Box Office
Hours
Before the Festival
Open 30 minutes before the first screening of the day and is located at the VIFF Centre, 1181 Seymour St.
During the Festival
From Thursday, September 26 – Sunday, October 6, 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, and close after the theatre’s last screening of the day has started. All VIFF venues, not including the VIFF Centre, are cashless venues.
Helpline
Phone: (604) 683-3456
Email: [email protected]
Before the Festival
Our Box Office Helpline is staffed Monday-Friday, 12-5 pm (plus weekends and special event coverage).
During the Festival
From Thursday, August 26 – Sunday, October 6, our Festival Infoline is staffed 7 days a week, 12-6 pm.
Festival Pricing
Single Tickets
| Price | |
| Adult | $19 |
| Senior (65+) | $17 |
| Student/Youth | $14 |
| Accessible | $14 |
| VIFF+ Members | $16 |
| VIFF+ Premium/ Patron/U25 |
$14 |
*Prices above do not include GST.
Advance Booking for VIFF+ Members is from noon on August 28 to noon on August 29.
Not a member? Join Now!
Tickets go on sale to the general public at noon on August 29.
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.
All VIFF venues, not including the VIFF Centre, are cashless venues.
Advance tickets can sell out, but new ticket allotments are often released closer to the screening date. Check viff.org for updates. Also, find out more about our Standby lines.
Ticket Packs |
 |
| Regular | VIFF+ | Premium/ Patron |
|
| 6 Pack | $108 | $94 | $86 |
| 10 Pack | $170 | $150 | $136 |
| Senior 6 Pack | $96 | N/A | N/A |
| Senior 10 Pack | $155 | N/A | N/A |
| Student 6 Pack | $86 | N/A | N/A |
| Student 10 Pack | $136 | N/A | N/A |
How Do Ticket Packs Work?
VIFF Ticket Packs allow you to book film tickets in advance, so there’s no need to queue in the passholder lineup. You are guaranteed entry, which will help you spend more time enjoying the festival!
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VIFF+ Members can purchase Ticket Packs starting August 8.
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Tickets Packs go on sale to the general public at noon on August 9.
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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 buy a 6-Ticket Pack, you can use all 6 tickets for a single screening or individual tickets across multiple screenings.
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Ticket Packs cannot be used to attend VIFF Gala screenings, Talks, VIFF Live or Industry events.
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Unused Festival Ticket Packs are refundable until the start of Festival, however we cannot refund Ticket Packs after the Festival begins. Ticket Packs with remaining tickets in them are non-refundable.
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VIFF+ Members can access advance booking from noon on August 28 to noon on August 29.
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All Ticket Pack holders can start booking tickets from noon on August 29.
Passes |
|
| Regular | VIFF+ | Premium/ Patron |
|
| Platinum Pass | $1200 | $1080 | $960 |
| Festival Pass | $425 | $380 | $340 |
| Festival Senior Pass | $385 | N/A | N/A |
Pass Access
| Platinum | Festival/Senior | |
| Regular Screenings | ✓ | ✓ |
| Special Presentations | ✓ | ✓ |
| Gala Screenings | ✓ | |
| Industry Events | ✓ | |
| Talks | ✓ | |
| Amp Keynotes | ✓ | |
How Do Passes Work?
VIFF+ Members have access to advance booking for Passes from August 8 to August 9. Available to new and returning members at no additional cost.
All Passes go on sale for the general public on August 9.
Platinum Pass
Take your Festival experience to the next level with the limited edition Platinum Pass.
Platinum Passholders can book tickets in advance, be the first through the doors, and get access to reserved seats.
More on the Platinum Pass
Platinum Passholders enjoy the most flexibility. Feeling spontaneous and can’t book in advance? That’s okay! 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.
Festival Pass
With a Festival Pass, you can truly 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.
More on the Festival Pass
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A generous allotment of seats is held 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.
Important Information For All Passes
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VIFF passholders should all be age 18+. The 5th Ave Theatre is a 19+ venue. Due to liquor licensing, unclassified films at The Rio Theatre are 19+
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Passes can only be printed and picked up at the VIFF Centre Box Office at 1181 Seymour St. starting on September 19
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Passes are refundable up until the festival begins. We cannot refund any passes after September 26
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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
| Vancity Theatre | Lochmaddy Studio Theatre | |
| Adult | $16 | $14 |
| VIFF+ | $13 | $11 |
| VIFF+ Premium & U25 | $11 | $9 |
| Senior | $14 | $12 |
| Student | $11 | $9 |
| Accessible | $11 | $9 |
| Group Rate (for groups of 10 or more) | $13 | $11 |
*Prices above do not include GST.
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 $39 for a year and benefits include:
- Discounts on tickets all year
- Free ‘Bring a Friend’ tickets
- Popcorn vouchers
- Great discounts on festival ticket packages and passes
- Invitations to free and sneak preview 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.
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.
- Unused Festival Ticket Packs are refundable until the start of Festival, however we cannot refund Ticket Packs after September 26. Ticket Packs with remaining tickets in them are non-refundable.
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 31. We are unable to process donation requests between August 1 and October 31.