VIFF 2023: Close To You

Drawn home for the first time in a long time by his father’s birthday, Sam (Elliot Page) finds himself aboard a train out of Toronto hurtling towards a family he hasn’t faced since transitioning four years earlier. Onboard, he makes a chance encounter with an old friend, Katherine (Hillary Baack), and sparks instant chemistry, bringing … Read more

VIFF 2023: Float

World Premiere During the summer before college, city girl Waverly (Andrea Bang) finds herself in Tofino, completely alienated by the local beach culture. Things start to look up when she meets the local lifeguard Blake (Robbie Amell), who welcomes her into his life. And when he finds out that she doesn’t know how to swim … Read more

VIFF 2023: It’s Only Life After All

For many growing up in the 1990s, Indigo Girls was the band that defined a generation. They were admired for their unique alt-folk sound, and for their personal, earnest lyrics and catchy melodies. The duo defined gender norms and came out as gay during a time when many musicians stayed firmly in the closet, and … Read more

VIFF 2023: Seagrass

Having decamped to a Gabriola Island couples’ retreat in a last-ditch attempt to save their crumbling marriage, preoccupied Judith (Ally Maki) and Steve (Luke Roberts) leave their young daughters to their own devices. In turn, 11-year-old Stephanie (Nyha Breitkreuz) quickly ditches six-year-old Emmy (Remy Marthaller) in favour of a pack of unruly teens and their … Read more

VIFF 2023: The Royal Hotel

Hanna (Julia Garner) is backpacking across Australia with her best friend Liv (Jessica Henwick). Running low on funds, they decide that a job tending bar in an Outback mining town might be a lark — the job comes with free lodging, after all, and not a little booze. The owner, Billy (Hugo Weaving) does his … Read more

Bring It On

The Toro cheerleading squad from Rancho Carne High School in San Diego has got spirit, spunk, sass and a killer routine that’s sure to land them the national championship trophy for the sixth year in a row. But for newly-elected team captain Torrance, the Toros’ road to total cheer glory takes a shady turn when … Read more

Finding Her Beat (With Live Taiko Drumming!)

In the midst of a frozen Minnesota winter, a Japanese drum master and Korean adoptee from North Dakota join forces to assemble the world’s best Taiko drummers in a bold effort to claim a cultural spotlight that has historically been reserved only for men. Their rhythm revolution includes rock stars from the world of Taiko: … Read more

Talk to Me

When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces. With Sophie Wilde, Alexandra Jensen, Joe Bird, Otis Dhanji, Miranda Otto, Zoe Terakes, Chris Alosio, Marcus Johnson, and Alexandria Steffensen. “Cleverly imagines … Read more

Cry-Baby

“Beat it, creep!” This one’s for all the movie-loving “squares,” “drapes,” juvenile delinquents and orphans out there! The Rio Theatre‘s Friday Late Night Movie series continues on September 22 with John Waters‘ musical ode to the teen rebel genre, CRY-BABY.  Infectious and gleefully camp, CRY-BABY is one of Waters’ more “accessible” (it’s solid PG fare, … Read more

One Million Years BC: Raquel Welch Tribute Screening

Join us at the Rio Theatre as we pay tribute to late actress Raquel Welch on her birthday, September 5, with a screening of her iconic turn in ONE MILLION YEARS BC. While she enjoyed a long career spanning the stage, film and on television it was her memorable appearance in ONE MILLION YEARS BC … Read more