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.
Upcoming Events
Tony Wilson's The Homeless Project
Combining music, text, still photography, and film to shine a sympathetic light on Canada's urban dispossessed, The Homeless Project is the third in composer, guitarist Tony Wilson's series of multimedia projects addressing pressing social issues.
Man With a Movie Camera Live Scored by Taras Luka
Bottomless invention and frenetic, dizzying montage make this city symphony one of cinema’s sharpest, most exciting experiences nearly a century after its release — here presented with a brand new score by Ukrainian composer and pianist Taras Luka.
Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music as Realized by Aram Bajakian, Stefan Maier and Anju Singh
Guitarist Aram Bajakian takes up the challenge issued to him by Lou Reed many years ago to perform the controversial noise album, Metal Machine Music. Plus Lou Reed performing Berlin from 2006.
Street Hassle: Songs by Lou Reed
Guitarist Aram Bajakian takes on the Lou Reed song catalogue in this second concert of the weekend. A ticket to this show includes free admission to Faraway, So Close at 3:30 pm.
Miles Davis 100! Vince Mai Plays Miles Davis
Vancouver trumpet legend Vince Mai Vince Mai will be performing music from some of Miles Davis's most memorable 1950s albums, including Kind of Blue, Walkin', Relaxin' and more. After his live set, enjoy Stanley Nelson's definitive documentary.
Miles Davis 100! Elevator to the Gallows + Julian Borkowski
24-year-old Louis Malle came out of the gate with this cool noir about a perfect murder that goes horribly wrong. A man (Maurice Ronet) kills his boss in his office, only to get stuck in the lift... Meanwhile his lover (Jeanne Moreau) is going frantic.
Feven Kidane Plays Ethio Jazz + Broken Flowers Film Screening
The Kidannes Ethio-Jazz Ensemble will be performing a unique blend of traditional Ethiopian & Eritrean music, combined with a healthy dollop of Western Jazz, in advance of the Jim Jarmusch movie which popularized Ethiopian Jazz in the West.
Coastal Jazz & VIFF Present: Lina Nyberg Live Score: The Norrtull Gang
This collaboration with Coastal Jazz brings together a proto-feminist silent film from the early 1920s with a new live score written and performed by Swedish singer-composer Lina Nyberg with stellar local a string quartet.
Past VIFF Live Events
Beverly Glenn-Copeland, online performance, VIFF 2020
Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin Plays Deep Red Live, VIFF 2019
On Cinema at the Cinema Live!, VIFF 2019
This is Spinal Tap: Anniversary Live Score, VIFF 2019
Song Exploder Live with Chuck D, VIFF 2019
Feminist Live Reads Some Like It Hot, VIFF 2019