Get in for a rollercoaster journey through the depths of struggle and perseverance. Not for the faint of heart, this collection is as difficult as it is beautiful.
October 1 & 2: Q&A with the film teams
This short film program includes the following films:
Sisters
Marisa Hoicka, ON (3 min)
Mid-century advertisements, public service announcements, and product demonstrations are stitched together to create an unsettling narrative of two sisters.
Four Mile Creek
Ryan McKenna, QC (21 min)
Aurore Cormier was a settler child who died from smallpox at the turn of the 20th century, near what is now known as Thunder Bay. 100 years later, her relatives search for her grave.
Cloud Striker
A.W. Hopkins, BC (17 min)
Set in the 1930s, Chief Cloud Striker is on a quest to find his son Elijah, who has been forcibly taken from home and placed in Saint Ignatius Indian Residential School.
Conviction
Bruce Thomas Miller, AB (13 min)
Following release from prison, Joseph is faced with the challenges of reintegration into society.
Black Box Investigations
Paige Smith, BC (3 min)
Form and function are deconstructed through the artist’s interventions with the camera.
Autre Chose
Étienne Lacelle, QC (26 min)
Following a crippling motorcycle accident that killed his lover, a young man rebuilds his bike to take one last ride deep into the Canadian wilderness.
The Great Kind Mystery
Ella Morton, NL (17 min)
Inuk and Mi’kmaw artist Amy Hull reflects on her hometown of Daniel’s Harbour, Newfoundland and her connection to the natural world through the Mi’kmaq language.
Element
Will Niava, QC (22 min)
Struggling to make a living in the markets of Abidjan, a group of young men decide to step up their hustle and cast a spell in order to make some real money.
Supported by
Community Partner
Various
Canada
2022-2023
VIFF Short Forum
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
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.

