Skip to main content
To Kill a Mockingbird film image; a large group of people gathered in a court room

To Kill a Mockingbird

This event has passed

This is the first in a new regular series in which we invite our Premium VIFF+ supporters to nominate a favourite movie to share.

This month, Margot Pratt has chosen Robert Mulligan’s beloved film adaptation of Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird.

Margot says, “It’s a timeless film that hasn’t seen a big screen in years. The story is told through the memories of a 9 or 10-year old girl. Perfectly written, cast, shot… Everything!”

A white woman accuses a black man of rape in a Southern town during the Depression. Though he is obviously innocent, the outcome of his trial is such a foregone conclusion that no lawyer will step forward to defend him – except Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck), the town’s most distinguished citizen.

The film, like the novel, was embraced as a paradigmatic work of liberal inclusiveness, but more recently has been criticized for telling the story through a white lens (even as conservative elements in the USA have sought to have the book banned from school libraries). It’s a superbly crafted piece, and was nominated eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Gregory Peck won the Best Actor award and it’s his signature role.

Director

Robert Mulligan

Cast

Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, Phillip Alford, Brock Peters, Robert Duvall

Country of Origin

USA

Year

1962

Language

English

Awards

3 Academy Awards (Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction)

19+
129 min

Book Tickets

This event has passed.

Also Playing

Sinners

Dir. Ryan Coogler
137 min

This year's unexpected box office sleeper is that rare beast, a genre movie full of bold invention and surprise. We are in Mississippi in the early 1930s, and the opening of a new blues joint on the edge of town is the signal for all hell to break out.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

The Life of Chuck

Dir. Mike Flanagan
111 min

The winner of the coveted Audience Award at TIFF last year, The Life of Chuck keeps us guessing about what it's up to and where it's going... Trust us, it's a keeper.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The Graduate

Dir. Mike Nichols
106 min

In The Graduate Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman, 30 playing 20 with masterly understatement) comes home from college and is surprised to be seduced by the wife of his father's business partner, Mrs Robinson (Anne Bancroft).

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

blur: To the End

Dir. Toby L.
108 min

Now in their late 50s, Britpopsters blur (of Song 2 fame) do a celebratory lap of Great Britain culminating in their first ever Wembley Stadium show in this appealing observational doc. A companion piece to the concert film Live at Wembley Stadium.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre