The Reel Youth Film Festival is a diverse collection of short films made by emerging filmmakers around the world. Chosen by an international youth jury from 1300+ submissions and 100 countries. Whether it is a writer fishing for her next idea, a Māori boy grieving his father’s absence, or a hilarious young Black man expressing frustration with pandemic lockdown, the Reel Youth Film Festival will show you the world through the eyes of its talented youth.
This short film program includes the following films:
A l’unisson (Paper talk)
Nathalie Dunselman, France, 6 min, French with English subtitles
Two divorced parents could stand to learn a lesson from their kids in this heartwarming tale of human connection.
Baile da Magia (Prom and Potions)
Ana Maria Teixeira Hora, Brazil, 3 min, without dialogue
Two roommates at the School of Magic are doing their hair for prom. What could possibly go wrong?
Trailblazer
Jenna Hammerlindl and Heather Addison, Canada, 6 min, English
Cowboy, actor, leather dyke, and artist—Vancouver resident SD Holman has done it all, and learned some important lessons about community and belonging along the way.
The Hill We Climb
Youth participants with Wide Angle Youth Media, USA, 2 min, English
A collaborative artistic video poem that represents what matters to young media artists.
Self
Gagan Kumar C, India, 5 min, English
A simple ice cream date is not so simple as we step inside the thoughts of two Indian teenagers who envy each other.
The White Rose
Ian Kim, USA, 3 min, English
The stop-motion story of the German students who resisted the Nazis by distributing incendiary leaflets.
Solitude
Fiyin Coker, Canada, 4 min, English
A meditation on modern-day loneliness, created in an all-Black space for youth of African descent.
For My Father
Waka Wikaire James, New Zealand, 5 min, English and Maori with English subtitles
A young Maori boy at a crossroads in his life seeks guidance from the ghost of his father.
Lonely Souls
Finn Morgan-Roberts, UK, 2 min, English
Dressed to impress but lost in the woods, a nameless man is approached by a mysterious light which takes him on an otherworldly journey he never expected.
Dear Karen
Mika Washington and Kaniel Jacob-Cross, Canada, 3 min, English
Two young people clash, causing racial tensions to heighten in this youth-made film exploring anti-Black violence.
Pasapalabra (Whisperer)
Andrea Testini, Spain, 5 min, Spanish with English subtitles
A Muslim boy suffers racism and bullying from his schoolmates. He can only save himself thanks to the love of his mother and to a little lie of a good friend.
Sound of Borders
Bahar Rezvanifar, Iran, 2 min, English
An Iranian girl imagines herself as someone else.
Patterns in Our Lives
Leili Hamidi, Canada, 3 min, English
Patterns are everywhere from what we see, feel, and experience, but some patterns need to change. How do we unlearn old patterns that hold us back and learn new patterns that can help us? A personal reflection from Vancouver artist Leili Hamidi.
Fishing
Andreas Duerr, Germany, 4 min, English
A writer dives into the sea of ideas to find a new idea for her book.
She Said, She Said
Fraser Hannay, Canada, 2 min, English
Two young women recall a party, and a secret emerges.
CITSALP
Jean A. Evangelista, Philippines, 2 min, English
One thoughtless purchase contributes to a tide of pollution, and a world that is changing for the worse.
Power
Hannah Gallant, Madison Jules George, Nona Marchand, and Danielle Taralson, Canada, 2 min, English
A youth-made short film and rallying call to action to protect Indigenous women and girls.
Through
Gaukhar Akzhol, Kazakhstan, 5 min, English and Russian
Through the many walls of an apartment building in Kazakhstan, we see how women’s lives go on despite the changing world.
Fireworks
Nicolas Leclerc, Canada, 2 min, English
Two boys, a revelation, fireworks, and friendship.
Not Quite Quarantine
Julian Lee, USA, 10 min, English
This hilarious spoof music video paints the experience of one teen as he navigates the loneliness and frustrations of pandemic living.
Community Partner
Various
Various
2022
Various
Coarse language; violence
Open to youth!
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Love
This warm, thoughtful piece offers shrewd comic observations on modern dating as it trains a quizzical eye on the trysts of a female doctor, Marianne (Andrea Bræin Hovig), and her colleague, a gay male nurse, Tor (Tayo Cittadella Jacobsen).
Sex
Two chimney sweeps living in heterosexual marriages find their views on sexuality and gender challenged by a series of unexpected events. In a set of sharply scripted conversations, both men confront heretofore unexplored aspects of their identity.
3 Faces
Iranian filmmaker Panahi and actress Behnaz Jafari, both playing themselves, receive a video in which a distraught teenaged girl, whose acting dreams have been quashed appears to kill herself. Panahi and Jafari decide to investigate...
Dreams
The third installment in the Sex/Dreams/Love trilogy is another rich, absorbing tale. 17-year-old Johanne writes a confessional about her flirtation with a (female) teacher. But the writing is too good to stay private...
Transit
Trust the director of Phoenix and Barbara to re-imagine a WWII romantic intrigue into something unsettlingly contemporary. With occupying forces closing in, a German refugee (Franz Rogowski) assumes a dead writer's identity and flees to Marseille.