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H is for Hawk

Dir. Philippa Lowthorpe
114 min

Based on naturalist Helen MacDonald's memoir (scripted by Emma Donoghue), H is for Hawk follows Helen (Claire Foy), who, after the sudden death of her father embarks on an intense relationship... with a goshawk.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

All That's Left of You

Dir. Cherien Dabis
145 min

Jordan's submission for the Academy Awards, All That's Left of You makes the most of its epic format to chronicle seven decades of Palestinian history while tracking the psychological impact of cycles of exile and oppression on three generations.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Sirât

Dir. Óliver Laxe
115 min

A desperate father (Sergi Lopez) searchers for his missing daughter through the spiritual wasteland of the Moroccan desert. An unforgettable sensory powerhouse, Sîrat will have you riveted and rattled for hours after the end credits have rolled.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Sun Ra: Do the Impossible

Dir. Christine Turner
84 min

Whether he was a man, a musician, or an emissary from Saturn (as he claimed), Sun Ra was one of the unique visionaries of the 20th century. Christine Turner’s documentary explores the legacy of this iconoclastic who turned his life into a work of art.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The Love That Remains

Dir. Hlynur Pálmason
109 min

Anna and Magnús have separated, leaving her to raise their three children as he spends long stretches at sea, working as a fisherman. As the seasons pass, their emotions ebb and flow. A richly conceived story with unexpected delight and humour.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

2026 Oscar® Shorts (Live Action)

Dir. Various
119 min

This year's contenders in the Live Action category include comedies, drama, an experimental musical, and a dystopian fantasy; films from the UK and the US, France and Israel.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Celebrating Black Futures

Co-Presented with the Vancouver Art Gallery | Curated by Kika Memeh

Film Studies: Adaptations

Saturdays, 10:30 am | Feb 21 – Mar 28 | Presented by Patricia Gruben

This series explores five acclaimed literary texts and the very different challenges they posed to filmmakers when being adapted for the screen.

The English Patient

Dir. Anthony Minghella
162 min

In the first of a new Film Studies series exploring literary adaptations, director Anthony Minghella tackles Michael Ondatje's challenging, poetic WWII novel about an enigmatic, badly burnt patient with a tragic past. Introduced by Patricia Gruben.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Nomadland

Dir. Chloe Zhao
108 min

Hamnet director Chloe Zhao picked up one of three Academy Awards (along with Best Picture and Best Actress) in 2021 for this unconventional, compassionate adaptation of Jessica Bruder's nonfiction book, Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

The American Friend

Dir. Wim Wenders
126 min

Wim Wenders' take on Patricia Highsmith's Ripley's Game is the real deal, an authentic mittel-European neo-noir, with Dennis Hopper as the original American psycho, Tom Ripley. This Film Studies screening is introduced by Patricia Gruben.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Nickel Boys

Dir. RaMell Ross
140 min

To tell the story of two friends serving time at a brutal racist Florida reform school, director RaMell Ross puts us inside their heads. It's a radical masterstroke in a powerful film, nominated for Best Picture.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Adaptation.

Dir. Spike Jonze
115 min

In the final installment of this year's Film Studies on Adaptation, we look at the 2006 film Adaptation — by Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (played by Nicolas Cage in the movie.) Introduced by Patricia Gruben.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Oscars® at VIFF Centre

Check out these Academy Award-nominated films on the big screen.

Mr. Nobody Against Putin

Dir. David Borenstein & Pavel Talankin
90 min

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary, and Special Jury Prize Winner, Sundance, 2025, this exposé shot by a Russian primary teacher shows how the Putin propaganda machine works to militarize children.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Sirât

Dir. Óliver Laxe
115 min

A desperate father (Sergi Lopez) searchers for his missing daughter through the spiritual wasteland of the Moroccan desert. An unforgettable sensory powerhouse, Sîrat will have you riveted and rattled for hours after the end credits have rolled.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

It Was Just an Accident

Dir. Jafar Panahi
105 min

Having offered some late-night assistance to a stranger in the wake of an auto accident, a mechanic grows convinced that he recognizes the supposed stranger’s voice as that of his torturer during a grueling prison spell.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

2026 Oscar® Shorts (Live Action)

Dir. Various
119 min

This year's contenders in the Live Action category include comedies, drama, an experimental musical, and a dystopian fantasy; films from the UK and the US, France and Israel.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

2026 Oscar® Shorts (Animated)

Dir. Various
83 min

The nominees for Best Animated Short Film include The Girl Who Cried Pearls, a fable from Canadian filmmakers Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, narrated by Colm Feore.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

2026 Oscar® Shorts (Documentary)

Dir. Various
157 min

Don't come to the program of Oscar®-nominated documentary shorts for escapism. But let's talk about the Canadian contender, Perfectly a Strangeness, featuring an abandoned observatory and three donkeys. More of this, please.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

The Voice of Hind Rajab

Dir. Kaouther Ben Hania
89 min

Mixing documentary and reenactment, this film powerfully evokes the desperate attempts of the Red Crescent to rescue a six year old child trapped in a car under Israeli military fire. Oscar nominee: Best International Film

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Sentimental Value

Dir. Joachim Trier
135 min

A once-revered director crashes back into his family’s lives, eager to recruit his daughter for a film role. When she declines, he finds a new muse in an eager but unpolished Hollywood star, sending his botched reconciliation spiraling into chaos.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Sinners

Dir. Ryan Coogler
137 min

2025's unexpected box office sleeper is that rare beast, a genre movie full of bold invention and surprise. We are in Mississippi in the early 1930s, and the opening of a new blues joint on the edge of town is the signal for all hell to break out.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

The Secret Agent

Dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho
158 min

Having run afoul of an influential bureaucrat in Brazil’s military dictatorship circa 1977, Marcelo decamps to Recife to live under an assumed name — but he’ll soon come to understand precisely how rampant the country’s corruption has become.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

One Battle After Another

Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
162 min

PT Anderson's breathless satire is the best political action movie of 2025, a defiantly anti-MAGA rallying cry featuring a six pack of crackerjack performances. They'll still be talking about this one 50 years from now.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
Oscars® Party 2026
Academy Award statue on orange background

Oscars® Party 2026

360 min

Experience the Academy Awards in style at the VIFF Centre! Watch the ceremony live on the big screen with a red carpet, a fully licensed bar and live hosts.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

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