Bouncing through nostalgic aesthetics and genre storytelling, a contemporary point of view comes into focus.
Q&A Oct 4 & Oct 6
This short film program includes the following films:
Red House
Barry Doupé, BC (3 min)
Created using the Amiga computer console and Deluxe Paint IV software, hand-drawn sequences undergo a continual metamorphosis of images, characters, and forms.
My Thoughts Exactly
Mike Archibald, BC (18 min)
Two strangers bring their love, frustration, and desire to the cruising trails within Stanley Park.
Tibi
Jarret Twoyoungmen, AB (14 min)
Using archival and self-shot footage, the teaching of Îethka culture is documented through the making of a tipi under supervision of knowledge keepers.
Framing the Self
Andrea Cristini, BC (12 min)
A heady but emphatic experiment whereby an animated character improvises in a cinematic vacuum through the direction of their creator.
Sexy Highland Stream
Nathan Adler, BC (5 min)
In appreciation of the eponymous stream, this poem is a love letter to the beauty found in nature. Written and spoken in English and Anishinaabemowin.
Late Summer
Ryan Steel, MB (12 min)
A young loner grows attached to his camp counsellor at a haunted summer camp.
The Ballad of Gus
Brian Barnhart, MB (16 min)
Encouraged by two father figures—one a drug dealer, the other an artist—Gus faces a pivotal moment in his life.
Rose
Roxann Whitebean, QC (25 min)
Set in the 1960s, Rose is an Indigenous teen in her last weeks of pregnancy. Pressured by a government agent to give up her baby for Canadian adoption upon delivery, Rose’s family do all they can to intervene—with the help of an unlikely ally.
Supported by
Community Broadcast Partner
Community Partner
Various
Canada
2021-2022
Various with English subtitles
Graphic Violence, Racial Discrimination
Open to youth!
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
How Dare You?
A bug-loving boy, a passionate classmate, and a troublemaker launch playful eco-protests against their town’s careless habits. As their missions escalate, they face real consequences in Director O’s witty, bittersweet Grand Jury Prize winner from the Toronto Japanese Film Festival.
A Sad and Beautiful World
This Lebanese love story chronicles the romance between a level-headed businesswoman and a romantic restauranteur across several decades in wartorn Beirut. It's funny, charming, melancholy and you'll feel it all.
One Last Love Letter
In 2024, Nazuna writes to the young man she secretly loved as a teenager. Her letter reaches his grieving father, revealing memories of Shinsuke, an aspiring boxer killed in the 2000 Naka-Meguro train disaster, and opening a tender exchange.
American Doctor
One of the most powerful documentaries of the year, this puts us smack in the open wound that is Gaza, filtered through the eyes of three American surgeons (of Palestinian, Jewish and Zoroastrian backgrounds) compelled to do their utmost to alleviate harm.
Samurai Vengeance
In Edo-era Japan, a young kabuki actor’s celebrated revenge becomes legend. When a provincial samurai investigates the truth behind the vendetta, conflicting testimonies expose hidden motives and buried secrets in this atmospheric jidaigeki mystery about rumor, performance, and myth.