From Godard to Homegrown Greats: VIFF 2025 Turns Up the Drama

The Vancouver International Film Festival is back, and cinephiles, brace yourselves—because VIFF 2025 is serving cinema with a capital C. From October 2 to 12, the city transforms into a film lover’s paradise, rolling out its 44th edition with more than 435 screenings, electric VIFF Live performances, and talks that put you face to face with the brightest minds in global cinema. This is not just a festival; it is eleven days of cinematic excess in one of the most breathtaking backdrops in the world.

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The curtain rises with Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague, a raucous, behind-the-scenes dramatization of Godard’s Breathless that is basically catnip for anyone who has ever name-dropped the French New Wave at a party. And the festival will bow out in grand style with Ido Fluk’s Köln 75, celebrating Vera Brandes’s audacious teenage mission to stage the concert that became Keith Jarrett’s legendary Köln Concert—with a live performance to boot. Opening night, closing night, and everything in between? Yes, please.

This year’s lineup does not play small. Spotlight on Korea? Check. A Marc Maron evening? Absolutely. Cannes heavyweights, Canadian premieres from Jim Jarmusch and Noah Baumbach, and a Matthew Rankin-curated selection of his cinematic heroes? Say less. And for those who crave homegrown brilliance, BC filmmakers are stepping into the spotlight with a slew of world premieres.

So grab your passes, polish your Letterboxd one-liners, and prepare for eleven jam-packed days of film, frenzy, and pure cinephile bliss.

Ritchie Po‘s VIFF Selects:

WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY

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Rian Johnson is back, and so is our favourite Southern sleuth, Benoit Blanc. This third Knives Out instalment takes Blanc (Daniel Craig) to a picturesque New England town where a locked-room murder inside a church comes with a divine twist. With the help of a priest (Josh O’Connor), Blanc must navigate a mystery that feels plucked from the pages of Edgar Allan Poe and G.K. Chesterton. Expect gothic chills, razor-sharp wit, and a cast stacked with names like Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, and Jeremy Renner.
Runtime: 140 minutes | Language: English

RENTAL FAMILY

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Imagine being able to hire a father for parent–teacher interviews, or mourners for a funeral. In Tokyo, it is not only possible—it is a thriving business. Brendan Fraser returns in a tender, funny role as Philip, an actor adrift who finds new purpose working for a surrogate family agency. Directed by HIKARI, this English–Japanese co-production is both heartwarming and thought-provoking, using role-play to explore belonging, loneliness, and the need for connection. Fraser delivers one of his most heartfelt performances yet, showing off his range—and even his Japanese.
Runtime: 103 minutes | Language: English and Japanese with English subtitles

IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT

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Few filmmakers can combine moral ambiguity with razor-wire tension like Jafar Panahi. In his Palme d’Or winner, a simple act of kindness spirals into obsession and revenge. Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri) is convinced that a man he helps after a car accident is his former torturer. With fellow survivors, he kidnaps the supposed culprit—who may very well be innocent. This is Panahi at his fiercest, blending personal outrage with bleak humour to craft a haunting thriller that never lets the audience off the hook.
Runtime: 105 minutes | Language: Farsi with English subtitles

IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU

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Rose Byrne gives a powerhouse performance as Linda, a mother teetering on the edge of collapse. Stranded in a motel with a sick daughter, her world becomes a hallucinatory minefield of cosmic absurdities: a demonic hamster, a hole in the ceiling, and a therapist played by Conan O’Brien who has lost all patience. Writer-director Mary Bronstein turns maternal anxiety into a surreal spectacle, shot on grainy 35mm with claustrophobic close-ups and a dread-soaked soundscape. It is raw, unnerving, and unexpectedly hilarious.
Runtime: 113 minutes | Language: English

NO OTHER CHOICE

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Park Chan-wook returns with a wickedly sharp thriller about survival in corporate Korea. Lee Byung Hun stars as Man-soo, a laid-off paper mill worker who hatches a deadly plan: invent a fake company, lure in the competition, and eliminate them one by one. Adapted from Donald E. Westlake’s The Ax, this dark satire brims with Park’s trademark elegance, suspense, and moral bite. With a cast that includes Son Yejin and Cha Seung Won, it is a stylish, brutal, and unmissable masterwork.
Runtime: 139 minutes | Language: Korean with English subtitles

CANADA ROCKS!

Before you dive headfirst into the global cinema buffet, let us remind you: Canada is not just maple syrup, hockey, and apologizing too much—it is home to some seriously exceptional filmmakers. From BC features making their world premieres to bold new voices redefining what Canadian cinema can look like, these stories deserve your love (and your ticket money). Supporting Canadian films at VIFF is not just patriotic—it is smart, because our filmmakers consistently punch above their weight and deliver work that is inventive, fearless, and unforgettable.

Mile End Kicks — dir. Chandler Levack (Canada)
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie — dir. Matt Johnson (Canada)
Steal Away — dir. Clement Virgo (Canada/Belgium)
In the Room — dir. Brishkay Ahmed (Canada) | BC Feature | World Premiere
Lovely Day — dir. Philippe Falardeau (Canada)
Wrong Husband — dir. Zacharias Kunuk (Canada)
Youngblood — dir. Hubert Davis (Canada)
Blood Lines — dir. Gail Maurice (Canada)
Meadowlarks — dir. Tasha Hubbard (Canada) | BC Feature
Middle Life — dir. Pavan Moondi (Canada/USA)
Peak Everything — dir. Anne Émond (Canada)
Lucky Lu — dir. Lloyd Lee Choi (USA/Canada)
The Things You Kill — dir. Alireza Khatami (France/Poland/Canada/Turkey)
100 Sunset — dir. Kunsang Kyirong (Canada)
Akashi — dir. Mayumi Yoshida (Canada) | BC Feature | World Premiere
Blue Heron — dir. Sophy Romvari (Canada/Hungary) | BC Feature
Clan of the Painted Lady — dir. Jennifer Chiu (Canada) | BC Feature | World Premiere
Finch & Midland — dir. Timothy Yeung (Canada/Hong Kong) | World Premiere
Follies — dir. Eric K. Boulianne (Canada)
Hemela — dir. Pirouz Nemati (Canada/Iran) | World Premiere
Modern Whore — dir. Nicole Bazuin (Canada)
Nesting — dir. Chloé Cinq-Mars (Canada)
Nika & Madison — dir. Eva Thomas (Canada)
Solitudes — dir. Ryan McKenna (Canada) | Canadian Premiere
Thanks to the Hard Work of the Elephants — dir. Bryce Hodgson (Canada) | BC Feature | World Premiere
The Track — dir. Ryan Sidhoo (Canada/Bosnia) | BC Feature
Treasure of the Rice Terraces — dir. Kent Donguines (Canada/Philippines) | BC Feature | World Premiere
A Welcome Distraction — dir. Brian Daniel Johnson (Canada) | BC Feature | World Premiere
Cutting Through Rocks — dirs. Sara Khaki, Mohammadreza Eyni (Iran/Netherlands/USA/Germany/Qatar/Canada)
Everest Dark — dir. Jereme Watt (Canada) | BC Feature
Shifting Baselines — dir. Julien Elie (Canada)
Agatha’s Almanac — dir. Amalie Atkins (Canada)
The Art of Adventure — dir. Alison Reid (Canada) | World Premiere
The Painted Life of E.J. Hughes — dir. Jenn Strom (Canada) | BC Feature | World Premiere
Dead Lover — dir. Grace Glowicki (Canada)
Death Does Not Exist — dir. Félix Dufour-Laperrière (Canada/France)
Deathstalker — dir. Steven Kostanski (USA/Canada)
Foreigner — dir. Ava Maria Safai (Canada) | BC Feature
Honey Bunch — dirs. Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Dusty Mancinelli (Canada)

So whether you are lining up for the big international premieres, soaking in the Spotlight on Korea, or proudly backing our homegrown talent, VIFF 2025 is set to be a cinematic ride like no other. Eleven days, hundreds of films, and countless conversations later, you will leave with your Letterboxd bursting, your group chats buzzing, and your love for cinema fully recharged. This is more than just a festival—it is Vancouver’s love letter to film, and you are invited to be part of every unforgettable frame.

Author Profile

Ritchie Po, Correspondent: Ritchie Po is a privacy consultant, cybersecurity lawyer, and AI ethics advisor passionate about the intersections of technology, creativity, and culture. Ritchie is also a cineaste who draws inspiration from his love of music and figure skating—often fuelled by the avant-garde genius of Björk.