The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) returns to the city this month, with 140 films and 100 shorts appearing on 10 screens in seven different venues. The festival takes place from September 28 to October 8, fully in-person for the first time since 2019, and organizers have now unveiled its lineup of films.
Opening with Aki Kaurismäki's Fallen Leaves and closing with The Pot-au-Feu (La Passion de Dodin Bouffant) by Tran Anh Hùng, this year's edition will also present numerous Canadian features, including Robert McCallum's Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe, Chelsea McMullan's Swan Song, Atom Egoyan's Seven Veils, Kathleen S. Jayme and Asia Youngman's I'm Just Here for the Riot, and more, in addition to the Canadian premiere of Sofia Coppola's Priscilla, the North American premiere of Ken Loach's The Old Oak, and a presentation of Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron.
As always, the festival will also present VIFF Talks, VIFF Amp, VIFF Labs, VIFF Industry Days, and, for fans of the intersection between film, music, comedy, podcasting and performance, VIFF Live.
VIFF Live events were curated this year by Norman Armour, founder of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, who has selected a series of performances that explore film culture through experimental music and experiential cinema.
Kicking off on October 1 and running through to October 7, VIFF Live will begin with 32 Sounds, an immersive documentary and sensory experience from filmmaker Sam Green. Said to be "a meditation on the power of sound to bend time, cross borders, and reshape our perception of the world around us," audience members will wear headphones, through which they will hear a binaural sound mix, adding to the live cinema/documentary experience, directed by Green with music by Le Tigre's JD Samson.
Other VIFF Live events include Machine Folklore, an introduction to Taiwan's experimental interdisciplinary arts scene; Daniel Barrow's Winnipeg Babysitter, a "mischievous tracing of a brief synapse in Canadian broadcasting history"; experimental performances by both Cris Derksen and Sammy Chien; Miwa Matreyek's The World Made Itself and Infinitely Yours; and more. Get more information on those here.
"Vancouver is a city for filmmakers and cinephiles, and VIFF is the city's festival," said Kyle Fostner, VIFF's executive director. "The past few years were challenging, but we're back, fully in-cinema, with 11 days of celebration overflowing with powerful films and inspiring live performances to help our community reconnect with what makes this place so special."
Fostner continued, "While this year's festival falls at a tumultuous time for film industry workers, we're excited to offer both audiences and industry professionals the opportunity to come together, and to experience the power and potential film can have as a healing, inspiring, and uplifting experience."
VIFF regular screenings, galas and special presentation films will run at $18 per ticket, while ticket packs are available in six, 10, and 20 packs. VIFF Live events range from $15–$38. Check out the full lineup and get tickets here.
Opening with Aki Kaurismäki's Fallen Leaves and closing with The Pot-au-Feu (La Passion de Dodin Bouffant) by Tran Anh Hùng, this year's edition will also present numerous Canadian features, including Robert McCallum's Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe, Chelsea McMullan's Swan Song, Atom Egoyan's Seven Veils, Kathleen S. Jayme and Asia Youngman's I'm Just Here for the Riot, and more, in addition to the Canadian premiere of Sofia Coppola's Priscilla, the North American premiere of Ken Loach's The Old Oak, and a presentation of Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron.
As always, the festival will also present VIFF Talks, VIFF Amp, VIFF Labs, VIFF Industry Days, and, for fans of the intersection between film, music, comedy, podcasting and performance, VIFF Live.
VIFF Live events were curated this year by Norman Armour, founder of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, who has selected a series of performances that explore film culture through experimental music and experiential cinema.
Kicking off on October 1 and running through to October 7, VIFF Live will begin with 32 Sounds, an immersive documentary and sensory experience from filmmaker Sam Green. Said to be "a meditation on the power of sound to bend time, cross borders, and reshape our perception of the world around us," audience members will wear headphones, through which they will hear a binaural sound mix, adding to the live cinema/documentary experience, directed by Green with music by Le Tigre's JD Samson.
Other VIFF Live events include Machine Folklore, an introduction to Taiwan's experimental interdisciplinary arts scene; Daniel Barrow's Winnipeg Babysitter, a "mischievous tracing of a brief synapse in Canadian broadcasting history"; experimental performances by both Cris Derksen and Sammy Chien; Miwa Matreyek's The World Made Itself and Infinitely Yours; and more. Get more information on those here.
"Vancouver is a city for filmmakers and cinephiles, and VIFF is the city's festival," said Kyle Fostner, VIFF's executive director. "The past few years were challenging, but we're back, fully in-cinema, with 11 days of celebration overflowing with powerful films and inspiring live performances to help our community reconnect with what makes this place so special."
Fostner continued, "While this year's festival falls at a tumultuous time for film industry workers, we're excited to offer both audiences and industry professionals the opportunity to come together, and to experience the power and potential film can have as a healing, inspiring, and uplifting experience."
VIFF regular screenings, galas and special presentation films will run at $18 per ticket, while ticket packs are available in six, 10, and 20 packs. VIFF Live events range from $15–$38. Check out the full lineup and get tickets here.
