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Sauna Day film image; men lying in a sauna

VIFF Short Forum 8

VIFF Short Forum

Image: Sauna Day

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Shorts from Canada, Hong Kong, Estonia, India, Japan, Mexico, and Spain.

 

Oct 4 & 5: Q&A with filmmakers

 

This short film program includes the following films:

Discoteque
Masashi Yamamoto, USA (5 min)

Two friends embark on a galactic journey towards the disco ball moon.

 


Sauna Day
Anna Hints & Tushar Prakash, Estonia (13 min)

An intimate portrait of Southern Estonian men enjoying a smoke sauna together after a hard day of work.

 


The Widow’s Son Turns Storyteller
Shikher Pal, India (11 min)

In the city of Kanpur, fables emanate from an ancient mound.

 


Save My Soul
Kam Fai Leung, Hong Kong (15 min)

What transpires when a mute and a blind man cross paths…

 


Almost the Dust
Léa Soler, Mexico (22 min)

From the upper branches of a tree, a land defender on a hunger strike is visited by people from his village.

 


The Moving Garden
Inês Lima, Portugal (19 min)

A group of hikers embark on a guided tour of the Arrábida Natural Park but observe a disturbing transformation.

 


Retracing Their Steps
Manuel Orhy Piron, Canada (21 min)

Boxes from the Montreal Archive Center reveal forgotten tales from the queer community.

 

Supported by

    

Community Partner

Director

Various

Country of Origin

Various

Year

2023-2024

Language

Various with English subtitles

Content Warning

Self harm

18+
106 min
Animation Cinemas of Asia Human Rights & Social Justice LGBTQIA2S+ Romance Shorts Women Directors

Book Tickets

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Missing VIFF? Check Out What's Playing at the VIFF Centre

Akashi
Akashi film image; woman looking out from the back window of a car

Akashi

Dir. Mayumi Yoshida
105 min

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.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
The History of Concrete
The History of Concrete film image; man smoothing just-poured concrete sidewalk

The History of Concrete

Dir. John Wilson
101 min

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.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Sunless

Dir. Chris Marker
103 min

Chris Marker's dazzling and discursive essay film ranges across Japan, Africa, San Francisco, Iceland, politics, philosophy, ritual, movies and memory. It's a film for the permanently curious.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
NAZA
Naza film image; two people sitting in a foggy night with skyscrapers in the background

NAZA

Dir. Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor
80 min

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.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

I Am Not a Witch

Dir. Rungano Nyoni
93 min

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.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
Queen at Sea
Queen at Sea film image; two people staring at one another

Queen at Sea

Dir. Lance Hammer
121 min

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

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