Shorts from: Canada, India, Spain, Taiwan, USA.
Oct 9 & 10: Q&A
This short film program includes the following films:
Santa Clara. Birth in Three Phases
Arturo Franco & Tono Mejuto, Spain (9 min)
Amidst the ruins of the Monastery of Santa Clara, workers clean, weed, and drill.
The Foreigner
Wen-Shuo Hsueh, Taiwan (16 min)
A night in the life of A-bang, a Taiwanese patrol guard amidst a factory of migrant workers.
Canada in the 12th Century
Jack Parker, Canada (10 min)
Two Canadas from the 12th century: one real, one imaginary.
How to Live Together
Tim Nicholas, USA (18 min)
Six people living in a cramped four-bedroom apartment seek a new roommate.
To Look, and to Look Again
Monica Cheema, Canada (6 min)
A meditation on labour and land via a blueberry farm in Surrey, BC.
The Housekeeper
Surya Balakrishnan, India (24 min)
Over time, the routines of Abhi, a young urbanite living in Mumbai, and Deepa, his housekeeper, intertwine.
Paradise Heights
Karl Kai & Robert Mentov, Canada (23 min)
Lah, a narcoleptic seven-year old, discovers an otherworldly bond to her late mother’s past within dreams of the Burmese jungle.
Supported by
Community Partner
Various
Various
2024 & 2025
Various
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check Out What's Playing at the VIFF Centre
The 39 Steps
In our new film studies series, FRAMEWORK, film scholar Michael van den Bos explores the work of Alfred Hitchcock, across four monochrome masterworks. This week: The 39 Steps (1935), a witty and fast-moving spy thriller from Hitchcock's English period.
American Doctor
One of the most powerful documentaries of the year, this puts us smack in the open wound that is Gaza, filtered through the eyes of three American surgeons (of Palestinian, Jewish and Zoroastrian backgrounds) compelled to do their utmost to alleviate harm.
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.
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.
The Great McGinty
Preston Sturges' first film as writer-director is an omnivorous satire on endemic political corruption, the tale of a tramp who gets his entry into politics by casting 37 votes for mayor at $2 a pop. Eventually he'll be on the ticket himself...
To Be Or Not To Be
Strange but true: one of the greatest comedies of Hollywood's golden era was inspired by Hitler's annexation of Poland in 1938. Jack Benny is the renowned theatre actor whose performance of Hamlet is interrupted by the Germans.