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
Searching for Satyrus
Award-winning filmmaker and photographer Rena Effendi embarks on a quest to track down the very rare Satyrus Effendi, a butterfly discovered by her father in the mountains of Aberbaijain. But what she finds is altogether more personal, and more upsetting.
Naomi Osaka: The Second Set + Q&A
Kat Jayme, a VIFF audience favourite for The Grizzlie Truth, I'm Just Here for the Riot and Finding Big Country is back with another sports doc, a portrait of the Japanese tennis great Naomi Osaka as she returns to the court after becoming a mom.
Palimpsest: The Story of a Name
Drawing on home movies and diaries from the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s, Canadian filmmaker Mary Stephen (Eric Rohmer's editor for many years) investigates the origins of her surname. After all, she was born in Hong Kong to Chinese parents. Or were they... ?
Cookie Queens
A documentary about the annual Girl Scouts' cookie sale is probably not high on your list of must-sees, but don't be too sure — this movie is a delight, a rare celebration of girlhood, supportive family relations, and the art of salesmanship.