A Note from the Curator
This year, VIFF Live explores reworlding — visions and sounds of a world in which many worlds fit, of worlds that have already been, that are yet to come, and those that can perhaps be glimpsed and experienced only briefly.
Across multiple expressions of live performance and cinema that stretch the borders and boundaries of time, space, form, and genre, this year’s program makes space for enigmatic, iconoclastic, and singular creative voices that boldly take up the charge to imagine into, through, and across formal limits and histories.
From avant electronica and Indigenous psychedelia to next-gen digital tastemakers and lavish orchestral film scores, VIFF Live offers a wide-ranging series of unique events and experiences, including several notable Canadian and North American Premieres for music fans and cinephiles alike.
Celebrate composers like Jóhann Jóhannsson and Cristóbal Tapia de Veer; dive deep into electronic undercurrents with MUTEK x VIFF; witness the bold experimentalism of Xiu Xiu and Kelly Moran; journey through Inuit and Indigenous cosmologies with TAKKUUK and Los Thuthanaka; experience next wave sound selections from Derrick Gee; and time travel to immerse yourself in the dub cinema of The Last Angel of History and the iconclastic lore of The KLF.
I hope you’ll join me in celebrating these singular voices and experiments in image and sound.
ekosi maka,
Jarrett Martineau, VIFF Live Curator
Jarrett Martineau, VIFF Live Curator
Media Partner
Electronic Undercurrents
MUTEK x VIFF Live
Oct 2
Montreal’s renowned digital arts festival MUTEK joins forces with VIFF for an unforgettable evening of live audiovisual performance and electronic music featuring Dopplereffekt, Honeydrip, and MIIIA, in collaboration with visual artist MELT.
© Fre╠üde╠ürique Me╠ünard-Aubin
TAKKUUK
Oct 3
TAKKUUK, meaning ‘look closely’ in Inuktitut, explores the lives, communities, and challenges facing Indigenous artists across that the Arctic region. Preceded by live performances from Inuit throat-singing duo Silla and Greenlandic rapper Tarrak.
Kelly Moran
Oct 4
A special live AV performance by acclaimed pianist, producer, and composer Kelly Moran, charting unconventional sonic pathways through classical, avant-garde, and electronic sound with opener musician and composer Bahar Khazei and visual artist XEL.
Los Thuthanaka
Oct 5
VIFF is honoured to present the Canadian debut of experimental music duo Los Thuthanaka, whose spiraling Aymara rhythms, ceremonial textures, and psychedelic sounds combine into a transcendent live AV experience.
ERASERHEAD XIU XIU
Oct 6
The Canadian premiere of ERASERHEAD XIU XIU — American experimental rock band Xiu Xiu’s live exploration of the sonic and visual universe of David Lynch’s iconic cult film Eraserhead. A hallucinatory take on the most singular of midnight masterpieces.
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.
Celebrating Composers
An Evening with Cristóbal Tapia de Veer
Oct 5
Join multiple Emmy- and BAFTA-winning composer Cristóbal Tapia de Veer (Smile, The White Lotus) for a rare masterclass exploring his creative process and unique compositional practice.
© Invision AP
Jóhann Jóhannsson's Cinematic Suites: The Denis Villeneuve Scores
Oct 9
Experience the transformative power of music in film during the North American premiere of Jóhann Jóhannsson’s Cinematic Suites, a live orchestra performance of Jóhannsson’s masterful collaborations with directors Denis Villeneuve and James Marsh.
Time Travellers
The Last Angel of History
Oct 2
VIFF presents a special 30th anniversary screening of The Last Angel of History, preceded by a live performance from Speaker Music and followed by a conversation between DeForrest Brown Jr. and Otolith Group founders Kodwo Eshun and Anjalika Sagar.
The KLF: 23 Seconds to Eternity
Oct 3
VIFF presents the collected films and music videos of one of the most enigmatic and iconoclastic electronic bands of the 90s: The KLF. Preceded by a live AV performance from Vancouver electronic duo CHXMERAS.