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: 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: Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person

Meet Sasha, the world’s most compassionate young vampire. Her family is at their wits’ end with her reluctance to embrace their lethal traditions; instead she relies on somewhat ethically sourced blood bags to survive. But when her clan decides to cut off her supply to push her out of her comfort zone, she’s forced to … 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: 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: 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

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: 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: Animalia

With her affluent husband and his oppressive family away on a day trip, Itto (Oumaïma Barid) intends to savour some solitude in their opulent home. But when an ominous meteorological event blows in, all of Morocco is plunged into a state of emergency. Forced to evacuate and thrust from her sheltered privilege, the heavily pregnant … Read more

VIFF 2021: Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror

Tracing folk horror’s dark, winding path from the influential likes of Witchfinder General and The Wicker Man to more recent fare like The Witch and Midsommar, Kier-La Janisse has fashioned an astonishingly ambitious deep dive into every recess of one of the genre cinema’s most parabolic, spiritually resonant, and culturally specific strains. Assembling clips from … Read more