A Long Winter: VIFF 2026
A Long Winter: 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.
British filmmaker Andrew Haigh is known for piercing relationship dramas like 45 Years and All of Us Strangers. He first picked up the rights to Colm Toibin’s short story A Long Winter more than a decade ago — before he’d even made his first feature — but it was only with the success of Strangers that he was able to get it funded.
Set in the Colorado Rockies in the 1950s (and shot in stunning Alberta locations), this is the story of a young man (Fred Hetchinger) living in a cabin 15 miles from town with his mother (Caitríona Mary Balfe, Outlander) and father (Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Bear) and a younger brother about to ship out to Korea (Kit Connor). Mike likes things just as they are, but over a tragic few months he’ll learn some hard home truths…
Juxtaposing the claustrophobia of the cabin with the vast expanse of the Rockies, A Long Winter feels both close and distant — a story from another time with echoes of familiar struggles.
Content Considerations: Brief scenes of animal slaughter
Saturday, October 10
Doors: 5:30 pm | Film: 6:00 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.
