A Safe Distance: VIFF 2026
A Safe Distance: VIFF 2026
The Vancouver International Film Festival returns for their 45th year this October 1-11 for another curated season celebrating the best in independent, Canadian, documentary, and international shorts and features.
When unfulfilled 35-year-old Alex (Bethany Brown) turns down a proposal from her long-term boyfriend (Chris McNally) during a camping trip, he abandons her in the woods. Alone and injured, Alex is rescued by former lifeguard Kianna (Tandia Mercedes) and her self-styled progressive partner Matt (Cody Kearsley). As Alex warms up to the couple at their off-the-grid campsite, her curiosity unfurls into a sexual awakening. But when she starts to suspect her rescuers are responsible for a series of high-profile bank robberies, she finds herself dangerously entangled in their shifting power dynamics.
Set against the lush backdrop of British Columbia’s forests, this feature-length expansion of director/editor Gloria Mercer’s feminist short of the same name (a throwback to VIFF 2021) weds the intrigue of a slow-burn crime drama with the tension of a psychosexual thriller. Lingering zooms and a mesmerizing score by Caleb Chan imbue the film with apprehension and longing, as the latent wilderness within our heroine blooms to a bloody climax.
“Slippery, seductive, and smartly titillating.” – Kristy Puchko, Mashable
Monday, October 5
Doors: 8:15 pm | Film: 8:45 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
Tickets HERE
VIFF thanks the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations for their continued stewardship of the unceded and occupied land on which our work takes place. As an organization founded and predominantly directed by settlers and immigrants, we understand our responsibility to seek out and build authentic relationships with Indigenous communities, and to allow this ongoing dialogue to influence our practices. As part of this process, we remain committed to collaborating with and supporting Indigenous artists, filmmakers, curators, and audiences.
