Shorts from: China, France, Germany, Portugal, USA.
This short film program includes the following films:
The Death of the Fish
Eva Lusbaronian, France (14 min)
Through the mimicry and embodiment of dance, a girl tries to save her mother from depression.
Orlo with Karma
Kangdrun, China (23 min)
Romance blossoms at cram school between Orlo, an independent tomboy, and Karma, a new student with attitude.
Arguments in Favor of Love
Gabriel Abrantes, Portugal (10 min)
As the world ends, two ghosts enact the death throes of a relationship.
Two People Exchanging Saliva
Alexandre Singh & Natalie Musteata, France/USA (36 min)
Angine, a rich housewife, and Malaise, a shop girl, begin to form a bond in a repressive society where kissing is punishable by death.
Skin on Skin
Simon Schneckenburger, Germany (30 min)
Against the backdrop of a fomenting revolt, two workers in a German slaughterhouse find one another.
Supported by
Community Partner
Various
Various
2024 & 2025
Various
Animal cruelty, mild violence, self harm, mental health, suicide, death and loss
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Late Fame
Based on a novella by Arthur Schnitzler (Eyes Wide Shut) this is a sly, poignant comedy about vanity and art from director Kent Jones, starring Willem Dafoe as a mailman belatedly acclaimed for a book of poetry he wrote in his youth.
Memory of Princess Mumbi
In 2093, a filmmaker arrives in the African village of Umata, where he meets Princess Mumbi, a woman torn between love, legacy, and the future of storytelling. It's a fabulous genre-blending fable about memory, invention and cinematic resistance.
Lessons of Darkness
Werner Herzog's unforgettable documentary reveals the unfolding disaster of the Kuwaitian oil fields in flames in 1991 as a sweeping inferno of mesmerizing power.
Beau Travail
Inspired by Herman Melville's Billy Budd, Claire Denis' transfixing Beau Travail is set in East Africa. Sgt Galoup (Denis Lavant) reflects on his time in the French Foreign Legion, and the impact of the handsome Sentain (Gregoire Colin).
But I'm a Cheerleader
Megan (Natasha Lyonne) is the perfect All-American Girl, or so she thinks. That is until she’s shipped off to conversion therapy. This pitch black comedy is wrapped in a saccharine bow, featuring the icon herself, RuPaul, as a conversion counsellor.