Confronted with her husband’s declining health, Carrie Radomski dedicates herself to building Canada’s first cryonics facility, convinced that preserving the human body after death may one day allow families like hers to reunite. Alongside a close-knit group of scientists, entrepreneurs, and true believers, Carrie commits herself to a vision of the future that challenges conventional ideas about mortality, grief, and what it means to hope.
Relax, Open Your Eyes offers a rare glimpse into the world of cryonics, approaching its subjects with curiosity rather than judgment. Instead of focusing on whether cryonics will ultimately succeed, David Ehrenreich’s documentary explores the people who devote themselves to such an extraordinary pursuit, revealing a community driven as much by love and optimism as by science. Through observational filmmaking and remarkable firsthand access, the film captures the emotional complexity of believing in a future that others dismiss, while inviting audiences to reflect on humanity’s enduring desire to overcome death.
Oct 2 & 6: Filmmaker Q&A
Presented by
Media Partner
Carrie Radomski, Witek Radomski, Lauren Fosco, Joan Runkel, Jordan Sparks
Canada
2026
English
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
David Ehrenreich, Victoria Lean, Michael Tanko Grand, Justin Stockman
Producer
Michael Tanko Grand
Screenwriter
David Ehrenreich
Cinematography
Caleb Ford
Editor
Tony Kent, Hart Snider
Original Music
Edo Van Breeman
David Ehrenreich
David Ehrenreich is a Vancouver-based film director who works in fiction and non-fiction and the margins inbetween. A curiosity for people, often on the fringes, and a desire to showcase them with beauty and candor has developed into an eclectic body of work. Ehrenreich’s latest project, Relax, Open Your Eyes (2026), will be his first non-fiction feature film. It celebrates a young family and their most recent labour of love, a robust human cryopreservation service in Northern Canada.
Missing VIFF? Check Out What's Playing at the VIFF Centre
Possible Love
Lee Chang-dong’s first film since Burning (2018) is a sardonic, slow-burning satire about two couples: a documentary filmmaker married to a wealthy businessman, and a working-class family struggling to make ends meet after the husband has been laid off.
Once Upon a Time in Harlem
Once Upon a Time in Harlem splices together footage shot by William Greaves in 1972 of a group of Harlem Renaissance luminaries in conversation at Duke Ellington’s townhouse. The film is a living archive of memory, disagreement, style, and Black genius.
The Secret in Their Eyes
This month's Talking Pictures screening is a multi-layered, poignant thriller interweaving the personal lives of a prosecution investigator (Ricardo Darin) and a judge, with a manhunt spanning twenty-five years. Stay for cookies, coffee and a chat after!
The Haunting
Directed by Robert Wise in 1963, The Haunting is a classic exercise in the suggestive power of cinema, adapted from Shirley Jackson's 1959 best-seller, The Haunting of Hill House, a provocative blend of supernatural and psychological horror.
