Skip to main content
Patty Vs. Patty film image

VIFF Short Forum: Program 2

This event has passed

Fear, doubt, and loneliness give way to pleasure, empowerment, and reclamation—or, is it the other way around?

 

Q&A Oct 2 & Oct 4

 

This short film program includes the following films:

i see me watching
Sidney Gordon, BC (8 min)

Through formal experimentation based on the artist’s personal struggle with gender identity, a singular self has been split into two.

 


Scaring Women at Night
Karimah Zakia Issa, ON (11 min)

Two strangers walking alone at night in the same direction notice each other. While one becomes increasingly afraid, the other tries—unsuccessfully—to appear less threatening.

 


Blond Night
Gabrielle Demers, QC (17 min)

Worlds entwine when Victor, an autistic man who resides in a housing community, goes for a walk and meets Jessy, a sex worker ejected from a customer’s vehicle.

 


Adore
Beth Warrian, ON (11 min)

Luci, a queer Peruvian-Canadian woman, gives her beloved nephew the Christmas gift of his dreams: a beautiful sequined dress. But when he tries to show the rest of the family, Luci finds herself enacting the same restrictions and shaming she has experienced herself.

 


First Months of Freedom
Kriss Li, QC (10 min)

Cat, a transgender woman in Tennessee, has completed parole. Using phone videos, Skype calls, archival material, and footage shot by a friend, a portrait emerges of the challenges posed by her newfound freedom.

 


Tongue
Kaho Yoshida, BC (2 min)

Tired of her date’s racist and sexist comments, a woman decides to liberate his tongue.

 


Patty Vs. Patty
Chris Strikes, ON (19 min)

In 1985, Jamaican bakers went head-to-head with the Canadian government over the name of the beef patty, as recounted by Michael Davidson of Kensington Patty Palace.

 


Minus Twenty
Jack Parker, AB (7 min)

A day in the life of a cold storage facility worker.

 


Sikiitu
Gabriel Allard Gagnon, QC (21 min)

A coming-of-age story in the small Arctic village of Ivujivik, where teenage Ali would rather spend his time dreaming of being a hip-hop superstar instead of going hunting with his dad.

 

Supported by

Community Broadcast Partner

Community Partner

Director

Various

Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2021-2022

Language

Various with English subtitles

Content Warning

Sexual Violence, Racial Discrimination

Open to youth!

106 min
Shorts

Book Tickets

This event has passed.

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

2026 Oscar® Shorts (Documentary)

Dir. Various
157 min

Don't come to the program of Oscar®-nominated documentary shorts for escapism. But let's talk about the Canadian contender, Perfectly a Strangeness, featuring an abandoned observatory and three donkeys. More of this, please.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The Painted Life of E.J. Hughes

Dir. Jenn Strom
82 min

A beautiful portrait of E.J. Hughes, who quietly helped reshape the artistic landscape of British Columbia in the 20th century. This extraordinary documentary explores Hughes’s legacy not only as an artist, but as a devoted, humble human being.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Muzizi

Dir. Jamila Pomeroy
84 min

From the director of the award-winning film Union Street, Jamila Pomeroy, Muzizi embarks on a great culinary adventure through Vancouver’s African diasporic culinary scene. Muzizi explores powerful stories of immigration, resilience, and joy.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

My Father's Shadow

Dir. Akinola Davies Jr.
94 min

Akojo Film Collective is proud to present My Father's Shadow, launching African Cinema Now into a new year of vibrant programming at the VIFF Centre. The BAFTA-nominated film follows two boys on an adventure with their father through the streets of Lagos.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Mr. Nobody Against Putin

Dir. David Borenstein & Pavel Talankin
90 min

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary, and Special Jury Prize Winner, Sundance, 2025, this exposé shot by a Russian primary teacher shows how the Putin propaganda machine works to militarize children.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

It Was Just an Accident

Dir. Jafar Panahi
105 min

Having offered some late-night assistance to a stranger in the wake of an auto accident, a mechanic grows convinced that he recognizes the supposed stranger’s voice as that of his torturer during a grueling prison spell.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema