General FAQs
If you have any questions that are not answered here, you can reach out to us:
- Email us at [email protected] and we’ll reply as quickly as we can.
- Give us a call at 604-683-3456, our phone lines are open weekdays between noon and 5pm.
My password is not working, how do I login?
Now that we have a new ticketing system (Elevent) you may find you need to create an account, even if you’ve used viff.org before.
Simply select your tickets as usual and when you check out, you can either:
- Enter your email address and register by providing us with your name and creating a password.
- Register/Log in with Facebook or Google
- Asked for a password but aren’t sure what it is? Click Forgot Password and you should receive a reset email from Elevent Support.
- Click the link in the email within 72 hours to reset your password.
Are memberships required to watch films online or in-cinema?
Greater Vancouver International Film Festival Society memberships are now included in the cost of all tickets. Learn more.
How do I cancel my ticket?
If you are needing to cancel any single tickets, please contact our box office via email at [email protected] or on the phone at 604-683-3456 (12pm – 5pm).
To cancel tickets in your ticket pack/pass, please follow the instructions here.
How do I use my gift card?
To use your gift card, log in to your VIFF account first! Find the film you are wanting to book for and during the checkout process, you will see that you can apply your gift card under the EXTRAS box. If you are needing step-by-step guidance, see here for instructions.
How do I check my gift card balance?
Please follow instructions here for step-by-step guidance on how to check your VIFF Gift Card balance.
Festival FAQs
How do Ticket Packs work?
Planning on seeing multiple films during VIFF 2026? Want to take all your friends to see a film? Ticket packs are your chance to save and watch more!
- Ticket packs work like redeemable credits on your viff.org account.
- There are no restrictions on the number of tickets from your pack that can be used per screening. For example: if you buy a 6-ticket pack, you can use all 6 tickets for a single screening or individual tickets across multiple screenings.
- If you are unable to use multiple tickets for a single screening, this is because there are not enough advance tickets available.
- To redeem your ticket pack, log in to your viff.org account, select a film and choose the option to ‘redeem your package’ which is located below the list of ticket prices. If you need further information, step-by-step instructions are available here.
- Ticket packs are valid only for Regular and Special Presentation screenings during VIFF 2026. Ticket packs are not valid for Gala screenings, VIFF Talks, VIFF Live, or Artist & Industry events.
- Unused credits from ticket packs do not carry over to year-round screenings at the VIFF Centre and are not eligible for partial refunds or downgrades. For example: if you purchase a 10-ticket pack and only use 6 tickets, the remaining 4 cannot be refunded or applied toward a smaller pack.
- To cancel tickets you have booked with your ticket pack, please follow the instructions here.
How do Festival Passes work?
- Upon arrival to your screening, please ensure that you join the Passholder Line while festival staff ready the venue for your entry. If you are unsure about which line to join, there are always VIFF staff and volunteers stationed at the entrance to each venue available to help.
- A generous allotment of seats is held for passholders at every VIFF screening up to 20 minutes before showtime, or until this passholder allotment is filled. Should you arrive after this 20-minute mark and/or the passholder allotment has been filled, you will be asked to join the end of the Standby line.
- Once in the Standby line, ticket holders will be let into the venue while our front of house team confirms any remaining seats. The Standby line will then be permitted entry based on remaining capacity.
- If a screening has reached capacity, we may not be able to admit you. Latecomer seating is always at the discretion of theatre management.
- VIFF passholders should be age 18+. The 5th Ave Theatre, The Rio Theatre, and The Park Theatre are 19+ venues. Classified screenings at The Rio Theatre and The Park Theatre permit under 18 audiences.
- This pass cannot be transferred to, or used by, anyone else.
- This pass includes your VIFF viewing membership.
How do the added vouchers with the Festival Pass work?
With your 2026 Festival Pass, you’ll have the opportunity to pre-book up to three films of your choice — ensuring your seat at some of the festival’s most in-demand screenings. Prefer to stay spontaneous? You can also use the vouchers to bring a friend and enjoy the experience together!
During your purchase process, you will be prompted to add-on “2026 VIFF Festival Pass – Voucher”. Please ensure that you add this to your cart to use the vouchers once single tickets go on sale!
Once single tickets are available, you will be able to redeem these vouchers by:
- Logging in to your VIFF account
- Choosing the film you would like to use your voucher for
- Selecting the ticket type called “2026 VIFF Festival Pass – Voucher”
- Add 1-3 tickets to your cart
- Continue browsing for other films or go straight to check out
Make sure to use the ticket you booked with your voucher when attending your film.
This helps our front-of-house staff know you’ve reserved your seat in advance and ensures a smooth entry.
How do Platinum Passes work?
- Platinum passholders have preferred access to screenings!
- A generous allotment of seats is held at each screening for Platinum passholders. These reserved seats are held until 5 minutes before showtime.
- Should you arrive after this 5-minute mark, our team will ask that you join the end of the Standby line while they confirm additional seating for you. Most screenings will have seats left at this stage. To avoid waiting, we recommend Platinum passholders arrive at least 10 minutes before their screening begins.
- If a screening is at capacity, we may not be able to admit you. Latecomer seating is left to the discretion of the venue management.
- VIFF passholders should be age 18+. The 5th Ave Theatre, The Rio Theatre, and The Park Theatre are 19+ venues. Classified screenings at The Rio Theatre and The Park Theatre permit under 18 audiences.
- This pass cannot be transferred to, or used by, anyone else.
- This pass includes your VIFF viewing membership.
How does the passholder line work?
Single-Screen Venues
Single-screen venues include The Cinematheque, The 5th Ave Cinema, VIFF Centre, Playhouse, SFU Woodwards, The Rio, The Park Theatre, and Alliance Française.
Upon arrival at these venues, please join the Passholder Line and have your Pass ready. Once in line, you will receive a passholder ticket, which secures your spot to the film.
As you enter, your passholder ticket is checked and your Pass is scanned. A volunteer may ask whether you wish to attend the next immediate screening. If so, you will be given an additional passholder ticket to that screening. Please note:
- Only half of the passholder tickets will be offered to passholders attending the previous screening — the other half of the passholder tickets will be held for the passholder line-up and released to the passholders in the lineup one hour before showtime.
- These passholder tickets are part of a limited passholder allotment. Accepting one and not using it may prevent another passholder from attending. We ask that you be thoughtful and only request one if you are certain you’ll stay for the screening.
If you leave the Passholder Line with a passholder ticket and arrive back at the venue after showtime, you are not guaranteed entry. Passholder tickets are not valid unless presented with a Pass.
International Village Screenings
VIFF screens films in three auditoriums at International Village. For this venue, passholders head to the Passholder Table, located on the 2nd floor near the line-ups. This is where you’ll present your Pass, pick up a passholder ticket, and join the appropriated Passholder Line for the screening you wish to see. Please, keep in mind:
- The Passholder Table opens 30 minutes before the first screening of the day.
- You may request up to two passholder tickets at a time for any of the four auditoriums — one for the film you’re about to see, and one for the screening immediately after.
- If you are seeing three or more screenings in a row at any of the four auditoriums, between screening one and two you may request your 3rd passholder ticket at the Passholder Table.
- These passholder tickets are part of a limited passholder allotment. Accepting one and not using it may prevent another passholder from attending. We ask that you be thoughtful and only request one if you are certain you’ll stay for the screening.
- If you are wanting to request a passholder ticket for a later screening in the day, these tickets will be available 1 hour before the film starts.
If all passholder tickets for your desired screening have been claimed, you may join the Standby Line. This system helps keep things running smoothly while giving all passholders a fair chance to get into the screenings they want.
How will the VIFF+ single ticket pre-sale work?
Starting at noon on August 26, until noon on August 27, tickets to VIFF 2026 screenings and events will go on sale to all VIFF+ members. To access this members’-only sale, first log in to your viff.org account before selecting your film screenings.
Be sure that the email login you use to access this members’ only sale is the same email attached to your VIFF+ account.
At noon on August 27, VIFF 2026 ticket sales will open to the general public.
Not a member yet? Join now!
When and where do we pick up our pass?
Passes will be available to pick up from September 24 – October 7, 2026 from 10am – 6pm at the VIFF Centre (1181 Seymour St.). Between October 8 – 11, they will be held at the box office during regular box office hours.
What are relaxed screenings?
Relaxed screenings are open to anyone who would benefit from a less restrictive and sensory-friendly cinema experience including (but not limited to) people living with dementia, Autistic people, people with learning difficulties, people with a sensory or communication disorder, parents with young babies, and anyone who feels they would benefit from a more supportive and inclusive experience.
Age restrictions
VIFF presents many films that have not been classified by Consumer Protection BC. By law, anyone wishing to watch these films at the festival must be 18+.
Additionally, due to their liquor licenses, all events at The Rio Theatre, The Park Theatre, and 5th Ave Theatre are 19+ and the door staff will ask for ID. In some instances, The Rio Theatre and The Park Theatre will host classified screenings (screenings rated for youth audiences) where the 19+ age restriction is temporarily lifted.
Younger film lovers can still experience great cinema at VIFF 2026! Every year, a selection of films is classified so that our younger audiences can enjoy the festival too. See more information regarding VIFF’s classified screenings here.
I purchased a ticket and did not receive a confirmation email
If you have not received your ticket or email confirmation, please double check your junk and spam folders first. If you still have not received it, please contact us at [email protected] or by calling 604-683-3456.
VIFF+ FAQs
How can I buy a ticket with my VIFF+ discount?
To purchase tickets with your discount, login to your viff.org account prior to selecting your tickets. You will be able to see a new ticket type: VIFF+ Member Ticket. (For Premium, Patron, and U25 memberships, the name will read “VIFF+ Premium Member Ticket”, “VIFF+ Patron Member Ticket”, or “U25 Member Ticket” respectively.) Add that ticket to your cart and checkout.
My VIFF+ membership isn’t showing on my account on the new site…
While we’ve done our best to move everyone over to the new system, it’s possible some information didn’t transfer over correctly! Please make sure you’re trying to log in using the email address we usually use to communicate with you. If you are and still cannot see your membership, please email [email protected] and a member of our team will look into the issue for you.
How can I purchase a VIFF+ membership as a gift?
It is easier than ever to purchase a VIFF+ membership as a gift! All you need to do is visit the VIFF+ Gift Membership page and add a gift membership to your cart. If you’re logged in and already have a VIFF+ membership yourself, the gift membership will be the only one available. If you’re not logged in yet, or don’t have a VIFF+ membership yourself, you just need to check the box that says ‘This is a gift’ before adding it to your cart.
How will I know when it is time to renew my VIFF+ membership?
We will email you to let you know a few days before your membership is due to expire. You can also now choose to auto-renew your VIFF+ membership so that you don’t need to worry about remembering to renew it. Simply add payment details to your Elevent account and check the box to auto-renew your membership and at the end of each year, the membership will automatically renew for you, at a reduced price.
Memberships can only be renewed online within 4 days of your membership expiring. If you would like to renew earlier, please call the Box Office Helpline on (604) 683-3456, Mon-Fri, 12-5 pm.
Can I set up auto-renewal on my membership?
Yes, you can! If you set up autorenewal on your VIFF+ membership, you don’t need to worry about your membership expiring at an inopportune moment (during the festival, for example!). With auto-renewal, you can rest easy and your membership will automatically be renewed as your previous one expires. All you need to do is make sure you have your preferred payment method saved on your Elevent account, and we’ll do the rest.
You can follow these instructions here to set up autorenewal today. If you change your mind, disabling autorenewal is as easy as logging back into your account and clicking a button. And we’ll always let you know a few days in advance when your membership payment is due.
How do Complimentary Guest Tickets work?
Each Guest Ticket is a free ticket that you can use for a friend. When you purchase a membership, the tickets are automatically added to your account. To access them, log in to your account and go to book a ticket. You will be able to see a VIFF+ Complimentary Guest Ticket that costs $0, and you can select that ticket type. When you’ve used up the number of complimentary tickets included with your membership, you will see ‘Maximum Reached’ next to that ticket type.
When can I use my Guest Tickets?
You can use them any time within the 12 months that your membership is valid. You won’t be able to use them after your membership expires, so make sure to use them before then!
What is Members’ Early Bird Day?
Members’ Early Bird Day usually happens in early to mid-August and is the first opportunity for our VIFF+ members to get a sneak peek of the line-up for VIFF and to purchase ticket packages and passes at a significant discount (30% for VIFF+ Premium, 15% for VIFF+). We will let you know when this year’s event will take place ahead of time so you can make the most of your membership and get excited for the festival before anyone else!
What are ArtsPerks, and how can I access them?
ArtsPerks are benefits included in our VIFF+ Premium and VIFF+ Patron Memberships. They provide exclusive discounts to our partnered art organizations in Vancouver — click here for the specific offers from each.
When you order a VIFF+ Premium or Patron Membership, you will receive an email with a special promo code.
I am a VIFF+ Premium member but I forgot the ArtsPerks code and I can’t find the email, what do I do?
Contact [email protected] and we will help you out!
VIFF+ Patron
How do I receive complimentary popcorn?
You can pick up your VIFF+ Patron Membership Card at the box office the next time you are in. That card will last you the whole year, and you can show it to our concessions attendants to receive popcorn for free.
I know I can book my Patron tickets for free online by logging in, but what if I want to book them at the box office?
You can absolutely book your tickets at the box office. Show them your card and they will book the tickets for you at no cost.
When will I receive my tax receipt?
Tax receipts are sent out at the end of each month. They will be mailed, unless you let us know that you prefer email.
Why is the tax receipt amount $675, when I’m paying $1000?
Legally, if a donation is attached to a benefit for the donor (in this case free admission to films in addition to the other Patron discounts), then the charity has to subtract the value of the benefits from the amount donated. In this case, we have estimated that the donor receives $325 in benefits, so we subtract $325 from $1000 to arrive at the amount we can legally include in a tax receipt: $675.
Can I gift a membership to someone, but get the tax receipt in my name?
Absolutely. Order the membership using their name and email, and then email [email protected] to let us know that you would like your name on the tax receipt.
Donation FAQs
General
How can I donate to VIFF?
Our favourite question! Click here to make a secure donation online. The donation portal is in the middle of the page.
Can I choose where my donation will go?
Yes! If you want your support to go to a specific cause, let us know and we will allocate your donation on our end.
What’s the difference between a $1000 donation and VIFF+ Patron?
VIFF+ Patron combines a $675 donation with a $325 membership purchase. Legally, if a donation is attached to a benefit for the donor (in this case free admission to films in addition to the other Patron discounts), then the charity has to subtract the value of the benefits from the amount donated. Thus VIFF+ Patrons receive membership benefits and their tax receipt is for $675.
Those who donate $1000 get a tax receipt for the full amount — their tax receipt reflects $1000. Since it is a donation, the $1000 is assumed to be given without expectation of monetary privileges or membership benefits.
Tax Receipts
Will I receive a tax receipt for my donation?
All donations of $20 and above are tax receiptable.
When do I get my tax receipt?
For one-time donations, your tax receipt will be emailed to you within a month of your donation. We include it with our thank you message, so check for attachments or scroll to the bottom of our email to see it.
- If your donation was done online and was the only purchase: Expect it immediately in your inbox — check spam if you do not see it.
- If your donation was added to a ticket order: Expect it in by the end of the month.
For recurring donations (for example, if you are on a monthly plan), we consolidate the donations into one tax receipt that we send at the end of the year. You can expect the consolidated receipt in January. If you need it earlier, reach out to [email protected] and we will be happy to provide it.
I entered a nickname instead of my official name when making my donation, will that work for the receipt?
Tax receipts must have your official name for the government to accept them. We ask that you enter your official name if you would like to claim the donation on your taxes. If you accidentally did otherwise, email [email protected] and we will update your account info.
I lost my receipt! Can I view my receipts online?
If you made your donation online on our donation page, then yes! Here’s the link to our donation portal: Online Donor Portal
If you do not see your receipt there, it means you likely made your donation through our ticketing system. Email [email protected] and we are happy to resend you the receipt.
Monthly Donations
How do monthly donations work?
Simply select your donation amount and click ‘Monthly’ on the form. Donations are then automatically taken from your account each month — no need to worry about re-entering your payment information every month!
You will be sent a consolidated tax receipt for all your monthly donations at the end of the year.
Do I have to commit to a minimum number of months?
While we appreciate your gift, we understand that circumstances may change. You are under no obligation and can adjust the amount or cancel your donation at any time.
Alternative Methods of Donating
Do you accept donations of securities?
Yes! To make a donation of securities, please visit the CanadaHelps page and follow the instructions for donating securities.
Can I donate Aeroplan points?
Yes! Head here and sign in to donate Aeroplan points to VIFF. Aeroplan points help us bring in filmmakers from around the world — flights are costly, so any points you can donate are mightily appreciated!
Can I donate by mail?
Yes! Click here for a printer friendly version of our donation form.
Can I leave a gift in my will?
Absolutely! You can have a huge impact on the next generation of filmmakers through legacy gifts. You may choose to leave a gift of cash, securities, property, or a percentage of your estate. Your estate will receive a charitable tax receipt that can help reduce — or even eliminate — estate taxes. Download our legacy giving instructions to share with your lawyer when preparing or updating your will. We are also happy to help you out with any questions at [email protected].
How would I commit to a larger donation via my estate?
Reach out to us! We are always happy to provide any paperwork you need and walk you through it. Email [email protected] or call our Philanthropy Office at 778-328-7813.
Recognition
What types of recognition do donors receive?
We love telling our audiences about who makes VIFF possible! We include donor names on our pre-show slides before each film for donors over $500, monthly donors, and VIFF+ Patrons.
We also thank donors of over $1000 in our VIFF Program Guide, our beloved festival program distributed all over the city and read by our festival goers.
We have a small philanthropy team at VIFF, so we are grateful for your patience as names are added to our slides and website. If you notice a name was missed, have no fear to let us know at [email protected] — we will fix that for you right away!
We also often invite our donors to events throughout the year to say thank you! VIFF+ Patron membership comes with other benefits as well.
I do not want to receive recognition, what do I do?
Just let us know at [email protected] and we’ll make sure to not include you on the slides or in the program guide. You also always have the option to donate anonymously!
I want my partner/friend/child/parent/other to be thanked alongside me, what do I do?
Email [email protected] with your preferred recognition (ex. Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Thelma & Louise Anderson, etc.) and we will make the change! You are also welcome to add your preferred recognition in the comment box when you make a donation online.
How can I get a plaque on the back of a theatre seat?
We still have a few balcony seats without plaques! Click here to make a donation of $1000 to name a seat. Seat plaques have a five-year term, and monthly donation plans are accepted.