Canadian Premiere
Qiu Sheng’s film tells the story of Qiao, a man trying to come to grips with his past. Divided into three time periods, the film begins with Qiao as an 18-year-old (played by Sun Ning). His father Jiantang (Song Yang), a failed boxer, has just died. As we move deeper into the past, we see you young Qiao (Luo Weichen), subjected to Jiantang’s violent and neglectful parenting, while in the future, Qiao builds an AI model of his father to compete with in virtual boxing matches.
Qiu concocts something unusual in this film, fusing the visionary ethos of science fiction with the intimacy of a family drama. What the past, present, and future sections all have in common is a hushed, contemplative atmosphere — there’s a very appealing gentleness to My Father’s Son, even in its moments of volatility.
Best Director, Shanghai 2025
Song Yang, Sun Ning, Tong Chenjie, Alice Ko, Sun Anke, Zhao Jiali
China/France
2025
In Mandarin with English subtitles
At International Village
At Fifth Avenue
Book Tickets
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Wang Hongwei
Producer
Zhang Yuxuan, Jia Ruocheng, Charles Gillibert
Screenwriter
Qiu Sheng
Cinematography
Zhang Jiahao
Editor
Louise Jaillette, Zhang Zhongchen
Production Design
Li Xinhe
Original Music
Luo Keju, Adrien Casalis
Qiu Sheng
Qiu Sheng was born in Hangzhou, China. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering before transitioning to the world of filmmaking. His feature debut Suburban Birds was selected for the 2018 Locarno Film Festival along with more than 20 other international film festivals, including São Paulo, BFI, CPH:PIX, and New Directors/New Films. His short film Double Helix (2021) won Best Short Film at the Shanghai International Film Festival and Best International Short Film at the Ghent Film Festival.
Filmography: Suburban Birds (2018)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Blue Trail
77-year-old Tereza makes a break for the Brazilian jungle in this trippy septuagenarian fantasy, the latest from Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro is a quirky picaresque, lushly photographed and filled with mordant humour.
Two Prosecutors
In the midst of Stalin’s purges, a naïve prosecutor sets out to investigate a prisoner’s innocence, unaware of the labyrinthine bureaucracy awaiting him. A Kafkaesque procedural thriller about the pursuit of justice in the face of corruption.
Image: © SBS Productions
Calle Málaga
Seventy-nine-year-old María Ángeles lives independently in Tangier's Spanish quarter. When her daughter pressures her into selling her apartment, she refuses to give in, finding in her old age a new resilience and an unexpected romantic connection.
El Suavecito
Victor Parra is Roberto, "el Suavecito", the smoothie. Sprinkling his Spanish with slang and English, and sporting a Zoot suit, he's a gangster-wannabe, an obnoxious macho who isn't quite as tough as he likes to make out...
Krystle dos Santos + Dawn Pemberton: Meet Me at Vie's + Union Street
Enjoy a sneak preview of Krystle dos Santos's upcoming musical celebration of the Hogan's Alley Black community in Strathcona, with songs performed by Krystle and Dawn Pemberton, followed by Jamila Pomeroy's documentary Union Street.
