The Killer

THE KILLER finds director David Fincher (FIGHT CLUB, ZODIAC) on firm footing and returning to form with a stylish and engaging neo-noir thriller that proves a perfect match for leading man Michael Fassbender. Based on the French graphic novel series of the same name written by Alexis “Matz” Nolent, and adapted for the screen by … Read more

BADASS Film Festival: Where the Devil Roams

Dark Carnies! Tristan Risk and Burns the Dragon (Live!) & Where the Devil Roams (2023, dir Adams Family (Hellbender), BC Premiere) The Badass 9 Dark Carnies show starts with live sideshow performances from Burns the Dragon and Tristan Risk (American Mary, The Editor, Ayla, Frankenstein Created Bikers, Amazon Hot Box, Odyssey of the Dead, Reptile … Read more

Mutiny in Heaven: The Birthday Party

Hailed as “a one band war” and “the most violent band in the world,” The Birthday Party with Nick Cave was one of the definitive post-punk groups and goth rock pioneers, creative and destructive in equal measure. Their incendiary live performances were the stuff of violent, anarchic legend. Featuring a wealth of rare and unseen … Read more

VIFF 2023: Asog

Canadian Premiere Ten years after Super Typhoon Hiayan, many Filipinos are still crawling from the wreckage. But some can still muster the will to dance amidst the devastation. Jaya, a non-binary teacher and former television comedian, is one of those indomitable souls. In a final bid for fame, they set off across the Philippines to … Read more

VIFF 2023: The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed

While coping with the usual workaday demands of life in New York City, Ann (Joanna Arnow), a thirty-something Jewish woman with a taste for BDSM sex, struggles to maintain a series of casual relationships with various “masters.” When one of her long-term partners suddenly ends things, however, she is forced to reflect on what she … Read more

VIFF 2023: Raging Grace

When a position opens up caring for a terminally ill British aristocrat in his secluded mansion, Joy (Maxine Eigenman) jumps at the opportunity. To an undocumented Filipino woman with a mischievous, equally undocumented daughter, Grace, it sounds like the perfect gig. Gradually, though, Joy begins to realize she’s swapped the frying pan for the fire. … Read more

VIFF 2023: How To Have Sex

Sixteen-year-old Tara and her two best friends arrive at a Greek party town ready to let their hair down. They scope out the scene and quickly make friends with a group of suitors across the hall. Convenient because Tara’s friends decided that it’s time for her to lose her virginity. But while Tara is indeed … Read more

VIFF 2023: I Used to Be Funny

Sam Cowell (Rachel Sennott) used to be funny. She used to spend her nights working the comedy clubs of Toronto and her days as an au pair for Brooke, a young teen struggling with the recent passing of her mother. Now Sam hides from the world, tormented by PTSD from an unseen event. Faced with … Read more

VIFF 2023: The Sacrifice Game

It’s the tail-end of 1971, and Blackvale School for Girls is closed for the holidays — except that two boarders, Samantha and Clara (Madison Baines and Georgia Acken) are stuck here, which means that Miss Tanner (Chloë Levine) and her boyfriend, handyman Jimmy (Gus Kenworthy) have to stick around too. But there’s worse to come: … Read more

VIFF 2023: Fitting In

Lindy (Maddie Ziegler) has a problem. She’s 16, doing well in school, and she has a boyfriend in her sights… But a routine gynecological examination reveals her body doesn’t conform to expectations, not her own and not society’s. Born with a rare reproductive syndrome, she is told she will never conceive and penetrative sex will … Read more