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International Shorts: Family Ties

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The bonds of family form the basis of this program of short films. Bonds with history and responsibility—sometimes close, sometimes strained—now and for the future.

 

Q&A Oct 1 & Oct 3

 

This short film program includes the following films:

Killing Ourselves
Maya Yadlin, Israel (15 min)

A film student and her family drive to the desert to shoot a scene for her latest film, but things quickly deteriorate and nothing goes as planned.

 


Mumu
Mo Sha, China (25 min)

The six-year-old daughter of a deaf-mute couple frustrates her father, who believes she can hear and speak.

 


Baby
Cristina Sánchez Salamanca, Colombia (15 min)

The daughter from a man’s first marriage feels left out and misunderstood at a birthday celebration for her younger stepsister.

 


Ellie
Fernando Bonelli, Spain (20 min)

An emergency room nurse arrives late for work after being involved in a serious car accident and soon has to make life or death choices involving a loved one.

 


Nest
James Hunter, Australia (9 min)

An isolated father haunted by his child’s cries of hunger takes up work as a timber feller, only to find operations halted by a mysterious alarm coming from deep in the woods.

 


Further and Further Away
Polen Ly, Cambodia (24 min)

A young Bunong woman and her older brother spend one last day in their rural Cambodian village before a move to the city in search of a more prosperous life.

 

Community Partner

Director

Various

Country of Origin

Various

Year

2021-2022

Language

Various with English subtitles

18+
108 min
Shorts

Book Tickets

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Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

Tough Old Broads

Dir. Stacey Tenenbaum
90 min

Tough Old Broads is a feature documentary that follows three trailblazing women as they continue to make waves well into their 70s. Because you can't keep a good woman down.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The Voice of Hind Rajab

Dir. Kaouther Ben Hania
89 min

Mixing documentary and reenactment, this film powerfully evokes the desperate attempts of the Red Crescent to rescue a six year old child trapped in a car under Israeli military fire. Oscar nominee: Best International Film

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

The Chronology of Water

Dir. Kristen Stewart
128 min

Kristen Stewart's fearless directorial debut is based on the best-selling memoir by Lidia Yuknavitch (Imogen Poots), a chronicle of her abusive childhood, traumatized adulthood, and escapes through swimming, drugs, sex, and ultimately writing.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Montreal, ma belle

Dir. Xiaodan He
118 min

In this Valentine to discovering love later in life, the ever-elegant Joan Chen plays Feng Xia, a 53-year-old Chinese immigrant and mother in Montreal whose world is turned upside down when she meets and falls in love with a young Quebecoise.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

2026 Oscar® Shorts (Animated)

Dir. Various
83 min

The nominees for Best Animated Short Film include The Girl Who Cried Pearls, a fable from Canadian filmmakers Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, narrated by Colm Feore.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Spring After Spring

Dir. Jon Chiang
78 min

Three daughters strive to live up to the standards set by their mother Marie Mimi Ho, and keep Vancouver Chinatown's Spring Parade going through thick and thin, in this enormously affectionate local documentary by Jon Chiang.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre