strong presence […] and quickly absorbs you,” Film Carnage
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 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.
Linka Linka
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.
Kikuyu Land
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.
Now Playing
Rebecca Horn – the Secret Life of Things
Rebecca Horn's extraordinary biography is interwoven with her surreal oeuvre. An essential document of one of the 20th century's most influential artists, Rebecca Horn – The Secret Life of Things celebrates the unsung legacy of a pioneering visionary.
Image: © Rebecca Horn
What Remains
Stuck in a big city in a mind-numbing domestic routine, a young poetess finds herself at crossroads when her role as a mother and wife starts to overshadow her identity as an artist.
School for Defectors
School for Defectors is an intimate and quietly uplifting documentary that follows a group of 20 teenagers, children of North Korean defectors, as they adjust to life and education at Jangdaehyun School in Busan, South Korea.
Fruit Gathering
Achingly sensual and graced with fine performances, Fruit Gathering depicts embattled desire in a conservative society. Two working-class women fall into a romantic relationship in contemporary Myanmar — but is their love real, or borne of desperation?
Short Forum 7: War at Home
Truly, no one is safe until everyone is safe.
Explore VIFF 2026's Film Program
View festival by genre, country, language and more
View festival on an interactive calendar grid
View festival from A to Z
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.
An Evening with Mark Mothersbaugh
Oct 8
Experience a one-night-only live performance with legendary composer and DEVO founder Mark Mothersbaugh, joined by an 11-piece ensemble, celebrating music from The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore, Thor: Ragnarok, The LEGO Movie, A Minecraft Movie, and more.
© Randall Michelson
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