Vancouver, September 11, 2023 – The wait is over! We are excited to share with you the stellar line-up for the 42nd Vancouver International Film Festival, September 28 – October 8. Over 140 films, 100 shorts, VIFF Live performances, Talks and special events will light up the screens and stages across Vancouver. Take a moment, explore the program and get ready to VIFF!

What is particular great is that the opening night will feature a movie that is part German: Fallen Leaves. This will be held Thursday, September 28, 2023, but also can be seen on Wednesday, October 2, 2023. There are over 70 countries of production and of interest represented in 2023.

https://viff.org/whats-on/

Book Tickets

Thursday September 28

7:00 pm

Hearing Assistance Subtitles

Park Theatre

Book Now

Monday October 02

12:45 pm

Hearing Assistance Subtitles

Vancouver Playhouse

Book Now

Fallen Leaves

Award WinnersComedyRomance

Ansi meets Holappa, and these two lonely souls feel they are meant for each other, but Fate may have other ideas… Aki Kaurismäki crafts a poignant and pertinent comedy which picked up the Jury Prize at Cannes.

https://viff.org/whats-on/viff23-fallen-leaves

Kidnapped

Veteran director Marco Bellocchio (The Traitor) returns with a passionate historical drama about a Jewish child abducted by Pope Pius IX in 1865 on the grounds that he had been secretly baptized. This is a rich, operatic film that resonates strongly.

https://viff.org/whats-on/viff23-kidnapped/

The Teachers’ Lounge

Action & SuspenseDramaWomen Directors

When a grade 6 student is accused of theft, idealistic young math teacher Ms Nowak decides to set up a sting to find the true culprit… with disastrous results. This buzzy Berlin film festival title is an ethics master class.

https://viff.org/whats-on/viff23-the-teachers-lounge/

Anselm

Art, Music & PhotographyDocumentary

A stunning documentary presents the work of contemporary German artist Anselm Kiefer, who for decades has rattled history and shown a mirror to post Second World War complacency and forgetfulness.

https://viff.org/whats-on/viff23-anselm/

Lonely Oaks

Documentary

In 2018, when a police raid evicted tree-house dwelling activists in Hambach Forest, student and journalist Steffen Meyn fell to his death. His classmates compiled the two years of footage he’d shot, asking whether a cause is ever worth dying for.

https://viff.org/whats-on/viff23-lonely-oaks/

Measures of Men

DramaHuman Rights & Social Justice

Germany’s historical bigotry against Africans, and its servitude toward legitimizing mass slaughter is documented in this historical drama. Set in turn-of the century Berlin, demonstrating what has been called the 20th century’s first genocide.

https://viff.org/whats-on/viff23-measures-of-men/

Ticket information can be found here: https://viff.org/ticket-info/