Are You Ready to VIFF?
We are excited to share with you the stellar line-up for the 43rd Vancouver International Film Festival, September 26 – October 6. Over 150 films, 80 shorts, VIFF Live performances, 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
More Tickets Released – At Noon Today
- I’m Still Here — “I’m Still Here remains a sombre, heartfelt drama about [Brazil’s] disappeared.” — Xan Brooks, The Guardian
- The Seed of the Sacred Fig — “In a sense, Sacred Fig is a home invasion movie in which the family’s sanctity, and ultimately its physical safety, is threatened by outside forces tearing them apart from the inside as well.” — Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter
- Shepherds — Sophie Deraspe’s film feels both elemental and intimate, evoking the rhythms of land and nature.
- Secret Mall Apartment — Secret Mall Apartment strikes a balancing act between the absurdity of its story and surprisingly profound questions about gentrification, the nature of social art, and what truly makes a home.
Tickets will be available online or by phone only.
Special Tip
Is your movie on “Standby” status and off-sale?
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. What is Standby?
Fréwaka
Oct 3 & 5
Dir. Aislinn Clarke
Country of Origin: Ireland
“It’s the mythical and political Irish context of Fréwaka that makes it stick, as it draws on lingering national guilt over the iniquities of the Magdalene laundries, and twists deep-seated folk imagery into uncanny nightmare fuel.” — Guy Lodge, Variety
Curl Power
Oct 3 & 5
Dir. Josephine Anderson
Country of Origin: Canada
“Curl Power may wear the garbs of a traditional sport documentary, but at its core it’s a coming-of-age film about the fleeting nature of youth.” — Courtney Small, POV Magazine
78 Days
Oct 3 & 5
Dir. Emilija Gašić
Country of Origin: Serbia
“A visually compelling, deft fragmentation of personal narrative amidst greater conflict.” — Douglas Johnson, International Cinephile Society
Add to Your Watch List
Shambhala
Oct 3
Dir. Min Bahadur Bham
Country of Origin: Nepal/France/Norway/Turkey/Hong Kong/Taiwan/USA/Qatar
“At once a spiritual odyssey and a more concrete journey of female self-determination, this is a visually magnificent slow-burner filmed high in the Himalayas.” — Jonathan Romney, Screen International Reviewed
Rosinante
Oct 3 & 6
Dir. Baran Gündüzalp
Country of Origin: Turkey
Directed by first-time filmmaker Baran Gündüzalp, Rosinante charmingly updates Vittorio De Sica’s classic Bicycle Thieves to modern-day Istanbul.
Unlikely Allies
Oct 3
Dir. Anthony Pedone
Country of Origin: USA
Anthony Pedone creates a touching personal portrait that complements the political message and infuses it with urgency.
Now Playing
Unlikely Allies
What does it take to unite right-wing billionaire Charles Koch with hip hop legend Snoop Dogg? This urgent and uplifting film documents an extraordinary response to an appalling injustice: a young man sentenced to 55 years for three marijuana sales.
Living Together
Halima Elkhatabi’s delightful debut documentary feature takes us to 15 apartments in Montreal, where a diverse assortment of potential roommates interview each other as they search for compatibility, authentic connections, and a place to call home.
Rosinante
When Salih loses his job, his middle-class life with his wife and son is thrown into jeopardy. After a string of job rejections, he joins an app-based motorcycle taxi driving service—until his bike, Rosinante, goes mysteriously missing.
The In Between
After the death of her brother, filmmaker Robie Flores is drawn back to USA/Mexico border town of Eagle Pass, and, while processing her grief, finds echoes and reverberations of her own memories in the hopes, dreams, and daily lives of the youth there.
Coconut Head Generation
In Nigeria's oldest university, a student film club presents work by Med Hondo, John Akomfrah, Mahamet-Saleh Haroun and others, which spark passionate criticial conversations around ethnicity, gender, colonialism and housing.
I’m Still Here
Walter Salles (Central Station; Motorcycle Dairies) adapts the 2015 memoir by Marcelo Rubens Paiva, an account of a family torn apart by the "disappearance" of a former congressman at the hands of the military dictatorship in Brazil, 1971.
Festival Updates
This is your one-stop shop for late additions, added screenings, and scheduled changes.
Late additions to date:
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Everybody Loves Touda
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Angela’s Shadow
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Pavements
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The Hands of Ida
And More!
VIFF Live
Unparalleled experiences that go beyond the screen.
Jeremy Dutcher & Alanis Obomsawin
Oct 4, 8:00 pm
Two of the most compelling voices in Indigenous music and cinema meet for an intimate, unique, and unforgettable evening of intergenerational story and song featuring award-winning Wolastoqiyik tenor and composer Jeremy Dutcher and renowned Abenaki filmmaker and musician Alanis Obomsawin.
VIFF Talks
The world’s leading creators share expertise on their craft.
Across Generations
With Alanis Obomsawin & Amanda Strong
Oct 5, 2:00 pm
An intimate dialogue between legendary Abenaki filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin and Michif/Métis Artist Amanda Strong, rising star in film and animation, as they discuss their artistic practices, the importance of intergenerational connection and story telling.
Designing the World of Shōgun
With VFX Supervisor Michael Cliett
Oct 5, 6:00 pm
FX’s Shōgun transports us so vividly into the world of feudal Japan that it comes as a surprise that it was shot right here in BC. Join us for a visual effects masterclass on the world-building behind the hit series.
Image: © FX
Special Events at VIFF
You won’t want to miss these!
An Evening with A.R. Rahman: Stories and Music from His Career
Oct 5, 8:00 pm
International superstar, two-time Oscar-winning composer and songwriter A.R. Rahman joins the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in an evening celebrating music spanning his legendary career composing for some of Hollywood and Bollywood’s biggest hits.
CFA x VSO Score Showcase
Oct 6, 1:00 pm
The VIFF Amp Composer Filmmaker Accelerator concert performance is the culmination of four filmmakers and twelve composers’ work, marking the first public performance of their original scores — a live score to screen — featuring 20 members of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
VIFF 2024
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