Vancouver International Film Festival unveils whole program, with Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague opening
Ido Fluk’s ode to Keith Jarrett concert Köln 75 closes the fest, while VIFF Live brings in Mad Professor, claire rousay, and more
Nouvelle Vague.
Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother.
RICHARD LINKLATER’S Nouvelle Vague, a dramatization of the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s iconic French New Wave classic Breathless, is set to open the Vancouver International Film Festival on October 2.
The 44th annual fest today unveiled all 435-plus screenings, VIFF Live performances, and other programming, expanding its screening venues to Alliance Française and the Arts Club Granville Island Stage. The fest closes on October 12.
During the announcement at the VIFF Centre today, director of programming Curtis Woloschuk praised the luminous black-and-white opening film’s “contagious, infectious energy”.
Ido Fluk’s Köln 75 was revealed as the event’s closing screening. The film follows the true story of Vera Brandes, teenage patron saint of the 1970s Cologne music scene, as she organizes jazz pianist Keith Jarrett’s all-improvised concert. Released on the 50th anniversary of the legendary concert, Köln 75 was selected in the Berlinale Special Gala section. VIFF’s closing gala will also feature a live performance by pianist and composer Chris Gestrin.
Other standout titles announced today include the Canadian premieres of Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother, Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly, and Paolo Sorrentino’s La Grazia. Elsewhere, VIFF is set to show every major award-winner from the Cannes competition, including Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or winner It Was Just an Accident, and Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s Young Mothers. Woloschuk predicted that another film on the roster—Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, starring Stellan Skarsgård as an aging filmmaker in what some have called his definitive role—will be the “most talked-about film in the fall”. Elsewhere, watch for Agnieszka Holland’s Franz, a tour de force portrait of Franz Kafka.
VIFF will also host the marquee attraction Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, the latest in the popular mystery series, directed by Rian Johnson.
Among locally produced world premieres are Mayumi Yoshida’s Akashi, Jennifer Chiu’s Clan of the Painted Lady, Kent Donguines’s Treasure of the Rice Terraces, Jenn Strom’s The Painted Life of E.J. Hughes, and Bryce Hodgson’s Thanks to the Hard Work of the Elephants. Watch also for Ryan Sidhoo’s The Track, a documentary that follows three teens with Olympic dreams who train on Bosnia’s destroyed luge track from the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Games. In a new National Film Board documentary, locally based Brishkay Ahmed sees the world premiere of feature-length documentary In the Room, about five Afghan women in exile.
“In the Room works in tandem with many of VIFF 2025’s core curatorial themes including sovereignty, migration, and the fight for self-determination. With Canadian roots that branch out to the rest of the world, Brishkay Ahmed’s film amplifies the bravery and brilliance of Afghan women, offering audiences a deeply resonant portrait born from the simple act of sharing stories and amplifying them into testimonies,” VIFF documentary programmer Ruun Nuur said. “Room operates in dialogue with other VIFF 2025 documentary selections like the Iranian Sundance-winning Cutting Through Rocks, forming a twin flame that speaks to women’s bravery under dire circumstances.”
“We are the largest platform of B.C. film in the world,” VIFF executive director Kyle Fostner said at today’s announcement.
Canadian highlights include Mile End Kicks, a romantic comedy from I Like Movies director Chandler Levack about a young music critic who moves to Montreal to figure out life and love; and Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol's Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, grown out of the cult web series about a half-witted music duo in search of a gig.
VIFF also throws a special Spotlight on Korea, featuring Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice and Hong Sang-soo’s What Does That Nature Say to You, as well as seven films by directors to watch. That delegation of emerging directors is heading here to appear live at the fest.
VIFF had earlier released a group of Berlin and Sundance titles hitting this year’s fest.
VIFF Live events, curated by Jarrett Martineau, span trip-hop and cosmic journeys. Mad Professor: Live AV in Dub, on October 5 at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts (which copresents), finds the dub legend playing a rare live set celebrating the 30th anniversary of his No Protection Massive Attack remix album, with live visuals by Vancouver artist Saghi Ehteshamzadeh. On October 7 at the Rio Theatre, claire rousay performs a live score to the animated classic The Bloody Lady, and Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe draws on the cinematic sound worlds of films such as Candyman, Seeds, and After Life. Ambient innovators Julianna Barwick and loscil play at the same venue October 9, with hypnotic new live AV performances. And Wilfred Buck’s Star Stories Live: With Wilfred Buck and Lisa Jackson brings the renowned Ininew (Cree) astronomer and star knowledge keeper to the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre.
Watch also for the series Focus: Edges of Belonging—Tales of Grit and Grace From India, in which guest programmer Deepika Suseelan “moves away from the binaries of independent film and Bollywood,” according to Woloschuk.
Speakers at the industry-oriented VIFF Talks include Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner director Zacharias Kunuk; Jenny Lumet, the writer and creator behind Rachel Getting Married; and producer Jeremy Dawson. Janicza Bravo, breakout writer and director of Zola, will also speak at an event called Breaking the Rules.
There's much more; find tickets and the full schedule at viff.org.
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