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Total Recall
The master of the subversive blockbuster, Paul Verhoeven concocts a film about corporate mind-control vs. revolutionary uprising by setting it on Mars and allowing for the possibility the whole thing is just an escapist fantasy...
Reservoir Dogs
Quentin Tarantino announced himself to the world with this ingeniously fractured heist movie, carved into character-centric chapters, riffing breezily on pop culture, but counterpointing all this with blood-soaked intensity.
Jacob's Ladder
Ever feel you're losing your mind? Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) comes back from the Vietnam War with a firefight in his head. Sanity is a losing battle in Adrian Lyne's terrifying psychological thriller.
True Romance
Rockabilly comic book clerk Clarence (Christian Slater) meets dream girl Alabama (Patricia Arquette) with trouble in her wake, in this seminal couple on the run thriller from Quentin Tarantino's excitable mind.
The Leopard
Lampedusa's elegiac account of a 19th century Sicilian aristocrat, Prince Salina, fading into history is one of the pinnacles of Italian cinema, an epic which influenced the tempo and gravitas of The Godfather, Age of Innocence and The Deer Hunter.
Namesake
Powell River... named for Israel Wood Powell, a 19th century politician and a man of his time, an advocate for residential schools and the Indian Act. The Tla'amin Nation asks the city to consider changing its name, a request which sparks intense debate.
90s, Baby!
Jun 19 – Aug 31
Ten years. 11 weeks. 90 films from the 1990s.
This summer VIFF takes a deep dive into a defining decade for the movies. The 1990s was a period of exciting innovation and increasing diversity. Our series proceeds chronologically through the summer — one week = one year.
90s, Baby! maps out the arc of the decade, hitting the most important cinematic landmarks, from blockbusters and milestone films to smaller cult films that continue to inspire and provoke.
Explore 90s, Baby! one year at a time.
Pantheon: The Greatest Films of All Time
Pantheon is a monthly series showcasing a selection of the “greatest movies of all time,” inspired by the mother of all film lists, the critics’ poll that has run once a decade in the UK’s Sight & Sound magazine since 1952.
Individual tickets $23
The Leopard
Jun 21
Lampedusa’s elegiac account of a 19th century Sicilian aristocrat, Prince Salina, fading into history is one of the pinnacles of Italian cinema, an epic which influenced the tempo and gravitas of The Godfather, Age of Innocence and The Deer Hunter.
African Cinema Now! | Portraits
What does it mean to know a person through cinema?
The latest installment of African Cinema Now! looks to understand contemporary Africa by revealing how people shape people and, in turn, how people shape systems.
These are people’s individual stories. These are their portraits.
Talking Pictures
Created for film lovers 55+ (but open to anyone), the Talking Pictures series offers films, refreshments and an open invitation to chat about our shared experience of the movie.
Tickets are just $12. Bring a buddy and get two for $20!
Ali & Ava
Jun 30
Bradford, West Yorkshire. Ali (Adeel Akhtar) is a music nut, and the most sympathetic landlord you will meet in a movie this year. Ava (Claire Rushbrook) is a teacher, a widow, and a grandmother. Clio Barnard’s love story has music, humour and hope.
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.
Julio Avila Cuban Band Live + The Mambo Kings Film Screening
Feel the heat! Shake your booty as we combine a live set of exhilarating Cuban music followed by a rediscovered 90s barnstormer of a movie starring Latin heartthrobs Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas alongside the likes of Tito Puente and Celia Cruz.
Coastal Jazz & VIFF Present: Lina Nyberg Live Score: The Norrtull Gang
This collaboration with Coastal Jazz brings together a proto-feminist silent film from the early 1920s with a new live score written and performed by Swedish singer-composer Lina Nyberg with stellar local a string quartet.
Andrea Superstein Sings Burt Bacharach + Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery Film Screening
Local hero and Anglophile Mike Myers scored a massive comedy hit with this spot-on spoof of James Bond and his many imitators. Before the yucks, Andrea Superstein treats us to a set of timeless Burt Bacharach tunes.
Laura Crema + Jazz on a Summer's Day
Laura Crema celebrates the enduring influence of Anita O'Day with a performance that captures the wit, swing, and rhythmic daring that made O'Day a standout in jazz history — followed by one of the all-time great jazz concert films.
VIFF Collection
The VIFF Collection is a unique and essential initiative that features early work by the next wave of leading Western Canadian storytellers. This permanent exhibition presents a unique opportunity for the public to enjoy free access to these works and enhance their appreciation of short forum storytelling.
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