Shorts from Armenia, Canada, Tibet, Colombia, Japan, and Turkey.
Oct 3 & 4: Q&A with filmmakers
This short film program includes the following films:
Grizzly Bear Country
Mave Ky, Canada (6 min)
Masculinity and male friendships are explored through three friends who go on a backcountry hiking trip in the Alberta Rockies.
Magic Candies
Daisuke Nishio, Japan (21 min)
Somewhat of a loner, Dong-Dong is content playing marbles on his own. One day, he goes to buy new marbles but leaves the shop with a bag of magic candies instead. Based on the Korean picture book, Magic Candies by Heena Baek.
The Egg
Vahan Grigoryan, Armenia (12 min)
A struggling actor decides to steal an egg at the grocery store.
Morî
Yakup Tekintangaç, Turkey (20 min)
When a new teacher starts at school, Morî is convinced that he is her long-lost father.
The Boys and the Donkey
Tsering Yangjyab, China (21 min)
In the Tibetan Plateau, four friends roughhouse with a neighbour’s donkey, leading to a nasty scratch on one of their faces. They resolve to punish the beast.
Culture Shock
Barry Bilinsky, Canada (15 min)
While Joey struggles to fit in at Culture Camp—where she is sent after defacing a mural—the mural artist’s sister is there also, looking for the vandal.
We Deserve an Empire
Mauricio Maldonado, Colombia (23 min)
Scrap metal thieves prepare to excavate an abandoned mine for gold.
Supported by
Community Partner
Various
Various
2023-2024
Various with English subtitles
Animal cruelty
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 Blue Star
In crisis, a popular singer quits Spain to backpack in Argentina. There he comes under the spell of a veteran musician, who teaches him the art of chacareras, zambas and vidalas. It's a journey of musical kinship and spiritual reawakening.
The Mother and the Bear
Johnny Ma’s film stars Kim Ho-jung as a Korean woman who flies to Winnipeg when her immigrant daughter is hospitalized there. This crowd-pleaser plays up cultural differences to hilarious effect and offers a touching take on mother-daughter tension.
Forastera
In this mysterious and subtle coming of age drama, teenager Cata is soaking up the sun, smoking furtive cigarettes, and enjoying a summer break with her grandparents and her younger sis in Mallorca. That is, until Cata's beloved abuela collapses...


