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.

Canadian Premiere

Margot is a young doctor beginning her career as an intern at a notoriously demanding French emergency room. The head of her department, Hélène, is a revered hard-ass who pushes her staff to their limits and expects the best in return. After a bumpy first day and a series of mysterious cases involving young people with bizarre symptoms, Margot wakes one morning to find her body and bedsheets covered in blood. Her symptoms appear to worsen with stress, and as the pressures of the job mount, strange lesions begin spreading across her torso.

Joining a new wave of French female filmmakers embracing body horror, Marion Le Corroller turns the anxieties of the modern workplace into something viscerally physical. With its gloriously gruesome skin-tearing effects, Species takes aim at a work culture that pushes young people to the breaking point in pursuit of success. Burnout becomes mutation and, in the grand tradition of Cronenberg’s New Flesh, the body rebels against what the mind has learned to endure.

Thursday, October 1
Doors: 8:45 pm | Film: 9:15 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Tickets HERE

For detailed Vancouver International Film Fest information, including current showtimes and advance ticketing, please re-direct to www.viff.org.

All ticketing for VIFF events are managed by VIFF. If you have any questions about ticketing and availability, please connect with them directly. Please do not contact the Rio Theatre for ticketing info or assistance.

Unless otherwise noted, all VIFF screenings and events at the Rio Theatre are 19+ only. Please have valid ID with you upon arrival.

VIFF screenings at the Rio Theatre tend to be busy! All seating is General Admission. We encourage all patrons to purchase tickets in advance to ensure entry, and to please come early (20-30 mins at least) to ensure time to locate great seats and purchase drinks and snacks at concession. The Rio Theate has a small lobby, and coming early helps prevent long lines and bottle-necking.

Please note: Rio Theatre Groupons and passes are n/a for any VIFF events.

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.