World Premiere
Two friends grapple with mortality as they are confronted with a dying pet ferret.
Supported by
Media Partner
Community Partner
Isaiah Lehtinen, Kyle Bailey, Amanda Brugel
Canada
2023
English
Indigenous & Community Access
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Josh Bowen, Iouri Stepanov, Artem Vasilyev
Producer
Courtney Wolfson
Screenwriter
Ellery Vandooyeweert
ANIM
Marina Patrakeeva
Production Design
Kristoffer Mikkelsen
Sam Chou
Sam Chou, a prominent series creator and animation filmmaker from Toronto, first gained acclaim with Crime: The Animated Series (2014) which won Best Series for Adults at the Ottawa International Animation Festival. His collaboration with Mattel led to First Snowfall, showcased at the 2017 Fantasia International Film Festival. VRDLK: Family of Vurdulak (2023) received multiple awards, and he was honored with the Kaj Pindal Award. His latest film, In the Heat (2023), premiered at Annecy and was featured at the Savannah Film Festival.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Stand
This rousing doc explores a 1985 dispute over logging in the Haida Gwaii. Taking us from canny retrospective commentary to the thick of the action, director Chris Auchter employs animation and a wealth of archival footage to riveting effect.
The Way, My Way
All manner of pilgrims flock to France and Spain to walk the 800 km Camino de Santiago. One such is Bill, a stroppy sexagenarian Australian filmmaker who's determined to do the Camino with minimal prep, a dickey leg, and no firm idea why.
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
After finding her uncle's dead body on the roadside by a brothel, Shula grapples with her Zambian family's sanctification of a monstrous man. This darkly comedic absurdist drama was a prize winner at Cannes for director Rungano Nyoni (I Am Not a Witch).
No Other Land
Deemed by many critics one of the essential films of 2024, a multiple festival award winner and Academy Award winner for Best Documentary, No Other Land is a reminder that mass expulsion is by no means a new reality for Palestinians.
Queen of the Ring
Vancouver's own Emily Bett Rickards (Arrow) gives a powerhouse performance as Mildred Burke in this rousing sports biopic. Burke was the first million dollar female athlete, winning world championships in the 1930s and 40s at a time when women's wrestling was illegal in many states.