Box Office
Hours
Year Round
Open 30 minutes before the first screening of the day and is located at the VIFF Centre, 1181 Seymour St.
Festival Period
From Thursday, October 2 – Sunday, October 12, all of our theatres serve as box offices, where you can buy tickets for any film in the festival.
Box offices open 30 minutes prior to the first screening of the day at that theatre (Vancouver Playhouse and International Village will open 45 minutes prior), and close after the theatre’s last screening of the day has started. All VIFF venues, not including the VIFF Centre, are cashless venues.
Infoline
Phone: (604) 683-3456
Email: [email protected]
Year Round
Our Box Office Infoline is staffed Monday-Friday, 12-5 pm (plus weekends and special event coverage).
Festival Period
From Tuesday, September 2 – Sunday, October 12, our Festival Infoline is staffed 7 days a week, 12-6 pm.
Festival Pricing
Single Film Tickets
| Price | |
| Adult | $21 |
| Senior (65+) | $19 |
| Student/Youth | $16 |
| Accessible | $16 |
| VIFF+ Members | $18 |
| VIFF+ Premium/ Patron/U25 |
$16 |
*Prices above do not include GST.
*Ticket prices are inclusive of a $3 service charge.
VIFF+ Member Ticket Pre-Sale is from noon on Aug 27 to noon on Aug 28.
Not a VIFF+ member? Join Now!
Tickets go on sale to the general public at noon on Aug 28.
Get tickets at viff.org or the VIFF Centre Box Office during regular box office hours. During the festival, all of our theatres serve as box offices. Check hours.
Advance tickets can sell out, but new ticket allotments are often released closer to the screening date. Check viff.org for updates. Additionally, learn more about our Standby lines.
Ticket Packs |
Buy Now |
| Regular | VIFF+ | Premium/ Patron |
|
| 6 Pack | $120 | $105 | $95 |
| 10 Pack | $180 | $160 | $145 |
| Senior 6 Pack | $110 | N/A | N/A |
| Senior 10 Pack | $165 | N/A | N/A |
| Student 6 Pack | $95 | N/A | N/A |
| Student 10 Pack | $145 | N/A | N/A |
How Do Ticket Packs Work?
VIFF Ticket Packs enable you to book film tickets in advance, eliminating the need to queue in the passholder lineup. You are guaranteed entry, allowing you to spend more time enjoying the festival!
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Ticket Packs work like credits on your viff.org account.
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There are no restrictions on the number of tickets from your pack that can be used per screening. For example, if you purchase a 6-Ticket Pack, you can use all 6 tickets for a single screening or divide them across multiple screenings.
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Ticket Packs cannot be used to attend VIFF Gala screenings, Talks, VIFF Live, Industry or Special events.
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Unused credits from Ticket Packs do not carry over to year-round screenings at the VIFF Centre, and are not eligible for partial refunds or downgrades.
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VIFF+ Members can access advance booking from noon on Aug 28 to noon on Aug 29.
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All Ticket Pack holders can start booking tickets from noon on Aug 29.
Passes |
Buy Now |
| Regular | VIFF+ | Premium/ Patron |
|
| Platinum Pass | $1300 | $1170 | $1040 |
| Festival Pass | $475 | $428 | $380 |
| Festival Senior Pass | $435 | N/A | N/A |
Pass Access
| Platinum | Festival/Senior | |
| Regular Screenings | ✓ | ✓ |
| Special Presentations | ✓ | ✓ |
| Gala Screenings | ✓ | |
| Industry Events | ✓ | |
| Talks | ✓ | |
| VIFF Live | 2 tickets | |
| Amp Keynotes | ✓ | |
How Do Passes Work?
Platinum Pass
Take your Festival experience to the next level with the limited edition Platinum Pass.
Platinum Passholders get priority access and special reserved seats.
New this year! By pre-booking, Platinum Passholders will get access to two VIFF Live presentations of their choice.
More on the Platinum Pass
Platinum Passholders enjoy the most flexibility. Here is what you need to know.
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We put aside a generous allotment of passholder seats for each screening.
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Passholders are granted access to these seats before other patrons or until the passholder allotment is reached.
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Platinum Passholder seats are held until 5 minutes before showtime.
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If the passholder allocation is full, our front-of-house team will ask any passholders wishing to see the film to wait in the Standby line.
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Once all other patrons are seated, the Standby line will be admitted if seats are available. At this point, Platinum Passes do not guarantee entry.
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For more info on Platinum Passes, see our Festival FAQs
Festival Pass
With a Festival Pass, you can explore VIFF’s spectacular roster of films.
You’ll meet other film fans and hear what’s hot when you arrive early and join the Festival Passholder line.
New this year! Festival Passholders will get two vouchers to secure seats in advance for those screenings that you can’t miss!
More on the Festival Pass
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A generous allotment of seats is reserved for Festival Passholders at every VIFF screening, up to 20 minutes before showtime or until the passholder allotment is filled, even when advance sales are sold out.
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Passholders who arrive after the 20-minute mark or the passholder allotment has been filled will be asked to join the Standby line.
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Many screenings will have seats available at this stage. Once all other patrons are seated, the Standby line will be admitted if seats are available.
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To use your vouchers, log into your viff.org account and choose the film(s) and screening time(s) you wish to reserve. Where ticketing options are listed, you will see an additional free ticket for Festival Passholders. Once you complete the checkout process, you’ll get a confirmation email with your ticket!
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For more info on Festival Passes, see our Festival FAQs
Important Information for All Passes
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VIFF Passholders must be 18+. To access screenings at The Rio and 5th Ave Theatres, you must be 19+.
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You can only pick up your pass at the VIFF Centre (1181 Seymour Street) from Sept 25 to Oct 5, 12pm-5pm. After Oct 5, please pick up your pass at the VIFF Centre Box Office, open 30 minutes before the first screening of the day.
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All passes are final sale after Oct 2.
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Enjoy the festival!
Year-Round Tickets
We recommend that you purchase tickets online (viff.org) in advance when possible.
In the case that the advance tickets are not entirely sold out, the remaining tickets will be available for purchase in-person at the Box Office before each screening.
Film Tickets
| VIFF Cinema | Lochmaddy Studio Theatre | |
| Adult | $16 | $14 |
| VIFF+ | $13 | $11 |
| VIFF+ Premium & U25 | $11 | $9 |
| Senior | $14 | $12 |
| Student | $12 | $10 |
| Accessible | $11 | $9 |
| Group Rate (for groups of 10 or more) | $13 | $11 |
*Prices above do not include GST.
**We strive to provide accurate and up-to-date ticket prices for all our events. However, please note that some events may have special pricing, promotions, or variations that are not reflected on this page. We encourage you to check the specific event listing or series page or contact our Box Office (see top of page) for the most accurate and current pricing details. Thank you for your understanding and support!
Please note: Your ticket is valid until showtime; latecomers may be seated at the discretion of the venue manager. For busy or sold-out screenings, please arrive on time; unfilled seats will be made available to those in the standby line at showtime.
Need an easily accessible seat for yourself and/or a companion? Please contact our box office directly on 604 683 3456 to book.
Check out our accessibility page for full information about access to VIFF Venues.
Become a VIFF+ Member
VIFF+ Members get the red carpet treatment at VIFF all year-round. Memberships start at $49 for a year and benefits include:
- Discounts on tickets all year
- Free Guest tickets
- Popcorn vouchers
- Great discounts on festival ticket packages and passes
- Invitations to free screenings
What is Standby?
If a screening has sold out of advance tickets, there may be some tickets that become available at the door just before the screening starts (returned tickets, unused complimentary tickets, etc.).
If you’re in the Standby line when a show is being admitted, our front-of-house team will do their best to find a seat for you, but this is not guaranteed. To be fair to anyone in line, we can only sell one standby ticket per person.
Please note, there will be no standby tickets available for screenings in the Lochmaddy Studio Theatre.
Refunds and Exchanges
We understand that sometimes you book a ticket and plans change! VIFF has a customer-friendly refund and exchange policy to ensure you can book to see a film with us with confidence.
- If you’ve booked for the wrong date/time, we’re happy to exchange your ticket free of charge to another screening — just please give us some advance warning! Any exchanges on tickets for films that have already screened are decided on a case by case basis.
- If you need to totally cancel your ticket we will be able to provide you with a full refund and hope that you’ll book again in the future.
- We can’t refund tickets if they have been used unless there are extenuating circumstances or in case of technical failure during the screening — feel free to contact our customer service team to discuss.
- If you’ve arrived late (after the published showtime) for a sold out screening and our Theatre Managers are unable to find you a seat, we can issue you a refund or exchange.
Indigenous & Community Access
Free Admission to all self-identifying Indigenous Peoples
VIFF offers a limited number of complimentary tickets per screening to anyone who self-identifies as Indigenous. You can book your ticket at the Box Office or by calling the Box Office Helpline (604) 683-3456 (Hours: Monday-Friday Noon-5pm).
VIFF’s policy to offer complimentary admission to Indigenous peoples is informed by the spirit of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This declaration recognizes the rights of Indigenous peoples to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage and traditional cultural expressions. VIFF screens many films containing representation of Indigenous cultural heritage and stories spoken directly by First Nations, Métis, or Inuit filmmakers and artists.
VIFF’s admission policy is one way to acknowledge this unique relationship with Indigenous peoples and to demonstrate our recognition and respect through our actions.
Community Access Tickets
Each year, VIFF provides complimentary Community Access tickets to a variety of organizations that work with individuals who face barriers to attending film screenings at VIFF Centre or during the Festival.
Accessible Tickets
VIFF provides a limited number of discounted tickets to each film for folks who face financial barriers and may not otherwise be able to attend a film at VIFF. Accessible tickets are available on our website and at the VIFF Box Office while quantities last.
Ticket Donation Requests
Looking for ticket donations to use for your event or fundraiser? Please fill out our ticket donation request form on our Donation Requests page. Donation requests will be accepted from November 1 to July 15. We are unable to process donation requests between July 16 and October 31.