Canadian Premiere
Margarita (Anna Baryshnikov) is an aspiring clothing designer who lands a spot on a new fashion competition show. A third-generation immigrant living in the Russian part of West Hollywood, she helps her ailing grandmother and ex-con father pay bills by selling counterfeit clothes online, but when the producers show more interest in her struggle than her talent, she must decide if chasing her dream is worth betraying her family’s trust.
The cynical worlds of fashion and reality TV serve as a backdrop for a charming family comedy in Nastasya Popov’s directorial debut, combining haute couture with cutting satire. The film’s fictional show Slay, Serve, Survive is a pitch-perfect parody featuring a colourful wardrobe of creations ranging from gag-worthy showstoppers to runway disasters. Idiotka’s heart lies in its focus on Margarita’s cultural identity as she tries to define herself amidst a contest intent on sensationalizing her family secrets.
Anna Baryshnikov, Camila Mendes, Mark Ivanir, Galina Jovovich, Nerses Stamos, Owen Thiele
USA
2025
In English and Russian with English subtitles
At International Village
At The Rio
Book Tickets
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Josh Peters, Robina Riccitiello, John Terzian, Brian Toll, Jeremy Allen, Emma Silvers, Bill Bindley, Mike Karz, Lisa Kleiner Chanoff, Jack Defuria, David Kaplan, Julia Fox, Anna Baryshnikov
Producer
Tess Cohen, Nastasya Popov, Camila Mendes, Rachel Matthews, Saba Zerehi
Screenwriter
Nastasya Popov
Cinematography
Kristen Correll
Editor
Taylor Joy Mason, Rob Paglia
Production Design
Francesca Palombo
Original Music
Ian Hultquist
Nastasya Popov
Nastasya Popov is a writer and director from Los Angeles. Her script for Idiotka (2025) was selected for the SFFILM Invest Lab, and her documentaries and shorts have won numerous awards. She holds a bachelor’s degree in creative nonfiction and Slavic literature from Northwestern. Idiotka is her feature debut.
Photo by Josh Aronson
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Elephants in the Fog
In a remote Nepalese village, Pirati takes charge in the search for a missing girl belonging to her family of third-gender Kinnar women. A densely atmospheric thriller and a moving portrait of an embattled but resilient community.
RADIOHEART: The Drive and Times of DJ Kevin Cole
Featuring a scintillating soundtrack of tunes going back to the ‘70s, RADIOHEART is a heartwarming celebration of one of the greatest radio DJs, Kevin Cole, whose musical tastes and influence are still reverberating across the world’s soundwaves.
Man in Motion: The Rick Hansen Story
Twenty-six months, 40,075 kilometres, 34 countries traversed in a wheelchair, and more than $26 million raised for accessibility initiatives… Man in Motion: The Rick Hansen Story documents the staggering accomplishments of an iconic athlete and activist.
Strong Son
A bodybuilder returns home to care for his ailing father in Ian Bawa's debut feature. A moving exploration of masculinity, filial duty, and the emotional distance between first-generation immigrant parents and their children.
Ceremony
Powerful and evocative, Ceremony follows the disappearance of the ooligan in Bella Coola, revealing a story of cultural survival, environmental stewardship, and the enduring relationship between the Nuxalk Nation and the land.