Skip to main content
The Runner film image, director Amar Chebib

The Runner

Darius Sam, a young man from the Lower Nicola First Nation, attempts to run a 100-mile ultramarathon in subzero temperatures to raise awareness for addiction and mental health in his community.

 

Supported by

Media Partner

Community Broadcast Partner

Community Partner

Director
Cast

Darius Sam

Credits

See Full Credits

Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2022

Language

English

Film Contact
Links
Content Warning

Self Harm; coarse language

PG
17 min

Featured in:

From Chile to Canada film image

VIFF Short Forum: Program 1

What kind of alchemy occurs to transform hardship into fortune? Here, the extraordinary burn brightly.

 

MORE INFO

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

Palestine '36

Dir. Annemarie Jacir
118 min

An epic historical drama from director Annemarie Jacir that follows an ensemble of rural villagers who face off against British colonial forces during the 1936 Palestinian revolt.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other

Dir. Manon Ouimet & Jacob Perlmutter
100 min

This intimate and candid film by a younger husband and wife artist team is a delicate and immensely moving dual portrait of two artists, husband and wife, together and apart, at that point in life when the end casts a shadow over even the sunniest day.

Image: © Manon et Jacob and Final Cut For Real

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Lingua Franca

Dir. Isabel Sandoval
95 min

Lingua Franca is a tender portrait of intimacy shaped by migration, vulnerability, and the quiet negotiations of belonging. Centered on an undocumented Filipina trans woman living in New York, the film moves with delicate restraint.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Erupcja

Dir. Pete Ohs
72 min

Charli xcx headlines this indie gem about a young English couple coming unmoored over a few days in Warsaw. Will means to propose. Beth has cold feet -- and an escape hatch she has barely admitted to herself... Think Before Sunrise 2025.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Everyone Is Lying to You for Money

Dir. Ben McKenzie
89 min

In which former OC star Ben McKenzie brushes off his economics degree and digs into the cryptocurrency conundrum. If bitcoin is truly all about transparency, how come no one can explain it?

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Suburban Fury

Dir. Robinson Devor
120 min

Sara Jane Moore was a 1970s housewife who took the unusual step of trying to assassinate the President of the United States. An action that cost her dearly. This is her story.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Credits

Executive Producer

Geoff Vreeken

Producer

Hayley Morin, Amar Chebib

Cinematography

Jason Mannings

Editor

Amar Chebib

Director

Amar Chebib headshot, The Runner director

Amar Chebib

Syrian-Canadian filmmaker Amar Chebib began making videos while growing up skateboarding in the Middle East. Driven to explore themes of transformation and the human condition, his work is empathetic and empowering. His most recent film, Joe Buffalo (2021), is a short, hybrid documentary which screened at Tribeca, won 16 awards at international film festivals including SXSW, made the DOC NYC Shortlist, and was nominated for an International Documentary Association Award for Best Short. Chebib resides with his wife on unceded Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh territory in Vancouver, BC.

Filmography: Wajd – Songs of Separation (2018)