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Documentary

2: Memory & mediation

Dir. Various
108

Shorts from: Canada, France, Lebanon, Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, Syria, USA.

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8:30 pm
Sat Oct 04
International Village 7
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6:15 pm
Sun Oct 05
International Village 7
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The Art of Adventure

Dir. Alison Reid
90 min

The unbelievable adventure story of how painter Robert Bateman and ecologist Bristol Foster drove a Land Rover from Africa to Australia in 1957, developing a love of nature to last a lifetime. An inspirational love letter to the adventure of life itself.

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3:00 pm
Sun Oct 05
Vancouver Playhouse
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6:00 pm
Tue Oct 07
Granville Island Stage
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An Evening With Marc Maron

159 min

An Evening With Marc Maron features a screening of Are We Good?, a candid, funny, and deeply personal portrait of the comedian navigating loss with his signature wit. After the film, Marc takes the stage for a live talk and audience Q&A.

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5:30 pm
Sun Oct 05
The Rio Theatre
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The Painted Life of E.J. Hughes

Dir. Jenn Strom
82 min

A beautiful portrait of E.J. Hughes, who quietly helped reshape the artistic landscape of British Columbia in the 20th century. This extraordinary documentary explores Hughes’s legacy not only as an artist, but as a devoted, humble human being.

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6:00 pm
Sun Oct 05
SFU Woodwards
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3:15 pm
Tue Oct 07
Granville Island Stage
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Treasure of the Rice Terraces

Dir. Kent Donguines
75 min

Filipino Canadian filmmaker Kent Donguines returns to the Philippines to explore Indigenous Kalinga tattoos. Guided by 107-year-old artist Apo Whang-od, he discovers the strong role it has come to symbolize for Filippino cultural identity worldwide.

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8:30 pm
Sun Oct 05
International Village 9
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3:30 pm
Mon Oct 06
Granville Island Stage
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Hemela

Dir. Pirouz Nemati
72 min

Hemela is a tender documentary celebrating resilience and cultural memory in a diasporic community. Through food, laughter, and tradition, Pirouz Nemati crafts a luminous portrait of a woman whose everyday life radiates extraordinary warmth and joy.

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8:45 pm
Sun Oct 05
International Village 8
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3:00 pm
Wed Oct 08
International Village 8
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3: The peripheral core

Dir. Various
112 min

Shorts from: Brazil, Canada, Japan, Norway, USA.

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9:15 pm
Sun Oct 05
International Village 7
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3:15 pm
Mon Oct 06
International Village 7
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Half Moon: Kinan Azmeh

Dir. Frank Scheffer
92 min

Syrian musician Kinan Azmeh questions how art and music can adequately confront the tragedy of war in this introspective documentary. A profound and celebratory meditation on art’s ability to build solidarity, community, and hope in the world.

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12:00 pm
Mon Oct 06
International Village 8
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6:00 pm
Sat Oct 11
The Cinematheque
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How to Build a Library

Dir. Maia Lekow & Christopher King
101 min

Can a library be decolonized? How to Build a Library follows two visionary women on a quest to restore Nairobi’s McMillan Memorial Library and exorcise its colonial ghosts. A powerful documentary on archives, access, and reclaiming civic space.

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12:15 pm
Mon Oct 06
International Village 9
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6:30 pm
Sat Oct 11
International Village 9
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News From Home

Dir. Chantal Akerman
89 min

One part city symphony, one part introspective meditation, one part epistolary text, News from Home is a structuralist masterwork by Belgium’s genius of contemplation, Chantal Akerman.

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3:45 pm
Mon Oct 06
VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
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10:30 am
Sun Oct 12
VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
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Shifting Baselines

Dir. Julien Elie
100 min

Towering rockets rise as wetlands vanish in this sly black-and-white documentary about SpaceX’s conquest of Boca Chica, Texas. With sci-fi aesthetics and observational calm, the film exposes how cosmic dreams begin with the quiet erasure of Earth.

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5:30 pm
Mon Oct 06
International Village 8
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12:00 pm
Tue Oct 07
International Village 8
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Clan of the Painted Lady

Dir. Jennifer Chiu
101 min

Jennifer Chiu’s engrossing documentary explores the Hakka — a people, a language, and a culture that have been obscured for far too long. Tracing her own lineage back to from Canada to China, the director creates an illuminating, bravely personal film.

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6:00 pm
Mon Oct 06
Fifth Avenue Cinema - 19+ only
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3:30 pm
Thu Oct 09
VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
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