Shorts from Canada, Finland, Japan, and the Netherlands.
Sept 28 & 29: Q&A with filmmakers
This short film program includes the following films:
You Can’t Get What You Want but You Can Get Me
Samira Elagoz & Z Walsh, Netherlands/Finland (13 min)
A slideshow of personal photographs and correspondence document two long-haired trans men falling in love.
Colors Under the Streetlights
Yoshimi Joya, Japan (23 min)
Late one night, two women who work at a hostess bar are approached by police.
Candle
Jérémi Roy, Canada (9 min)
David and Leonard are ex-lovers who reunite one autumn evening during a power outage.
Delta Dawn
Asia Youngman, Canada (26 min)
This documentary follows Dawn Murphy, or “Princess Delta Dawn”, who rose to fame in the 1980s and early 1990s and became the first Indigenous woman wrestler and the first Canadian woman wrestler to compete in Japan.
The Death of James
Sam Chou, Canada (14 min)
Two friends grapple with mortality as they are confronted with a dying pet ferret.
Pena’s Special Hauling
Anssi Kasitonni, Finland (12 min)
Perhaps he shouldn’t still be driving at his advanced age, but veteran truck driver Pena cannot help but get behind the wheel of his custom truck.
Salem on the Road
Étienne Galloy, Canada (20 min)
While experiencing a major depersonalization episode, Salem embarks on a solo cycling journey across the Gaspé Peninsula with the intent of ending her life.
Supported by
Community Partner
Various
Various
2023-2024
Various with English subtitles
Self harm
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
Sentimental Value
A once-revered director crashes back into his family’s lives, eager to recruit his daughter for a film role. When she declines, he finds a new muse in an eager but unpolished Hollywood star, sending his botched reconciliation spiraling into chaos.
The Painted Life of E.J. Hughes
A beautiful portrait of E.J. Hughes, who quietly helped reshape the artistic landscape of British Columbia in the 20th century. This extraordinary documentary explores Hughes’s legacy not only as an artist, but as a devoted, humble human being.
Cutting Through Rocks
Winner of Sundance's World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize, Cutting Through Rocks follows Sara Shahverdi — motorcyclist, midwife, and first-ever councilwoman elected in her Iranian village. A vérité triumph by Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni.
A Poet
When embittered poet Oscar Restrepo takes a job at a local high school, he meets Yurlady, a talented student from a poor background. Seeking to help her cultivate her art, he draws her into the poetry world — to disastrous and comedic results.
Mr. Nobody Against Putin
Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary, and Special Jury Prize Winner, Sundance, 2025, this exposé shot by a Russian primary teacher shows how the Putin propaganda machine works to militarize children.
Cousin Harley + Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Come join Local Hillbilly heroes Cousin Harley, for a night of traditional Rockabilly, Western Swing and early Rock n Roll before reveling in the rock n roll biopic excess of John C Reilly as the legendary Dewey Cox!