What's On
Breathless
In anticipation of Richard Linklater's extremely cool Nouvelle Vague (VIFF's opening gala), this is an opportune moment to revisit Godard's iconic debut feature, a criminal romance about a petty criminal (Jean-Paul Belmondo) on the lam with Jean Seberg.
Plainclothes
New York, mid 90s. An undercover cop used as bait to entrap homosexuals secretly suspects he's gay himself. Coming out could cost him everything...
The Glassworker
In this romantic, Ghibli-esque animated feature a young apprentice glassblower falls in love with a violinist. But his father is a pacifist, while hers is a colonel in the military, and the country is on the verge of war...
Clearcut (Tribute to Graham Greene)
As a tribute to the beloved Graham Greene, we're screening one of his personal favourites, an intense, subversive environmental thriller directed by the Polish filmmaker Ryszard Bugajski.
The Blue Trail
In a near-future Brazil, elderly citizens are forcibly relocated to live out their days in a senior housing colony. When 77-year-old Tereza learns that she will soon be taken away, she embarks on a fantastical odyssey into the Amazon.
Orwell: 2+2=5
Oscar-nominated director Raoul Peck reimagines 1984 in this urgent essay on power, language, and control. With narration by Damian Lewis, it’s a chilling portrait of how Orwell’s warnings became our reality.
The President's Cake
Winner of the Caméra d’Or and Director’s Fortnight Audience Award at Cannes, Hasan Hadi’s fable-like drama set in 1990s Iraq follows an impoverished child's quest into the city to scrounge up ingredients for birthday cake for Saddam Hussein.
Ma - Cry of Silence
This bracing political drama tells the story of female sweatshop workers in Myanmar and their courageous struggle for justice. It’s a dark, unflinching work, in which the depiction of oppression is meant to spark outrage and action.
A Useful Ghost
Wacky, whimsical, and always engaging, this tale about Thailand’s bloody modern history starts with a ghost in a vacuum cleaner and ends with a guerilla attack on an orgy. In between there’s romance, deadpan comedy, and subversive historical excavation.
La Salsa Vive
An exuberant celebration of salsa that traces the genre's evolution from New York City in the 1960s and 70s to Cali, Colombia — the salsa capital of the world. Carvajal’s documentary highlights the rich legacy of this musical form and the joy it inspires.
If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
A harried mother (Rose Byrne) clings to an unhelpful therapist (Conan O’Brien) as she struggles to cope with her daughter's mysterious illness in Mary Bronstein’s darkly comedic psychological drama.