Shorts from Brazil, Kenya, Martinique, Mexico, Taiwan, and USA.
Sept 30 & Oct 1: Q&A with filmmakers
This short film program includes the following films:
Minus Plus Multiply
Chu-Chieh Lee, UK (5 min)
Experiments with drawing, stop motion, and ceramics exploring one’s relationship to emotions through space.
Creatures of Light
Sylvie Weber, Mexico (12 min)
Through her connection with the natural world, Valeria brings comfort and lightness to her family.
When the Wind Rises
Hung Chen, Taiwan (18 min)
An elderly activist rallies his community against the expansion of an oil refinery in their tiny fishing village.
The Return
Laissa Malih, Kenya (16 min)
Malih returns to her community as the first Maasai filmmaker—both an insider and an outsider, a woman amongst men—so that she may carry on the sacred tradition of storytelling.
Mermaids
Sarah Malléon, Martinique (16 min)
On the island of Martinique, a young girl attempts to summon mermaids through calls from a conch shell.
Dadá
Luisa Arraes, Brazil (19 min)
In this comedy of manners, chaos ensues at a dinner party when the help does not arrive.
Fishmonger
Neil Ferron, USA (26 min)
A pathetic fishmonger must survive a sex pact with an ancient fish creature in order to save his mother’s soul.
Supported by
Community Partner
Various
Various
2023-2024
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
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.
Spring After Spring
Three daughters strive to live up to the standards set by their mother Marie Mimi Ho, and keep Vancouver Chinatown's Spring Parade going through thick and thin, in this enormously affectionate local documentary by Jon Chiang.
The Chronology of Water
Kristen Stewart's fearless directorial debut is based on the best-selling memoir by Lidia Yuknavitch (Imogen Poots), a chronicle of her abusive childhood, traumatized adulthood, and escapes through swimming, drugs, sex, and ultimately writing.
Sound of Falling
A remote German farmhouse is the stage for the mundane and magical experiences of four girls who call the foreboding place home at various intervals over the course of a century. In turns delicate and devastating, this is cinema at its most experiential.
Image: © Fabian Gamper
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.