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
The History of Concrete
After attending a workshop on pitching saccharine Hallmark movies, John Wilson tries to apply all the same best practices to his documentary about concrete. Frequently absurd and endlessly entertaining detours, asides, and digressions ensue.
NAZA
NAZA is a codeword euphemistically used by Israeli intelligence to indicate the number of civilians it expects will be killed in an airstrike. This chilling documentary exposes the policy and process of state-sanctioned mass killings.
I Am Not a Witch
Rungano Nyoni's acclaimed debut feature is a visually striking satire about a 9-year-old orphan accused of witchcraft in contemporary Zambia. Screening in the latest African Cinema Now! series, The Witch at the Edge of the Screen.
Akashi
In Mayumi Yoshida’s tender drama, struggling artist Kana journeys to Tokyo to attend her grandmother’s funeral. While there, she reconnects with her childhood love and stumbles across a family secret that prompts her to reconsider her place in the world.
Queen at Sea
An academic is pitted against her stepfather in a moral crisis over the care of her mother, who lives with dementia. Winner of the Silver Bear Jury Prize and Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance at the 2026 Berlinale.
Image: © Seafaring