VIFF 2021: The Beta Test

In the post-Weinstein era, the fragile Hollywood ecosystem of predatory talent agencies and investors is a house of cards teetering on collapse. Jordan Hines (Jim Cummings), an ambitious but struggling agent trying to preserve his way of life, receives an anonymous invitation to a no-strings sexual encounter. Obsessed with uncovering the people behind the letter, … Read more

VIFF 2021: Strawberry Mansion

In 2035, James (co-director Kentucker Audley) makes an honest dollar auditing the dreams of others and assessing them back taxes for the more extravagant elements of their nighttime fantasies. Setting up shop at the rural home of elderly, free-spirited Bella (Penny Fuller), he dives into the deep end of her outdated VHS archive of dreams. … Read more

VIFF 2021: See for Me

Still coming to terms with her loss of sight, Sophie (Skyler Davenport) suddenly finds herself with more pressing concerns when the secluded mansion she’s housesitting is targeted by home invaders. When she frantically activates a new app that allows a volunteer to remotely serve as her eyes, she’s fortuitously connected with Kelly (Jessica Parker-Kennedy), an … Read more

VIFF 2021: Red Rocket

Arriving on his estranged wife Lexi’s (Bree Elrod) dilapidated doorstep barely dressed, badly bruised, and all but penniless, semi-legendary porn star Mikey Saber (Simon Rex) needs somewhere to hole up for a while. Within a matter of days, the manic motormouth has not only talked his way into Lexi’s bed, but also started peddling weed … Read more

VIFF 2021: Queen of Glory

Director Nana Mensah vividly captures the Ghanaian-American experience of being caught between two worlds in her film, Queen of Glory. Sarah Obeng (Nana Mensah) is set to move to Ohio with her boyfriend (Adam Leon) when her mother suddenly dies. She must then pick up the pieces of her mother’s life and put together a … Read more

VIFF 2021: Passing

The Jazz Age. Irene (Tessa Thompson) is surprised to bump into Clare (Ruth Negga), an old childhood friend, in downtown Manhattan. While Irene is living relatively comfortably married to a Harlem doctor (André Holland), glamorous Clare is living the high life. Her husband (Alexander Skarsgård) is a wealthy businessman, and white. He believes she is … Read more

VIFF 2021: Flee

Leaving a home behind collapses a set of connections to the world; for the refugee, who cannot return, it means to watch those connections disappear without the power to renew them or prevent their distortion by memory. Amin Nawabi, the pseudonymous subject of Flee, recounts his family’s forced departure from Kabul, their fearful year shut … Read more

VIFF 2021: Bipolar

Reminiscent of its monochromatic brethren Dead Man and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Queena Li’s Bipolar is an odyssey all its own: a buddy comedy featuring a broken-hearted musician and technicolour lobster that sends the Orpheus myth crashing through the looking glass. In the Tibetan capital of Lhasa on a luxury pilgrimage, a … Read more

Videotronyxz (Canadian Premiere!)

Join us at the Rio Theatre on Thursday, November 22 for the kickoff of the Rio Grind Film Festival with the Canadian Premiere of the locally-lensed dark comedy VIDEOTRONYXZ. Written, directed, edited and shot by Brendan Taylor, VIDEOTRONYXZ tells the story of Jazlo, a shy young man who discovers his passion in synth pop music – … Read more

Videodrome (Canadian Film Week!)

Canadian auteur David Cronenberg occupies a very special place in all of our hearts – and minds. His catalogue of films is both varied and unique – offerings ranging from straight-up splatter to bodice-ripping costume dramas – and are frequently requested from our dedicated core of regular Rio Theatre audience members, who will appreciate a … Read more