VIFF turns 45 this year, running October 1 to 11 with 162 features — 12 world premieres, 15 North American and 49 Canadian — plus live performances, talks and special events. Here’s what to catch.
Opening and closing in style
Opening Film: The Debut (dir. Jesse Eisenberg). An outlandish yet emotionally honest comedy starring Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti that sends up the theatre world’s self-importance while celebrating the power of performance.
Closing Film: Wild Horse Nine (dir. Martin McDonagh). Two CIA agents land on Easter Island ahead of the 1973 Chilean coup. Expect the Banshees of Inisherin director’s trademark profanity and dark comedy, with John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell as the dysfunctional pair.
Spotlight: Marie Clements
Métis/Dene filmmaker Marie Clements is one of the program’s most significant voices. She brings How We Stand and the world premiere of the first three episodes of Reclaim My Skin, her three-part docuseries for Knowledge Network.
Made in B.C.
VIFF again champions B.C.-made features, often with filmmakers in the room. World premieres include:
- First Comes Love: Nakabingwit (dir. Joella Cabalu) — a rom-com documentary from the Vancouver filmmaker
- Relax, Open Your Eyes (dir. David Ehrenreich)
- The Bryce Lee Story (dir. Arnold Lim)
The big Canadian premieres
World-class auteurs making their Canadian debut:
- Behemoth! — Tony Gilroy
- Fjord — Cristian Mungiu
- All of a Sudden — Ryusuke Hamaguchi
- Possible Love — Lee Chang-dong
Possible Love screens in memory of Tony Rayns, the long-time VIFF programmer and champion of East Asian cinema who died earlier this year.
Focus on New German Cinema: Extreme Tension
Six features from rising German talents, presented with German Films — psychologically complex, visually striking and socially engaged. Titles include:
- The Ballad From Wednesday to Thursday — Christoph Otto
- Dear Future Self — Ella Cieslinski & Nina Wesemann (international premiere)
- I Understand Your Displeasure — Kilian Armando Friedrich (Canadian premiere)
- Prosecution — Faraz Shariat (Canadian premiere)
VIFF Live: cinema beyond the screen
VIFF Live’s biggest program yet: ten events curated by Jarrett Martineau around the theme of reworlding. Highlights:
An Evening with Mark Mothersbaugh (Oct 8). The DEVO founder and an 11-piece ensemble play music from The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore, Thor: Ragnarok, The LEGO Movie, A Minecraft Movie and more — one night only.
The KLF: 23 Seconds to Eternity (Oct 3). The North American premiere of the collected films and music videos of the 90s’ most enigmatic electronic provocateurs, preceded by a live AV set from Vancouver duo CHXMERAS.
MUTEK x VIFF Live (Oct 2). An evening of electronic music and audiovisual performance featuring legendary electro duo Dopplereffekt, Montreal DJ Honeydrip and Vancouver’s MIIIA, in collaboration with visual artist MELT.
Jóhann Jóhannsson’s Cinematic Suites: The Denis Villeneuve Scores. The North American premiere at the Chan Centre, with a full orchestra performing the late Icelandic composer’s music for Villeneuve’s films.
Also on the bill:
- The Last Angel of History (Oct 2) — a 30th-anniversary screening of the landmark Afrofuturism film, with live music from Speaker Music and a conversation with The Otolith Group
- TAKKUUK (Oct 3) — Arctic Indigenous artists reckon with culture and a changing world, with a Bicep score and a live set from Greenlandic rapper Tarrak
- Kelly Moran (Oct 4) — the pianist and composer moves between classical, avant-garde and electronic sound, with an opening AV set from Bahar Khazei
- Los Thuthanaka (Oct 5) — the Canadian debut of the experimental duo’s Aymara-rooted psychedelic AV experience
- An Evening with Cristóbal Tapia de Veer (Oct 5) — a rare masterclass from the Emmy- and BAFTA-winning composer of The White Lotus and Smile
- ERASERHEAD XIU XIU (Oct 6) — Xiu Xiu’s live reimagining of David Lynch’s midnight classic, a Canadian premiere
- Derrick Gee’s Radio Hour (Oct 7) — the Canadian premiere of the music tastemaker’s living-room-style listening show
VIFF Talks: the craft behind the films
VIFF Talks, curated by Ken Tsui, goes behind the craft of the year’s standout work:
- Art of the Cut: Matthew Hannam (Oct 3) — the editor revisits his process on The Iron Claw, Babygirl and White Noise
- The Close-Up: In Conversation with Carrie Coon (Oct 4) — VIFF honours the star of The Leftovers, Fargo and The White Lotus with its first-ever Luminary Award
- A Wish Come True: The Making of Obsession (Oct 4) — producer Haley Johnson goes behind the scenes of one of the year’s buzziest films
- Worlds Within Worlds (Oct 5) — production designers Brandon Tonner-Connolly and Matt Hyland on building the worlds of Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow and Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
- Stories Behind the Music: Mark Mothersbaugh (Oct 7) — the DEVO co-founder in conversation with composer and former studio executive Robert Kraft. Pair it with his live show the next night for the full Mothersbaugh experience.
Plan your festival
Pick your anchors early — a gala, a VIFF Live show, a talk — then fill the gaps with discoveries. Tickets and the full program are at viff.org; box office (604) 683-3456, daily 12–6 pm.
See you at the movies!