
North American Premiere
In the northwest reaches of British Columbia, Anyox sits all-but-abandoned. Once a thriving company town constructed around a copper mine, it now boasts only two year-round residents who navigate ominous mountains of slag as they salvage industrial waste. Having transported us into this exploited environ on the back of a quad bike, directors Ryan Ermacora and Jessica Johnson next plunge us into the archival records charting the early 20th century rise and Great Depression-era fall of Anyox. Through an arresting exploration of newspaper articles, labour publications, land surveys, and industrial films, they uncover a history of oppression every bit as grim as the desecrated landscape that resource extraction has left in its wake.
While indebted to early cinema’s pace, compositions, and structure, Anyox is undeniably contemporary in terms of its urgency and concerns. Abetted by Jeremy Cox’s striking 35 and 65mm cinematography, Ermacora and Johnson offer an immaculately crafted portrait of the damage wrought by the callousness of colonial ambition.
Q&A Sept 30 & Oct 3
Presented by
Media Partner
Canada
2022
In English and Croatian with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Bidad
In Tehran, Seti dreams of singing freely in the streets. Bidad, directed by Soheil, is a raw, urgent portrait of resistance, courage, and hope. A must-see film about one woman's voice echoing a generation's fight for freedom.
Secrets of a Mountain Serpent
Set in a remote Himalayan town in India during the Kargil War, Secrets of a Mountain Serpent weaves together personal desire and ancient folklore to ask a pertinent question: Can you belong to someone and still belong to yourself?
Palestine 36
Palestine's entry for Best International Feature at the 2025 Academy Awards is an epic historical drama from director Annemarie Jacir that follows an ensemble of rural villagers who face off against British colonial forces during the 1936 Palestinian revolt.
In the Room
Brishkay Ahmed's documentary explores the resilience and cultural identity of Afghan women through intimate interviews and archival images. Powerful, urgent, and informative, it reminds us that human rights are fragile and must be fiercely protected.
Thus Spoke the Wind
Set in the remote plains of rural Armenia, Maria Rigel’s sharp sophomore feature takes us into the lives of young Hayk, his aunt Narine, and Hayk's rebellious mother, who has returned from a long stay in the country, throwing things off balance.
Decorado
In existential crisis, a middle-aged mouse increasingly believes the world is unreal, much like a film set. As his suspicions grow increasingly credible, will he accept his fate, or hatch one last bid for freedom?
Credits
Executive Producer
Tyler Hagan
Producer
Ryan Ermacora, Jessica Johnson, Alysha Seriani
Cinematography
Jeremy Cox
Original Music
Lea Bertucci
Directors

Jessica Johnson and Ryan Ermacora
Jessica Johnson and Ryan Ermacora are award-winning filmmakers based in Vancouver, BC. Their work investigates how humans have engraved their histories into natural spaces and is informed by an interest in avant-garde depictions of landscape and labour. Their style is defined by a self-reflexive and structural approach to cinema. Their work has screened at festivals such as Cinéma du Réel, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, Open City Documentary Festival, DOXA Documentary Film Festival, and VIFF.