Skip to main content
The Bryce Lee Story film image; boy holding his hand out in stop gesture and yelling

The Bryce Lee Story

This event has passed

World Premiere

Set on Vancouver Island in the 1990s, The Bryce Lee Story follows 13-year-old Bryce, a recent immigrant from China living with his uncle while his father remains behind. Making homemade action movies with his younger sister, Bryce dreams of becoming a filmmaker. But struggling to fit in and facing anti-Asian prejudice at school, he claims to be related to martial arts icon Bruce Lee. The lie captivates the Godard-obsessed leader of the school film club, propelling the kids into an ambitious martial arts production that triggers a chaotic series of events.

In his sophomore feature, Arnold Lim draws from his own upbringing in rural BC to confront the “model minority” myth with warmth, humour, and compassion. Grounded in a distinctly West Coast setting, The Bryce Lee Story balances complex questions of identity and family with an infectious love of cinema. Thoughtfully examining how identity is shaped, performed, and ultimately reclaimed, the film offers an engaging coming-of-age story about the universal pursuit of belonging.

 


The Oct 10 screening of The Bryce Lee Story is a Relaxed Screening. Relaxed Screenings are open to anyone who could benefit from a more casual, supportive and laid-back experience. Learn more about Relaxed Screenings here.

 

Oct 5 & 6: Filmmaker Q&A

 

Presented by

      Telefilm logo

Media Partner

Global BC logo

Director
Cast

Rickie Wang, Cordelia Chao, Benny Wang

Credits
Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2026

Language

In English and Mandarin with English subtitles

Film Contact
Classification Advisory

Violence

G

Open to youth

88 min
BC Spotlight Comedy Family Relations

Book Tickets

This event has passed.

Credits & Director

Executive Producer

Raymond Massey

Producer

Lynne Lee, Arnold Lim

Screenwriter

Kyle D’Odorico, Arnold Lim, Connor Gaston, Mo Bradley

Arnold Lim headshot

Arnold Lim

Arnold Lim is a writer & director, recently directing and co-writing his second Telefilm-funded feature film, The Bryce Lee Story. A photo and video journalist for two decades and a Photography Manager for five Olympic Games, Lim won the Director’s Guild of Canada’s Greenlight award for Obscura (옵스큐라,) which won the 2024 Leo Awards for Best Screenwriting and Best Short Film.

Filmography: All-in Madonna (2020)

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

Possible Love
Possible Love film image; four people standing in a road looking at something

Possible Love

Dir. Lee Chang-dong
164 min

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.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

The Exorcist

Dir. William Friedkin
121 min

Thirteen-year-old Linda Blair is Regan, the movie star daughter who is possessed by a demon, and whose body becomes a spiritual battleground. It builds slowly, carefully, into a maelstrom of sheer unadulterated horror.

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 VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
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 VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Once Upon a Time in Harlem

Dir. William Greaves, David Greaves
100 min

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.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

An American Werewolf in London

Dir. John Landis
97 min

Two American students get into a spot of bother with the wildlife in rural England. Then they introduce the virus to the big city... John Landis's goofy horror comedy is a very good night out. So long as it's not a full moon...

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre