Skip to main content
Paradaïz film image; cartoon snail with a tiny building for its shell

Paradaïz

Through absurdist animation and archival images, a young woman visits her slippery and surreal homeland.

Director
Credits
Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2025

Language

English

Links
18+
10 min
Animation Shorts Talent to Watch Women Directors
National Film Board of Canada

Credits & Director

Executive Producer

Robert McLaughlin, Christine Noël

Producer

Jelena Popović

Screenwriter

Matea Radic

ANIM

Matea Radic

Editor

Xi Feng

Original Music

Tyler Fitzmaurice

Matea Radic headshot

Matea Radic

Matea Radic is a multidisciplinary artist born in Sarajevo and based in Winnipeg, Canada. She fled her birthplace as a child in the summer of 1992 and has been interested in the concept of home and attachment ever since, infusing her art with a signature mix of nostalgia and dark humour. Radic has explored a variety of mediums, including illustration, painting, and sculpture, and has animated music videos, notably a posthumous clip for Jim Croce. The animated short Paradaïz (2025), produced by the NFB, is her first film.

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

Sirât

Dir. Óliver Laxe
115 min

A desperate father (Sergi Lopez) searchers for his missing daughter through the spiritual wasteland of the Moroccan desert. An unforgettable sensory powerhouse, Sîrat will have you riveted and rattled for hours after the end credits have rolled.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

2026 Oscar® Shorts (Documentary)

Dir. Various
157 min

Don't come to the program of Oscar®-nominated documentary shorts for escapism. But let's talk about the Canadian contender, Perfectly a Strangeness, featuring an abandoned observatory and three donkeys. More of this, please.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

2026 Oscar® Shorts (Live Action)

Dir. Various
119 min

This year's contenders in the Live Action category include comedies, drama, an experimental musical, and a dystopian fantasy; films from the UK and the US, France and Israel.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

H is for Hawk

Dir. Philippa Lowthorpe
114 min

Based on naturalist Helen MacDonald's memoir (scripted by Emma Donoghue), H is for Hawk follows Helen (Claire Foy), who, after the sudden death of her father embarks on an intense relationship... with a goshawk.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Emergence: Women in the Storm

Dir. Velcrow Ripper & Nova Ami
85 min

Stories of resistance and recovery, courage, creativity and community in the face of the climate emergency gleaned from women first responders and those impacted in Western Canada, particularly Lytton and the Fraser Valley.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

2026 Oscar® Shorts (Animated)

Dir. Various
83 min

The nominees for Best Animated Short Film include The Girl Who Cried Pearls, a fable from Canadian filmmakers Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, narrated by Colm Feore.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre