Category Archives: VIFF 2025

VIFF 2025 Galas & Special Presentations at VIFF#44

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In Part One of a three part series, today on VanRamblings we take a look at this year’s VIFF’s Galas & Special Presentations on offer at the 44th annual Vancouver International Film Festival, set to run from Thursday, October 2nd thru 12th.

If you click on the underlined link of the titles below, you will be taken to the VIFF page that will both provide you with more insight into the films, and allow you the opportunity to purchase tickets for the screening of your choice.

Sentimental Value. Winner of the Grand Prix at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value — a ravishing, uncommonly rich, contemplative, poignant and humane look at existence — took Cannes by storm, emerging as a favourite among critics, even if Jafar Panahi’s film, It Was Just an Accident (which will also screen at VIFF this year), won the Palme d’Or.

Sentimental Value will feature prominently in this year’s Oscar race, with guaranteed nods for Best Picture, Best International Feature, Best Actress for Renate Reinsve (Worst Person in the World), Best Actor for Stellan Skarsgård, and Best Director for Joachim Trier. Here’s your opportunity to get an early look at one of the best films of the year, a piercing reflection on family and memory, and a film that mines the inner truths of the characters we see on screen. Not to be missed.

Friday October 3rd
5:45 pm
Vancouver Playhouse		 Wednesday October 8th
5:30 pm
Vancouver Playhouse

After the Hunt. Opening to mixed reviews at the Venice film festival this past weekend, Luca Guadagnino’s “bizarrely retrograde” (IndieWire), “weirdly muddled” (Variety), “frustratingly cryptic” (The Hollywood Reporter) #MeToo era film follows the havoc caused by an accusation of sexual assault on a U.S. university campus.

Ever the contrarian, Hollywood Elsewhere’s Jeffrey Wells has an entirely different take, as he writes …

I immediately fell in love with the opening frames of Luca Guadagnino‘s After The Hunt, or more precisely the amplified sound of a slowly ticking clock — an aural statement that says “ominous stuff is brewing, you bet”. Though I was fully familiar with the basic story bones, having read an early draft of Nora Garrett‘s original screenplay, a #MeToo rape accusation drama mostly set on the Yale campus, I was pulled in all over again.

Assured, unforced and deliberate, Guadagnino‘s interpretation of Garrett’s screenplay fascinates by not pushing too hard, advancing the campus mystery in a gradual, sharply observed manner. I was actually kind of startled — pleasantly — by his decision to keep things on the subdued side. No raised voices or glaring expressions or slamming doors or anyone throwing things around.

Except, that is, for a tantrum thrown by Andrew Garfield’s Hank Gibson, who’s also up for tenure — a reaction to his having been accused of sexually assaulting Ayo Edibiri‘s Maggie Price, an allegedly mediocre philosophy student, the daughter of super-wealthy parents, and a lesbian.

Maggie is a key story figure, not just because of this alleged assault but also because of her protégé relationship with Julia Roberts‘ Alma Imhoff, a whipsmart, well-liked, seriously admired Yale professor who’s in line for tenure. But as things develop and social pressure increases, Alma and Maggie’s relationship becomes less and less trusting, and then tips over into hostility.

But I was mostly taken by a tone of ambiguity that manifests in the third act. A haunting ambiguity mixed with stabs of suspicion. And, not incidentally, by a somewhat instructive score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

Sunday October 5th
9:15 pm
Vancouver Playhouse

So, there you have it. Two outstanding films set to screen at VIFF 2025, where you can get an early look at two Oscar bound films, sequestered within the always comfortable and welcoming Vancouver Playhouse.

C’mon back tomorrow for two (or more) VIFF #44 Gala & Special Presentation films.

Vancouver International Film Festival Returns, Set to Run from Oct. 2 thru 12

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At this year’s Opening Press Conference for the annual Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF), which was held this past Wednesday, August 27th, Vancouver CityNews Reporter Angelina Revelli interviewed Kyle Fostner, VIFF’s Executive Director, and Curtis Woloschuk, VIFF’s Director of Programming, about this year’s 44th edition of the première arts event of the autumn season.

As Kyle Fostner stated at last week’s VIFF Opening Press conference, this year VIFF will bring 170 feature movies and 100 short films from around the world to this year’s 44th annual edition of VIFF, to screen at 10 Vancouver venues — including two new cultural partnership locations at the Granville Island Stage (Arts Club Theatre Company) and the Alliance Française — from October 2 thru 12.

From a press release from the Media Office of VIFF …

“In a world grappling with tension and austerity, it’s a privilege to be at VIFF during a period of optimism and ascendence,” said Kyle Fostner, Executive Director. “The growth we’ve seen over recent years is remarkable. We’re preparing to host more than 110,000 patrons over 11 packed days. We have 20 per cent more screenings in new theatres and new neighbourhoods. Our programming team continues to expand, with top-tier curators from around the world bringing fresh perspectives.”

Tickets to this year’s Festival start at $21, less expensive for students and seniors. For more information on tickets, ticket packs and passes, click here.

For information on the 10 venues where films will screen at VIFF, click here.

For information on the films that will screen at VIFF 2025, when and where — most of the films on offer this year at VIFF are set to screen twice, with 80% of the films on offer, sadly never to screen again on our shores — click here.


Renate Reinsve (left) and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas in Sentimental Value, director Joachim Trier’s Cannes’ Grand Prix winner — which will feature in the Oscar race — to screen on October 3rd and 8th.

C’mon back tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday for more VIFF 2025 coverage.

Festival Fever: The Fall Season That Shapes Hollywood’s Awards Race

Arts Friday, Cinema, VIFF 2025

As the dog days of summer give way to the crispness of early fall, the annual transformation of the cinematic landscape begins.

The summer movie “silly season” — a cavalcade of sequels, superheroes, and box office spectacle — draws to a close. In its place comes something more refined: the fall film festival season. For cinephiles, critics, industry insiders, and Oscar prognosticators, the holy quadrivium of Telluride, Venice, Toronto, and New York Film Festivals marks the unofficial start of the prestige film season. These festivals, often overlapping and feeding into each other, serve as the proving grounds for awards hopefuls and the launching pads for films that will dominate discourse well into winter.

Unlike its flashier counterparts, the Telluride Film Festival (August 30 – September 2, 2025) maintains an air of mystery. The lineup is not revealed until the eve of the festival, allowing for genuine surprises and a focus on discovery over hype. Telluride has become a whisper network for Oscar voters, quietly débuting future award juggernauts. Recent Best Picture winners such as The King’s Speech, 12 Years a Slave, and Moonlight all made pivotal early impressions here.

Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest film, Bugonia, starring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons

This year, early speculation suggests that these are the strong films in contention: Bugonia, a science fiction black comedy film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, starring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons and Alicia Silverstone; The Smashing Machine, an American biographical sports drama film written, directed, co-produced, and edited by Benny Safdie, starring Dwayne Johnson, and Emily Blunt. Additionally, films like Hamnet, an historical drama directed by Chloé Zhao, from a screenplay she co-wrote with Maggie O’Farrell, based on O’Farrell’s 2020 novel; and Ballad of a Small Player, a psychological thriller directed by Edward Berger, starring Colin Farrell and Tilda Swinton are likely candidates for Telluride, especially if they have Canadian premières at TIFF, which often indicates a Telluride showing beforehand.

The 81st Venice Film Festival (August 27 – September 6) remains the most glamorous stop on the fall circuit, blending European arthouse elegance with Hollywood’s awards machinery. Venice has in recent years become a critical launchpad for Oscar nominees, premiering Gravity, Birdman, La La Land, Joker, and The Banshees of Inisherin. Its placement just ahead of Telluride and Toronto makes it a prime staging ground for international and auteur-driven films.

Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother

Among the most anticipated Venice premières this year are the world premières of Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother, Luca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt, Karim Aïnouz’s Rosebush Pruning, László Nemes’ Orphan, Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice, Lucrecia Martel’s Chocobar, and Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly, the story of two middle-aged friends who rediscover their youthful spirit during a chaotic weekend reunion, facing hilarious mishaps and heartfelt moments that force them to finally grow up.

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), running from September 4 – 14, is the largest and most populist of the big four. While Venice courts the elite and Telluride the insiders, Toronto welcomes the public in droves. The coveted TIFF People’s Choice Award has become a harbinger of Oscar success. Past winners include Nomadland, Green Book, 12 Years a Slave, and The Fabelmans.

James Vanderbilt’s Nuremberg, starring Rami Malik

This year, TIFF will host the world premières of Aziz Ansari’s Good Fortune, Maude Apatow’s Poetic License, Isabel Coixet’s Three Goodbyes, Romain Gavras’ Sacrifice, David Michôd’s Christy, Yeon Sang-ho’s The Ugly, James Vanderbilt’s Nuremberg, and Alice Winocour’s Couture, as well as films from some of the most acclaimed filmmakers working today, including Guillermo del Toro, Zacharias Kunuk, Baz Luhrmann, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Jafar Panahi, and Gus Van Sant.

Rounding out the festival quartet is the 63rd New York Film Festival (NYFF), running from September 26 to October 13. It’s the most curated and critical of the four, offering a discerning lineup of highlights from Cannes, Venice, and TIFF. While the NYFF doesn’t boast world premières in large numbers, it does offer important high-profile screenings that shape critical reception.

After the Hunt, starring Julia Roberts

Predicting the films for the 2025 New York Film Festival is impossible this far in advance. That said, NYFF recently announced that Luca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt, the filmmaker’s much-anticipated morality play, starring Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, and Ayo Edebiri, will celebrate its North American première in NYC.

Based on current trends some films are likely to be contenders, including films from directors like Jafar Panahi (It Was Just an Accident), Radu Jude (Kontinental ’25), Kelly Reichardt (The Mastermind), Chinese filmmaker Bi Gan (Resurrection), Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho (The Secret Agent), Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value, Grand Prix winner at Cannes), and French-born Spanish film director, screenwriter and actor Óliver Laxe (Sirāt, winner of the Cannes Jury Prize at Cannes). Additionally, films from Richard Linklater, Gabriel Mascaro, Christian Petzold, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Carla Simón could also be possibilities.

The ripple effect of the fall film festivals on the Oscars cannot be overstated. The “festival to Oscar” pipeline is now firmly entrenched. Just as Everything Everywhere All At Once gained steam after early 2022 festival screenings, this year’s contenders will rely on the momentum generated in Telluride, Venice, Toronto, and New York to sustain their campaigns through awards season.

In the end, what sets the fall film festival season apart is not just the films themselves, but the spirit of discovery and dialogue they foster. After a summer dominated by escapism, franchise fatigue, and box office volatility, the arrival of serious-minded cinema signals a shift in tone and purpose. These festivals offer more than just a glimpse into Hollywood’s awards future — they remind us of cinema’s capacity to provoke, enchant, and reflect the times we live in.

As the curtain rises in the Rockies, glides over the canals of Venice, soars through downtown Toronto, and settles over New York’s Lincoln Center, the 2025 festival movie season begins in earnest.

And with it, the next chapter in Hollywood’s ever-evolving story.

Many of the films mentioned in today’s VanRamblings column will arrive on our shores in early October, programmed into the 44th annual Vancouver International Film Festival.

Note should be made that VIFF will release its full programme schedule this upcoming Wednesday, August 27th. Ticket packs and passes are available now.