Cinematic form is given to life’s big mysteries: luck and fate, love and loss, and the spiritual supernatural.
Q&A Oct 6 & Oct 9
This short film program includes the following films:
The Flying Sailor
Amanda Forbis, Wendy Tilby, AB (8 min)
Based on the true events of the Halifax Explosion in 1917, a sailor soars above the blast towards the great unknown.
Meeting With Robert Dole
François Harvey, QC (16 min)
Dialectical in form and content, this documentary explores the connection between schizophrenia and theology through the life of Robert Dole.
N’xaxaitkw
Asia Youngman, BC (17 min)
New to town, Zaraya befriends her next-door neighbour, who invites her to go on a search for the legendary lake monster, N’xaxaitkw—known to settlers as Ogopogo.
I, Sun
Julien Falardeau, QC (12 min)
A sun worshipper’s commitment grows desperate when he catches a sunflower turning towards him.
Baba
Meran Ismailsoy, Anya Chirkova, ON (14 min)
All hell breaks loose when a depressed father calls in his son to help mediate an argument with the landlord.
Grown in Darkness
Devin Shears, NL (17 min)
Emmanuel pays his longtime friend, Henry, a visit on his rhubarb farm during harvest. Through the next few days, the two examine the nature of their relationship.
La Plage aux êtres
Kendra McLaughlin, ON (20 min)
Time, memory, and grief are explored in this close look at the preservation of an unidentified creature.
Supported by
Community Broadcast Partner
Community Partner
Various
Canada
2021-2022
Various with English subtitles
Open to youth!
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check Out What's Playing at the VIFF Centre
NAZA
NAZA is a codeword euphemistically used by Israeli intelligence to indicate the number of civilians it expects will be killed in an airstrike. This chilling documentary exposes the policy and process of state-sanctioned mass killings.
The Best Years of Our Lives
One of the finest films to come out of WWII, The Best Years of Our Lives sympathetically conveys the difficulties returning veterans faced in readjusting to life at home. It won 7 of the top Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director and Actor.
Ray Gunn (Special Advance Screening with Brad Bird)
In an alternate future as seen from 1939, a private eye (Sam Rockwell) is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder, and a multimedia star (Scarlett Johansson). Followed by a moderated discussion with director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille).
The Bloodettes
In this early Afro-futurist shlocker from Cameroonian director Jean-Pierre Bekolo (made in 2005 and set in 2025), two sex workers try to dispose of the body of a high profile politician who's died on the job (theirs, not his).
La Bola Negra
A big, old-school historical melodrama gets a thrillingly modern, queer makeover from Spanish duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, who artfully juggle three gay protagonists across stories set in 1932, 1937, and 2017. Winner: Best Director, Cannes. Screening on 35mm.
Akashi
In Mayumi Yoshida’s tender drama, struggling artist Kana journeys to Tokyo to attend her grandmother’s funeral. While there, she reconnects with her childhood love and stumbles across a family secret that prompts her to reconsider her place in the world.


