Skip to main content
Magnified City film image, director Isaku Kaneko

Magnified City

Canadian Premiere

In a ruined city, a wandering Magnifying Glass Human encounters a secret society of Projector Humans with grand plans to reconnect to the past in a surviving mountaintop theatre. An absolutely stunning animated film from beginning to end, with a brilliant concept that gets more imaginative with its storytelling as it progresses. It touches on aspects of filmmaking and film projection, and how the medium is still capable of creating beautiful illusions, imagery representing another time and reality. The story is effectively told without any dialogue, enhanced by impeccable sound design that immerses you in the mechanical and lifeless environment. One of the most original and incredible works of animation to come along in years.

 

Media Partner

Community Partner

Director
Credits
Country of Origin

Japan

Year

2022

Language

No Dialogue

Film Contact
12 min

Featured in:

Island of Freedom film image, director Petr Januschka

International Shorts: Connect/Disconnect/Reconnect

The films in this shorts program are all about connections. People connecting with one another, dealing with change, or rediscovering a part of themselves and their past.

 

MORE INFO

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

Lady

Dir. Olive Nwosu
93 min

Olive Nwosu’s dazzling feature debut follows a young taxi driver who reluctantly takes on a side job chauffeuring a group of sex workers to their nocturnal visits across Lagos.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Los Thuthanaka

90 min

VIFF is honoured to present the Canadian debut of experimental music duo Los Thuthanaka, whose spiraling Aymara rhythms, ceremonial textures, and psychedelic sounds combine into a transcendent live AV experience.

The Pearl

Nobody's Violence

Dir. Denis Côté
118 min

In Denis Côté’s atmospheric dystopian drama, a taciturn woman facilitating euthanasia requests begins to question her purpose after crossing paths with an enigmatic man.

The Cinematheque
Nagi Notes
Nagi Notes film image; woman working on a clay bust

Nagi Notes

Dir. Kōji Fukada
110 min

This graceful, serene drama brings former sisters-in-law together in an exploration of art, sexuality, and psychology. There’s a complex backstory here, but not a hint of melodrama: writer-director Koji Fukada is a master of subtle revelation.

Image: © 2026 Nagi Notes Partners (Star SandsHassaku LabsWonderstruck) Survivance Momo Film Co.

Lindsay Family Stage at Granville Island The Park Theatre

A Safe Distance

Dir. Gloria Mercer
86 min

Following a camping trip gone awry, a woman is rescued by a free-spirited couple living off the grid. As she warms to the pair, she finds herself becoming dangerously entangled in their psychosexual affairs in Gloria Mercer’s red-hot crime drama.

The Rio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

We Are All Strangers

Anthony Chen
157 min

Anthony Chen tells the soulful story of a father and son in contemporary Singapore, each of whom gets married for very different reasons. This is a film about the human cost of poverty — poignant, relatable, and profound.

International Village 9 The Park Theatre

Credits

Producer

Isaku Kaneko

ANIM

Isaku Kaneko

Original Music

Tatsukiamano

Director

Isaku Kaneko headshot, Magnified City director

Isaku Kaneko

Isaku Kaneko is an independent animator and director. In 2020, Kaneko received a master’s degree from Tama Art University’s Department of Graphic Design.