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Lynx Man film image

Insights

Trailer

Image: Lynx Man, VIFF 2023

Documentaries that change the way we see the world

Journeys, expeditions, and roads less travelled are at the heart of many Insights titles. Two outstanding environmental documentaries explore the oceans’ depths and world’s soils and emerge with possible solutions. We see the hardwon successes of South Asian Canadians staking their claim in our national sport. The impacts of colonialism are investigated, but examples of resilience and healing are also offered. The concepts of compassion and care are also present in profiles of addiction expert Gabor Maté and a unique psychiatric centre floating on the Seine.

Series Media Partner

Lynx Man

Documentary

A reclusive farmer begins to reconnect with Finland's near-extinct Eurasian lynxes after finding them on his land. Through a series of wildlife encounters, the farmer performs primal, moonlit rituals, blurring the distinctions between man and beast.

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6:15 pm
Thu Sep 28
International Village 9
Hearing Assistance Subtitles
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1:45 pm
Sun Oct 01
International Village 9
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Winter Chants

Women Directors

This moving doc zooms in on Ho Chung Village, which lies in the hilly rural area of Hong Kong. Once a decade, its citizens hold the Peace and Light Festival as a tribute to their village, its departed souls, and the gods that preside over them all.

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6:30 pm
Thu Sep 28
The Cinematheque
Hearing Assistance Subtitles
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12:45 pm
Fri Oct 06
Vancity Theatre
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The Invention of the Other

Documentary Human Rights & Social Justice

In 2019, FUNAI, a Brazilian state protection agency working for Indigenous rights, sent an expedition of 30 people into the Amazon rainforest to make first contact with the Korubo. This powerful film is an immersive ethnographic journey.

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3:15 pm
Fri Sep 29
International Village 10
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9:30 pm
Sun Oct 01
International Village 10
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Common Ground

Award Winners Documentary

An impassioned plea to care for the very thing that feeds us, balances the climate, and sustains life on earth: soil. Common Ground unveils the potential of regenerative farming, to show us how saving the soil can help save us along with it.

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3:30 pm
Sat Sep 30
Park Theatre
Closed Captioning Hearing Assistance U18 May Attend
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6:30 pm
Sun Oct 01
Studio Theatre
Hearing Assistance Relaxed Screening U18 May Attend
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6:15 pm
Wed Oct 04
International Village 9
Closed Captioning Hearing Assistance U18 May Attend
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The Mission

Documentary

In 2018, an American missionary traveled illegally to one of the most isolated places on Earth– North Sentinel Island, determined to convert one of the world’s most isolated populations to Christianity. This misguided mission would quickly see him killed.

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6:30 pm
Sat Sep 30
International Village 10
Closed Captioning Hearing Assistance Subtitles U18 May Attend
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12:45 pm
Mon Oct 02
International Village 9
Closed Captioning Hearing Assistance Subtitles U18 May Attend
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WaaPaKe

Documentary Human Rights & Social Justice

WaaPaKe is a story about resilience, love and transformation. Examined through an Indigenous lens, the stories of residential school Survivor-Warriors and their families offer an understanding of both intergenerational trauma and healing.

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6:30 pm
Sun Oct 01
SFU Woodwards
Guests/Q&As Hearing Assistance Subtitles U18 May Attend
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3:45 pm
Wed Oct 04
International Village 9
Guests/Q&As Hearing Assistance Subtitles U18 May Attend
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Mareya Shot, Keetha Goal: Make the Shot

Documentary Women Directors

This spirited sports doc follows four junior hockey players of South Asian descent through the 2021-2022 season as they strive to make it to the NHL. Among them, Surrey’s own Arsh Bains, who signs with the Vancouver Canucks.

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6:30 pm
Mon Oct 02
SFU Woodwards
Guests/Q&As Hearing Assistance U18 May Attend
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4:15 pm
Sat Oct 07
International Village 10
Guests/Q&As Hearing Assistance U18 May Attend
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Deep Rising

Documentary

Exploring the luminous ecosystems deep in the Pacific Ocean alongside the countries and companies hoping to reap the lucrative deposits of precious metals lining depths of the ocean. Deep Rising asks if this may end our search for efficient green power.

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1:30 pm
Tue Oct 03
International Village 9
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6:45 pm
Wed Oct 04
International Village 10
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On the Adamant

Award Winners Documentary

On the Seine in central Paris, not far from the city’s cultural landmarks, is a huge, floating barge called The Adamant, a psychotherapy day centre with a special focus on art therapy. This tender doc won the Golden Bear at this year’s Berlinale.

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1:00 pm
Thu Oct 05
Vancity Theatre
Hearing Assistance Subtitles
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8:30 pm
Sat Oct 07
Vancity Theatre
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Physician, Heal Thyself

Documentary

One of the world's foremost experts on addiction and trauma, Dr Gabor Maté shares not only his theories, but also his own story: his difficult childhood in Hungary and his long years of therapeutic practice in and around Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

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6:00 pm
Thu Oct 05
SFU Woodwards
Guests/Q&As Hearing Assistance
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3:30 pm
Fri Oct 06
The Rio Theatre
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