Skip to main content
A Soft Touch film image; elderly woman sitting in a quilted armchair

A Soft Touch

After a friend stops replying to her messages, 81-year-old Ellen must find a way to recover the money she loaned them.

Director
Cast

Ellen Pottie, Eileen Carr, Michael Al-Molky, Brittany Lambert, Mohammad Ashari

Credits
Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2025

Language

English

18+
20 min
Drama Shorts Talent to Watch Women Directors

Credits & Director

Producer

Heather Young

Screenwriter

Heather Young

Cinematography

Kevin A. Fraser

Editor

Heather Young

Heather Young headshot

Heather Young

Heather Young is a filmmaker originally from Saint John, New Brunswick, now based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her works include the short films Howard and Jean (2014), Fish (2016), and Milk (2017), as well as the feature films Murmur (2019) and There, There (2024.) A Soft Touch (2025) is her latest short film.

Missing VIFF? Check Out What's Playing at the VIFF Centre

The 39 Steps

Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
86 min

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.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

American Doctor

Dir. Poh Si Teng
93 min

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.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
La Bola Negra
La Bola Negra film image; man playing a trumpet

La Bola Negra

Dir. Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo
155 min

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.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
The History of Concrete
The History of Concrete film image; man smoothing just-poured concrete sidewalk

The History of Concrete

Dir. John Wilson
101 min

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.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
More info

Sold Out

The Great McGinty

Dir. Preston Sturges
82 min

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...

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

To Be Or Not To Be

Dir. Ernst Lubitsch
99 min

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.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre