Films buffs rejoice! Returning for its 42nd year this fall, the (VIFF) will showcase over 130 feature films and 100 shorts from September 28 to October 8 in venues across the city. This year’s festival includes a selection of Special Presentation screenings, including a much anticipated doc about Canadian icon, Mr. Dressup.
, is a profound documentary that celebrates the life and work of beloved children’s television personality Ernie Coombs. Directed by an Emmy-nominated and award-winning filmmaker, Robert McCallum, the ultra-nostalgic film utilizes archival interviews and behind-the-scenes footage following the life of Coombs, alongside a star-studded cast of Canadians inspired by the show, including Michael J. Fox, Eric McCormack, Bif Naked, Andrew Phung, Fred Penner, Barenaked Ladies, Bruce McCulloch, Yannick Bisson, and many more.
If you didn’t grow up with Mr. Dressup, there are still plenty of other incredible films worth checking out at this year’s VIFF, including Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Monster, a powerful critique of bullying and family dysfunction that explores the same events through different perspectives. Other special presentations include The Old Oak by Ken Loach, a working-class drama about a bar owner who steps up when an influx of Syrian refugees stokes xenophobic backlash, and Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet, an engrossing courtroom drama that won the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year.
There are additional Canadian stories to witness this year as well including Swan Song by Chelsea McMullan, an inside look at the National Ballet of Canada’s 2022 production of Swan Lake directed and staged by the legendary Karen Kain, and Seven Veils by Atom Egoyan, a psychodrama about a young theatre director forced to re-examine her own trauma while working on a remount of Salome.
Whether you want to be comforted by childhood memories or challenged by groundbreaking cinema-adjacent performances, this year’s VIFF has something for everyone. You can view VIFF's entire screening schedule .
We’ve partnered with VIFF to give one lucky winner two festival passes (each valued at $450 for a total grand prize of $900) that will grant access to every screening at this year’s VIFF.
You can enter via the contest entry form below. For additional chances to win, visit VIFF at their website for 10 bonus entries, and visit their Facebook and Instagram for another 25 bonus entries each.
This contest is open to British Columbia residents and closes on September 22, 2023, at 9 a.m. PST. The contest winner will be contacted via email on this date.
