The Power of Cinema
Each year, VIFF welcomes high school students to experience stories that challenge, connect, and transform how they see the world around them — and their place within it. Spanning diverse places, perspectives, and lived experiences, these films invite young audiences to engage with complex ideas and question assumptions. On the big screen, image and sound bring these stories to life with an immediacy that creates a safe space for reflection, conversation, and discovery.
How to Book
Free for high schools, capacity for all films is limited. To request a booking, please submit the online form linked below. Once we have had the chance to review your request, our team will be in touch to confirm availability and complete your booking.
Questions? Please email us at [email protected]
How Ignite Works
In Dialogue with Filmmakers & Subject Experts
This year introduces new opportunities for students to engage in meaningful dialogue with filmmakers, subject experts, and community members through a full-day program featuring a film screening, panel discussion, and hands-on workshop. Students will leave with the tools and context to engage thoughtfully with the film’s themes, and issues shaping the world around them.
Educational Film Resources & Curriculum Ties
Ahead of the festival, teachers will receive educational film guides featuring curriculum connections, key themes, discussion topics, and additional resources designed to support classroom learning and conversation that connects the cinema and the classroom.
Taking Ignite Beyond the Screen
Go beyond the screening with an extended Ignite experience. Following the screening of Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney, students will take part in an extended program of conversation and hands-on learning that explores how media shapes our understanding of politics, history, and the world around us.
Ignite 2026 Films
The Bryce Lee Story
Set in British Columbia, The Bryce Lee Story is a refreshingly relatable coming-of-age tale inspired by writer-director Arnold Lim’s own experiences. A distinctly Canadian perspective on the universal search for belonging.
Ceremony
Powerful and evocative, Ceremony follows the disappearance of the ooligan in Bella Coola, revealing a story of cultural survival, environmental stewardship, and the enduring relationship between the Nuxalk Nation and the land.
Congo Boy
Congo Boy tells the story of Robert, a Congolese 17-year-old displaced by civil war to the Central African Republic. With his parents imprisoned, he cares for his four younger siblings, all while pursuing his dream of becoming a musician.
© 2026 MAKONGO FILMS UNITÉ KIRIPIFILMS KARTA FILM CANAL
First Comes Love: Nakabingwit
Blending observational documentary with narrative storytelling, First Comes Love: Nakabingwit explores the romantic lives of Filipina Canadians and their white partners as they navigate race, identity, and communication.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney
Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney is an inventive archival documentary that transforms more than 80,000 pieces of footage into a vibrant audiovisual collage examining public image, political power, and historical memory.
