Film buffs and avid movie-watchers can officially catch over 350 movie screenings this fall at this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF 2024). That’s a whopping 150 features (including the premiere of over 70) and 81 shorts – so let’s dive right in!

The 43rd annual festival will celebrate award-winning filmmaking from across the globe, as well as local talent right here in Canada and BC. Visitors can also check out dozens of filmmaker Q&As, VIFF Talks with top creatives in the industry, and exclusive live performances.

This includes “An Evening with A.R. Rahman” on October 5th, during which legendary composer and songwriter A.R. Rahman will perform alongside the VSO selections of his Oscar-winning career.

The 2024 festival will open with Ari’s Theme by local filmmakers Jeff Lee Petry and Nathan Drillot, a documentary about BC composer Ari Kinarthy, who lives with spinal muscular atrophy.

In a singular live performance and cinematic experience, eight members of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra will perform select music within the film live.

viff 2024 vancouver
“Ari’s Theme” via VIFF

Here are the most highly-anticipated films of the year to check out:

  • All We Imagine as Light dir. Payal Kapadia (France/India/Netherlands/Luxembourg)
  • Anora dir. Sean Baker (USA)
  • Bird dir. Andrea Arnold (UK/USA/France/Germany)
  • Can I Get a Witness? dir. Ann Marie Fleming (Canada) | BC Feature
  • Conclave dir. Edward Berger (USA/UK)
  • The End dir. Joshua Oppenheimer (Denmark/Germany/Ireland/Italy/UK/Sweden)
  • The Girl With the Needle dir. Magnus von Horn (Denmark/Poland/Sweden)
  • I’m Still Here dir. Walter Salles (Brazil/France)
  • My Favourite Cake dirs. Maryam Moghaddam, Behtash Sanaeeha (Iran/France/Sweden/Germany)
  • Nightbitch dir. Marielle Heller (USA)
  • The Piano Lesson dir. Malcolm Washington (USA)
  • Rumours dirs. Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson (Canada/Germany)
  • The Seed of the Sacred Fig dir. Mohammad Rasoulof (Iran/France/Germany)
  • The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal dir. Mike Downie (Canada)

The festival will close with Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez, a musical starring Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofía Gascón, and Selena Gomez that took the Cannes Film Festival by storm earlier this year.

Tickets & dates

This year’s VIFF will take place from Thursday, September 28th to Sunday, October 8th.

Single tickets for adults are priced at $19 for regular screenings, galas, and special presentations ($14 for students and $17 for seniors) and can be purchased online.

And if you’re keen on seeing multiple films this year, you can purchase 6-packs and 10-packs for $108 and $170 respectively.

Note that during the festival, all VIFF theatres will serve as box offices, where tickets for any of the films may be purchased in-person.

VIFF 2024

When: Thursday, September 28th to Sunday, October 8th
Where: 1181 Seymour Street and other participating venues
Cost: $19 for regular screenings, galas, and special presentations

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Isabelle Vauclair

Staff Writer, Vancouver – Isabelle is a West Coast native with an appreciation for Vancouver’s natural landscape, patio scene, and community spaces. She loves to discover new hidden gems in her neighbourhood and share them with readers across the city.

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