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
Stories Behind the Music
Mark Mothersbaugh, Composer & Musician
Oct 7
Join legendary DEVO co-founder and composer Mark Mothersbaugh in conversation with award-winning composer and former studio executive Robert Kraft.
A Long Winter
Oct 7 & 10
Dir. Andrew Haigh
“[A] poignant, subversive study of grief and desire […] it is fiercely acted, and wonderfully shot by cinematographer André Turpin.” Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
Fireflies in the Dark
Oct 7
Dir. Yogesh Lohan
Three interwoven stories craft distinct but connected portraits of lives caught in the strife of civil conflict.
A Distant Call
Oct 7
Dir. Andrea Suwito
“A Distant Call sees what it means to delicately straddle society in a moment of change.” Pat Mullen, POV Magazine
A Place of Absence
Oct 7 & 11
Dir. Marialuisa Ernst
Best Documentary Feature, San Diego 2026
We Are All Strangers
Oct 7
Dir. Anthony Chen
“There’s some addictively brash storytelling here from [director Anthony] Chen, with a page-turning novelistic energy and a marvellous [sic] sympathy for the whole cast.” Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
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!
Nowhere to Lay My Eyes
VIFF mainstay Hong Sangsoo returns with the story of a daughter, her estranged mother, and the step-family she's never met. Hong's visual style is unadorned as ever — all the better to highlight the strangeness of human interaction.
Aanikoobijigan [Ancestor/Great-Grandparent/Great-Grandchild]
In Aanikoobijigan, Indigenous repatriation specialists work to bring the remains and funerary objects of Ancestors home from institutional collections. This is a film shaped by memory, dignity, and a duty of care.
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.
Derrick Gee's Radio Hour
Oct 7
Fresh from sold-out tours across Europe and Australia, experience the Canadian premiere of cult music tastemaker Derrick Gee’s eclectic Radio Hour, where his on-stage living room welcomes community conversations, special guests, and shared listening.
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
Talks
The world’s leading creators share expertise on their craft.
Stories Behind the Music
Mark Mothersbaugh, Composer & Musician
Oct 7
Join legendary DEVO co-founder and composer Mark Mothersbaugh in conversation with award-winning composer and former studio executive Robert Kraft, exploring a singular career spanning Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, Thor: Ragnarok, and more.
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