The Beloved (El Ser querido): VIFF 2026
The Beloved (El Ser querido): 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.
Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s masterful follow-up to The Beasts (VIFF 2022) tells the story of Esteban Martínez, a notorious director embarking on a new project. Known as much for his violent tendencies as his acclaimed films, Esteban invites his estranged daughter Emilia to star in the film — a period piece about Spain’s colonial exploitation of the Western Sahara. Under the pretext of helping Emilia’s stalled acting career, the stage is set for a familial reconnection; but as tensions flare and the possibility of rapprochement grows remote, questions about Martínez’s deeper intentions rise to the surface.
No sentimental ode to filmmaking, The Beloved is a gripping psychological study of a father-daughter relationship. As Esteban, Javier Bardem gives one of his finest turns since No Country for Old Men, and he is matched beat for beat by Victoria Luengo, who plays Emilia with remarkable intelligence and tenacity. Expansive in scope yet bracingly intimate, this is a discomfiting portrait of the costs and consequences of creative control.
Thursday, October 1
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.
