Vancouver International Film Festival Returns For Its 43rd Season Next Month

Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) will present its 43rd edition next month. The 2024 festival will feature more than 350 screenings, dozens of filmmaker Q&A’s, Talks with top creatives, live performances, artist and industry development programs, parties, and many more celebrations of film culture.

Showcasing 150 features (including more than 70 premieres) and 81 shorts, VIFF 2024 is a festival of unrepeatable experiences. Symphonic special events and VIFF Live will provide Vancouver audiences with unique performances that have never been seen before and are unlikely to ever be seen again.

VIFF will officially open with Ari’s Theme by local filmmakers Jeff Lee Petry and Nathan Drillot, a beautifully made documentary about British Columbia composer Ari Kinarthy, who lives with spinal muscular atrophy. Born with the soul of an artist and a passion for composing music, Ari embarks on an ambitious goal: to create music that will capture his life and leave a legacy through which others will remember him. In a singular live performance and cinematic experience, eight members of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra will live score select passages within the film. The evening will be supported by TELUS Originals. 

The festival will close with Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez, a dizzying musical that took this spring’s Cannes Film Festival by storm. This spectacle sees a Mexico City defence attorney (Zoe Saldana) enlisted to tend to the affairs of a notorious drug lord (Karla Sofía Gascón) who is now completing gender affirmation surgery. Rechristened Emilia Pérez and determined to right her misdeeds, she relies on Rita to reintegrate her in the lives of her wife Jessi (Selena Gomez) and children. The film scored both the Jury Prize and Best Actress Award in Cannes, the latter being shared by the ensemble cast. 

Audiences can also look forward to VIFF Live, which pushes the boundaries of traditional film festival programming by intersecting cinema culture with music in unique live shows. VIFF Talks bring together industry leaders who share insights into some of today’s most popular and acclaimed films and series. VIFF’s Industry program celebrates the creative disruptors shifting culture and cinema, while VIFF Amp examines the essential role of music in film, laying the groundwork to foster new talent and nurturing connections between composers and directors. Signals, co-presented by VIFF and DigiBC, explores how new creative technologies are generating uncharted opportunities for storytelling. 

“VIFF is an overflowing, multidimensional, full-tilt celebration of film and film culture,” says Kyle Fostner, Executive Director. “We’re very excited to share this year’s expansive and sensorially rich program with Vancouver. From an extraordinary film lineup to our unique series of live performances, nurturing artist and industry development programs to the cutting-edge storytelling happening in creative technology, VIFF is a platform for diverse voices and artistic visionaries. Whether you're looking to discover emerging talent, to become part of the cultural conversation, or are just here to feel the warm glow of cinema, VIFF truly has something for everyone.”

VIFF Board Chair Am Johal adds: “VIFF is brought together each year by the passion, dedication, and incredible efforts of the staff and volunteers. We’re excited to welcome everyone back into cinemas this fall.”

Director of Programming Curtis Woloschuk says: “This is one of our deepest and most vibrant lineups in years. Every time I review the selections and schedule, I’m reminded of how many difficult choices our audiences will have to make over the course of our 11 days. Fortunately for them, there are rewards awaiting on every screen. I cannot wait for them to experience these films.”

Tickets are on sale now to VIFF+ Members at viff.org, and on sale to the public from Aug. 29 at 12pm (noon). Single tickets are $19 for regular screenings and Special Presentations. Ticket packs are available in six and 10 packs. VIFF+ Members enjoy discounts on all VIFF tickets and the free U25 membership offers further discounts to youth between 19 and 25 years of age. 

For complete VIFF 2024 programming, including talks and events, click HERE.

More ticket details at viff.org/ticket-info.  To explore VIFF’s complete 2024 programming, visit viff.org.

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