Skip to main content
Sikiitu film image, director Gabriel Allard Gagnon

Sikiitu

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.

Award: Festival Regard Canadian Grand Prize

 

Supported by

Community Broadcast Partner

Community Partner

Director
Cast

Jusi Sala, Pierre Savu-Massé

Credits
Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2021

Language

In Inuktitut with English subtitles

Film Contact
Links
Content Warning

Coarse language; nudity; violence

PG
21 min

Featured in:

Patty Vs. Patty film image

VIFF Short Forum: Program 2

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

 

MORE INFO

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

The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony

Dir. Habiba Nosheen
92 min

The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony follows a group of young female gymnasts in Pakistan's Machar Colony, a highly conservative fishing settlement. Habiba Nosheen's deeply empathetic documentary is a celebration of girlhood, resilience, and self-expression.

Lindsay Family Stage at Granville Island VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema Alliance Francaise

Midnight Momo

Dir. Tenzin Yeshi
83 min

Kunga, a waiter at a Queens momo shop, finds himself trapped in a loop of the final minutes of his shift. Midnight Momo is a frenetic, distinctly Tibetan American indie comedy that puts a working-class spin on the Buddhist cycle of suffering and rebirth.

International Village 9
Tangles
Tangles film image; two people hugging in a garden

Tangles

Dir. Leah Nelson
102 min

Based on the graphic memoir by Vancouver artist Sarah Leavitt, Tangles is a stunning, hand-drawn animated feature about a cartoonist coming to terms with her mom’s early-onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Nominated for the Caméra d’Or at Cannes 2026.

Vancouver Playhouse The Park Theatre The Rio Theatre
Death Has No Master
Death Has No Master film image; woman standing under a tree

Death Has No Master

Dir. Jorge Thielen Armand
106 min

When Caro returns to Venezuela to sell her late father’s cacao plantation, she finds the family mansion occupied by its former staff, who have no intention of leaving. After legal action proves ineffectual, Caro decides to dispense justice herself.

The Rio Theatre International Village 10

Once Upon a Time in Harlem

Dir. William Greaves, David Greaves
100 min

Once Upon a Time in Harlem splices together footage shot by William Greaves in 1972 of a group of Harlem Renaissance luminaries in conversation at Duke Ellington’s townhouse. The film is a living archive of memory, disagreement, style, and Black genius.

Fifth Avenue Cinema - 19+ only

Coward

Dir. Lukas Dhont
120 min

With the First World War raging, two young Belgian soldiers develop an explosive chemistry while serving in their company’s theatre troupe. Coward is a reminder that transformative moments of tenderness can occur even amid the darkest circumstances.

The Park Theatre

Credits

Producer

Sandrine Berger

Screenwriter

Jean-Sébastien Beaudoin-Gagnon, Éric K. Boulianne

Cinematography

Van Royko

Editor

Alain Loiselle

Original Music

Jean-Olivier Bégin

Director

Gabriel Allard Gagnon headshot, Sikiitu director

Gabriel Allard Gagnon

Gabriel Allard Gagnon has directed some 50 music videos and six documentary feature films. After doing a project in the Canadian far north during which he met Inuit Nation members, he created Sikiitu, his first work of fiction.

Filmography: T’es où, Youssef? (2017); Les Poussières de Daech (2020)