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
Various
Canada
2021-2022
Various with English subtitles
Sexual Violence, Racial Discrimination
Open to youth!
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Time and Water
Sara Dosa (Fire of Love) turns her attentions from volcanoes to glaciers in this singular, personal collaboration with the Icelandic writer Andri Snær Magnason, who ruminates on the loss of ties to family and to landscape.
Mistura
This foodie film from Peru tells the story of a newly single socialite reinventing herself — and the local cuisine — after her husband has left her for a younger woman. Along the way, she finds support from unexpected places...
Hanami
On the volcanic island Cape Verde, young Nana is on the cusp of self-discovery. When her long-absent mother returns, the lyricism and magic of Nana's childhood take a different shape. Winner of the Best Emerging Director Award, Locarno Film Festival.
Everybody to Kenmure Street
This rousing documentary (100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) never puts a foot wrong as it recreates a tense, prolonged stand-off between the police and the citizens of Glasgow when an Immigration Enforcement squad attempt to arrest two men from their homes.
Another World
This hit anime from Hong Kong gives us an unpredictable, sometimes darkly karmic tale taking place on either side of the afterlife involving a headstrong princess with bad karma and the spirit guide who tries to help her get on a better path.


