There is high drama a plenty in this program of short films where uncommon scenarios turn into transformative life and death experiences.
October 4 & 6: Q&A with the film teams
This short film program includes the following films:
Cuarto de Hora
Nemo Arancibia, Chile/France (15 min)
A woman passing by a serious car accident becomes a French translator for a young Haitian man as he is taken by ambulance to a hospital.
Confessions
Stephanie Kaznocha, USA (12 min)
After the death of a friend two elderly nuns contemplate what the future holds, prompting them to embark on a journey of self discovery.
Fairplay
Zoel Aeschbacher, Switzerland/France (18 min)
Three males from different generations engage in dangerous, competitive and high risk situations in search of recognition.
Big Bang
Carlos Segundo, Brazil (14 min)
In Uberlandia, Brazil, a dwarf earns his living fixing ovens, which he easily fits into thanks to his small size.
A Lien
Sam Cutler-Kreutz, David Cutler-Kreutz, USA (15 min)
On the day of their green card interview a young couple confronts a twisted and dangerous immigration process.
Solo un Ensayo
Hugo Sanz, Spain (9 min)
Two sisters are hiding inside a wardrobe in an empty room, the younger one thinks it’s a game but it soon becomes apparent that a serious threat has appeared outside.
Jeong-Dong
Choi Woo Gene, South Korea (24 min)
On returning to Seoul a man moves into a cheap rental floor of a big house, but soon he starts to have strange experiences so his friends come to help investigate.
Community Partner
Various
Various
2022-2023
International Shorts
Various with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Yunan
In this haunting mood piece, Munir is a middle-aged Syrian writer in exile in Germany. In crisis, he takes himself up to one of the Halligan islands in the North Sea, a suitable place to end it all...
The Track
In the middle of a mountain forest above Sarajevo, three boys train for the Olympics in a bullet-ridden luge track abandoned since the 1984 Winter Games. An ambitious, hopeful look at the next generation striving to overcome the sins of their fathers.
The Mother and the Bear
Johnny Ma’s film stars Kim Ho-jung as a Korean woman who flies to Winnipeg when her immigrant daughter is hospitalized there. This crowd-pleaser plays up cultural differences to hilarious effect and offers a touching take on mother-daughter tension.
It Was Just an Accident
Having offered some late-night assistance to a stranger in the wake of an auto accident, a mechanic grows convinced that he recognizes the supposed stranger’s voice as that of his torturer during a grueling prison spell.
Breaking the Waves
Kicking off our 2026 Pantheon series of the greatest films ever made, Lars von Trier's 1996 masterpiece is a devastating melodrama featuring an indelible performance from Emily Watson as the woman whose love for her husband knows no bounds.