Ugly Cry: VIFF 2026
Ugly Cry: 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.
Canadian Premiere
Twenty-four-year-old aspiring actor Delaney (writer-director Emily Robinson) struggles with impostor syndrome. Riddled with separation anxiety while her boyfriend Miles (Aaron Dominguez) is away filming a zombie movie, Delaney finally lands the audition of her dreams. A problem soon emerges: the producers say she has an “ugly cry.” Determined to contort herself into the pretty mask of misery that Hollywood demands of her, Delaney spirals into a botox-and-pilates fuelled obsession with her looks. As her grip on reality slips through her perfectly manicured fingers, a spectre from her past returns to haunt her.
This genre-bending psychological thriller marks an impressive feature debut for writer-director Emily Robinson, who also stars in the film. Robinson’s poignant and fantastically cringe-inducing performance is complemented by some side-splittingly comical turns from the film’s impeccable cast, including Robin Tunney (The Mentalist) as Delaney’s irreverent mother, and Melinda McGraw (Mad Men) as a fussy botox specialist. With a cheeky injection of delirium and dark humour, Ugly Cry takes a clever jab at internet-age beauty standards and gender norms.
Content Considerations: Needles, body dysphoria
Saturday, October 10
Doors: 3:00 pm | Film: 3:30 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.
