A small group of armed activists travel through the woods to siege the compound of a wealthy landowner. Hélène is tasked with providing cover from the bushes while the others storm the gates, but when she clams up and can’t pull the trigger, the mission ends in disaster. Knocked out during her retreat, Hélène awakens to a ghost who takes her on a spiritual journey and offers her a second chance. Will she be ready to do the right thing when the opportunity arrives?
The winds of revolution blow with an angry fervour through Félix Dufour-Laperrière’s exquisite feature. Animated in painstaking detail (over six years!) using a muted colour palette, hand-painted textures, and raw, kinetic energy, Death Does Not Exist is a metaphysical journey into the wilderness of the afterlife. A breathtaking work of 2D animation and a war cry for political change.
Supported by
Media Partner
Community Partner
Zeneb Blanchet, Karelle Tremblay, Mattis Savard-Verhoeven, Barbara Ulrich, Félix Dufour-Laperrière
Canada/France
2025
In French with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Credits & Director
Producer
Nicolas Dufour-Laperrière, Félix Dufour-Laperrière, Emmanuel-Alain Raynal, Pierre Baussaron
Screenwriter
Félix Dufour-Laperrière
Editor
Félix Dufour-Laperrière
Original Music
Gabriel Dufour-Laperrière, Jean L’Appeau
Félix Dufour-Laperrière
Félix Dufour-Laperrière is a filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer who co-founded Embuscade Films in 2013. His works include the documentary Transatlantique (2014) and the animated films Ville Neuve (2018) and Archipelago (2021). His most recent feature, Death Does Not Exist, premiered in the 2025 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.
Filmography: Transatlantique (2014); Ville Neuve (2018); Archipel (2021); Cette Maison (2022)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
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!
American Doctor
One of the most powerful documentaries of the year, this puts us smack in the open wound that is Gaza, filtered through the eyes of three American surgeons (of Palestinian, Jewish and Zoroastrian backgrounds) compelled to do their utmost to alleviate harm.
