The camera eye knows no bounds in these stories that push the limits of gravity and grace.
Q&A Oct 3 & Oct 5
This short film program includes the following films:
Tidal
Chloe Van Landschoot, NS (10 min)
Examining the cyclical nature of workplace trauma and the relentlessness of health care work, the daily grind of a bedside nurse is embodied through movement, rhythm, and dance.
Chasing Birds
Una Lorenzen, QC/Iceland (8 min)
A hand-drawn animation of parallel universes in which strangers, unaware of each other’s presence, share the use of a long table as their worlds gradually merge.
Paco
Kent Donguines, BC (15 min)
While keeping a secret from his family overseas, Paco struggles to uphold his responsibilities and aspirations.
Hills and Mountains
Salar Pashtoonyar, ON (8 min)
Filmed on location in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, an Afghan woman recalls how the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan led to her forced displacement and marriage.
Dhulpa
Kunsang Kyirong, BC (18 min)
Narrative and documentary elements are woven together to tell the stories of a Tibetan immigrant community working at a local laundry facility.
Square Peg
Christian Bunea, ON (8 min)
The countdown is on as a freshman international student tries to print their essay before heading in to an exam.
Horse Brothers
Milos Mitrovic, Fabian Velasco, MB (8 min)
A tale of sibling betrayal and revenge as told by a ranch horse (voiced by Guy Maddin).
Terror/Forming
Rylan Friday, BC (24 min)
Parker and his boyfriend Darren make a disturbing discovery on their way to Parker’s late kokum’s cabin, setting the stage for how the night will unfold.
Supported by
Community Broadcast Partner
Community Partner
Various
Canada
2021-2022
Various with English subtitles
Animal Cruelty, Gender or Sexual Discrimination
Open to youth!
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Only Living Pickpocket in New York
A career thief’s circumstances grow desperate when he fences valuable merchandise stolen from a vengeful crime family. John Turturro is exquisite as a wiseacre who is typically one step ahead of everyone but now finds himself behind the eight ball.
Gabin
Filmed over 10 years, Gabin follows Gabin Jourdel from age 8 to 18 and the animals, schoolwork, chores, and imagined futures that define his youth. As he grows, his adolescence becomes a question of inheritance and choosing one’s own future.
Iron Boy
Iron Boy, a hand-painted animated feature, follows a hardworking preteen farm boy and his sublime flights of fancy as he faces the earthshaking upheavals of growing up in an iron back brace. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at Cannes 2026.
Image: © Eddy Cinema, Beside Productions, Regular Production, France 3 Cinema, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cinéma, RTBF
The Story of Documentary Film – The 2000s
The Story of Documentary Film – The 2000s enters a decade shaped by 9/11, war, fear, and politics. Through films such as The Cove and Grizzly Man, these chapters trace the documentary medium's encounter with modernity as it begins to unravel.
Image: © Iraq in Fragments, 2006, dir. James Longley, USA, Daylight Factory Typecast-Pictures
Vengeance Is Mine
Michael Roemer’s Vengeance Is Mine follows Jo, a troubled young woman returning to her Rhode Island hometown to confront childhood wounds. An attempt to confront one family's past gradually becomes entangled with another family's dysfunction.