Rose: VIFF 2026
Rose: 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.
In the wake of the Thirty Years’ War, a taciturn, disfigured soldier (Sandra Hüller, in one of the finest performances of her storied career) arrives in a rural German community, dubiously claiming to be the rightful heir to an expanse of untended farmland. Undeterred by the villagers’ suspicions, the soldier sets about cultivating the land, adhering to Protestant doctrine, and taking a callow wife (Caro Braun). All the while, they conceal that they were born a woman and have come to understand that “there is freedom in trousers.”
Drawing inspiration from actual events — while taking a few necessary liberties with the truth — Markus Schleinzer’s Rose employs a deft touch in this elegant parable that combines immaculate, Dreyer-indebted compositions with frequent flashes of droll humour. Through their exacting depiction of this outsider, Schleinzer and Hüller craft a paean to all those who forsake societal conventions in pursuit of self-actualization.
Friday, October 9
Doors: 2:30 pm | Film: 3:00 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.
