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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Seeds
Shot over nine years, Brittany Shyne’s Sundance-winning documentary is a tender portrait of Black farming families in the American South. A moving meditation on land, legacy, and the strength it takes to hold on.


