Skip to main content
Soap Box film image; man in blue helmet

Soap Box

Boîte à savon

VIFF Short Forum

A group of young people gather to compete in the annual soapbox race on the slopes of the highest peak near their village. Hubert, 10, wants to win the race to impress Anouk, an opponent who makes his heart beat faster. Soap Box is a thrilling, wildly fun sports comedy that pays tribute to the transformative imagination of children.

 

Supported by

    

Community Partner

Director
Cast

Joey Bélanger, Valexia Boulianne, Lily-Rose Loyer, Rosemay Lefebvre, Elie Maréchal, Maguerite Laurence

Credits
Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2024

Language

In French with English subtitles

Film Contact
G

Open to youth!

17 min
Action Comedy Shorts

Credits & Director

Producer

Sonia Despars, André Kadi, Marc Biron

Screenwriter

Jimmy G. Pettigrew

Cinematography

Yannick Nolin

Editor

Jimmy G. Pettigrew

Original Music

Antoine Binette Mercier

Art Director

David Pleau

Jimmy G. Pettigrew headshot; Soap Box director

Jimmy G. Pettigrew

Jimmy G. Pettigrew graduated from film school and quickly began producing, writing, directing and editing silly short clips for the web. Since then, he’s been producing and directing short films and other fiction essays that mix live action, puppetry and animation. He mixes shadow and light, truth and lies, magic and pathos, cartoons and real people.

 

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

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

The Best Years of Our Lives

Dir. William Wyler
170 min

One of the finest films to come out of WWII, The Best Years of Our Lives sympathetically conveys the difficulties returning veterans faced in readjusting to life at home. It won 7 of the top Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director and Actor.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Ray Gunn (Special Advance Screening with Brad Bird)

Dir. Brad Bird
119 min

In an alternate future as seen from 1939, a private eye (Sam Rockwell) is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder, and a multimedia star (Scarlett Johansson). Followed by a moderated discussion with director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille).

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

The Bloodettes

Dir. Jean-Pierre Bekolo
92 min

In this early Afro-futurist shlocker from Cameroonian director Jean-Pierre Bekolo (made in 2005 and set in 2025), two sex workers try to dispose of the body of a high profile politician who's died on the job (theirs, not his).

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
La Bola Negra
La Bola Negra film image; man playing a trumpet

La Bola Negra

Dir. Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo
155 min

A big, old-school historical melodrama gets a thrillingly modern, queer makeover from Spanish duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, who artfully juggle three gay protagonists across stories set in 1932, 1937, and 2017. Winner: Best Director, Cannes. Screening on 35mm.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
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