Where do filmmakers find their stories? This shorts program of Canadian and International shorts was specially selected for our Ignite High School series, where we invite thousands of students to come to VIFF each year to learn from inspiring new films and ideas. We are pleased to also offer a second special screening of Short Fuse for all audiences to experience this special series of eye-opening stories on screen. Each short was selected for the ways they inspire new approaches for storytelling or animation. Charming, funny, and at times a bit scary, these filmmakers explore stories from the everyday, to ancient history and science; from Indigenous futurism, to the imaginary, and more. Together they offer a memorable collection for the next generation of filmmakers.
Q&A with director Amanda Strong
This short film program includes the following films:
Dokra Keu Bojhey Na
Sneha Das & Monjima Mullick, India (8 min)
An innovative animated documentary about the ancient bronze craft of Dokra sculptures in India told through the voices of Dokra artisans and sellers. They share some of the challenges they face as they endeavor to keep this art tradition alive.
Judy’s Garden
Evie Metz, USA (7 min)
In this enchanting animated short, a woman is confronted by death and taken on a journey through her past in a cosmic, and microcosmic, garden of life, death, and renewal.
The Everlasting Pea
Su Rynard, Canada (17 min)
Through the eyes of a scientist questioning plant consciousness, a pea plant dreaming of its past in Rome’s Colosseum, and a botanist unravelling a mystery, The Everlasting Pea invites a profound reimagining of our relationship with the vegetal world.
Beeps
Kirk Johnson, USA (15 min)
Sam can’t sleep. His bedroom is surrounded on all sides by chirping smoke alarms, the sign of a low battery. So he sets out on an odyssey to find the annoying beeps and in the process, learns about himself, his neighbors, and his place in the world.
Inkwo: For When the Starving Return
Amanda Strong, Canada (19 min)
Set two lifetimes in the future. Dove, a gender-shifting warrior, uses their Indigenous medicine (Inkwo) to protect their community from an unburied swarm of terrifying creatures.
Soap Box
Jimmy G. Pettigrew, Canada (17 min)
Hubert, 10, wants to win the annual soapbox race down the mountain to impress Anouk–who is also competing. Soap Box is a thrilling, wildly fun sports comedy, and a tribute to children’s incredible imaginations.
Supported by
Community Partner
Various
Various
2023-2024
Various with English subtitles
Graphic violence, animal cruelty, coarse language, may frighten young children
Open to youth!
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
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Farruquito: a Flamenco Dynasty
Legendary flamenco dancer Farruquito struggles to reconcile his past with his family legacy. Revelling in the artistry of Romani music and dance, Farruquito: A Flamenco Dynasty explores family dynamics and the pursuit of greatness.
Linka Linka
Kangdrun's feature debut depicts a twentysomething filmmaker coming to grips with a shameful act she committed in childhood. Moving between past and present, with each main character played by two actors, this is a provocative and challenging work.
Once Upon a Time in Harlem
Once Upon a Time in Harlem splices together footage shot by William Greaves in 1972 of a group of Harlem Renaissance luminaries in conversation at Duke Ellington’s townhouse. The film is a living archive of memory, disagreement, style, and Black genius.
La Gradiva
Winner of the Grand Prize at Cannes’ Critics’ Week, Marine Atlan's feature debut follows a class of French high-school students on a trip to Naples. While learning about the ruins of Pompeii by day, a different kind of education takes place at night.
Image: © Films du poisson, Bibi Film TV, Arte France Cinema
Fugs Film!
Originating as a group of New York beatniks, The Fugs' taboo-embracing contempt for social norms made them one of the strangest bands of the 1960s. Fugs Film! is a raucous, irreverent celebration of rebellion, poetry, and counterculture legacy.
Whispers in May
Whispers in May follows Qihuo and her friends in China’s Liangshan Mountains as childhood gives way to womanhood. It blends close observation and scenes of the girls' search with animated fragments of Yi oral myth to create a hypnotic coming-of-age film.