What's On
The Sacrifice Game
1971. Sam and Clara are stuck at their elite boarding school for the Christmas holidays, along with a teacher, her boyfriend, and, soon enough, a murderous gang of occult killers, led by Mena Massoud (Aladdin), who mean to call up a long-dormant demon...
Robot Dreams
Living a solitary existence in Manhattan, Dog is tired of being alone, and builds his own friend: Robot. Their friendship blooms while exploring 1980s New York. This enchanting 2D animation brims with love, loss, and friendship.
International Shorts: Conflicts of the Heart
This program of short films offers a range of LGBTQ2S+ lives and experience stories, from youthful romance to estranged seniors.
Mareya Shot, Keetha Goal: Make the Shot
This spirited sports doc follows four junior hockey players of South Asian descent through the 2021-2022 season as they strive to make it to the NHL. Among them, Surrey’s own Arsh Bains, who signs with the Vancouver Canucks.
I'm Just Here for the Riot
Vancouver, June 15, 2011. Hours after the Canucks lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, rioters laid waste to blocks of downtown. In this absorbing documentary, Kathleen S. Jayme (The Grizzlie Truth) and Asia Youngman revisit that chaotic night.
A Tour Guide
The tribulations of adapting to a new place are explored with freshness and sympathy in this film about a defector from North Korea struggling to make a better life for herself in Seoul. A gentle, low-key movie with a touching performance from Sul Lee.
Four Daughters
A stimulating and cathartic docu-drama from Academy-Award nominee, Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, about a mother who lost two teenage daughters when they fled to Libya to fight for ISIS.
VIFF Short Forum: Program 3
The femme experience as told through various disciplines and genres, each a distinctly inimitable perspective.
A Woman Under the Influence
Cassavetes' greatest success is built on a fearless, tour-de-force performance of Mabel Longhetti, a working class wife and mom who struggles to keep it all together. Her husband is also ashamed of her. Love, as the song goes, will tear you apart. This is grand opera in hard hats.
Union Street
Interspersing interviews with archival footage, Union Street documents the history of Vancouver’s Hogan’s Alley, the formerly Black neighbourhood which was destroyed by the construction of the Georgia viaduct in the 1970s.
Sculpting the Giant
This remarkable film documents a 28-year quest for glory. Indonesian sculptor Nyoman Nuarta’s goal is to build the world’s largest brass and copper structure. To do so, he must contend with public opposition, and political turmoil.
A Normal Family
During a fancy dinner with their wives, two brothers with divergent moral principles learn of a disturbing situation involving both their teenage kids. In the fallout of this dreadful discovery, the families are faced with an unimaginable choice.