Intimate and unapologetic stories of women and queer lives are uncovered through provocative and deeply personal accounts that examine memory, identity, and dignity.
Oct 3 & 11: Q&A
This short film program includes the following films:
Rezbotanik
Pedro Gonçalves Ribeiro, Portugal/Brazil/Spain (19 min)
After a night partying, Rezmorah sobers up in the botanical gardens of Lisbon, pondering what the plants can teach us about queerness.
Abortion Party
Julia Mellen, Spain (14 min)
Director Julia Mellen animates and celebrates the termination of her pregnancy with an unexpected array of guests.
It Must Be Because I Decided to Leave
Zhuoyun Chen, China/USA (19 min)
A young woman’s drifting consciousness traces the mystery of an elusive red car.
Daria’s Night Flower
Maryam Tafakory, Iran/UK/France (16 min)
Daria has written her first manuscript about falling in love with a mysterious girl called Blue. The night flowers in her garden hide the secrets of a country that has turned love stories into routine crime scenes.
Goodbye, Fishies
Jonathan Zhang, Australia (12 min)
Personal stories reinterpreted by the actors and director, depict a Thai mother consumed with deep regret for missing her grandmother’s last moments.
Lloyd Wong, Unfinished
Lesley Loksi Chan, Canada (29 min)
Thirty years after his passing, filmmaker Lesley Chan re-examines Lloyd Wong’s uncompleted video art project about living with HIV.
Community Partner
Various
Various
2024 & 2025
Various
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check Out What's Playing at the VIFF Centre
NAZA
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.
The History of Concrete
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.
La Bola Negra
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.
Shadow of a Doubt
In our latest film studies series, FRAMEWORK, Michael van den Bos explores the work of Alfred Hitchcock across four monochrome masterworks. This week: smalltown US thriller Shadow of a Doubt (1943), one of the director's personal favourites.
The Best Years of Our Lives
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.
Ray Gunn (Special Advance Screening with Brad Bird)
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).

