Shorts from: Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Finland, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Poland, Portugal.
Oct 7 & 8: Q&A
This short film program includes the following films:
The Light of Immortality
Mikołaj Janik, Poland (25 min)
A man’s obsession with collecting vintage lamps slowly unravels the shadow of what is real and what is not, as his family, for decades, has quietly supported and adapted to his ever-growing fantasy.
Tears Burn to Ash
Natalie Murao, Canada (15 min)
An encounter with a doppelganger in Japan cracks open the edges of reality, as a return to the homeland becomes a search through memory, absence, and the ghosts of identity.
My Dad is an Astronaut
Bianca Rose Cheung, Canada (14 min)
Through dreamy textures and thermal imaging, the film hums with quiet longing, lost signals, and the strange intimacy of distance.
Mother of Dawn
Clara Trevisan, Belgium/Brazil/Finland/Portugal (9 min)
In the dead of night, a hungry creature searches for food — until something breaks the cycle.
Bleat!
Ananth Subramaniam, Malaysia/Philippines/France (16 min)
An elderly couple faces a dilemma when their male goat, destined for ceremonial slaughter, turns out to be pregnant.
Muljil: Diving
Young Eun Yoo (Yooye), South Korea (26 min)
Yang Young-sam, a 77-year-old haenyeo (female freediver) battling dementia, prepares for a final ritual goodbye.
Supported by
Community Partner
Various
Various
2024 & 2025
Various
Animal cruelty, graphic violence
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Sirât
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.
2026 Oscar® Shorts (Documentary)
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.
Emergence: Women in the Storm
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.
