With a focus, as always, on finding a balance between “titans” and new voices, audience members will be able to take their pick from headlining films sure to be heading to Oscar glory next March and a selection of 56 first feature films, including a variety of local filmmakers bringing a personal touch to their storytelling. The festival is also bringing back VIFF Live, with appearances by artists like Elisapie, Jeremy Dutcher, members of the Tragically Hip and legendary film composer A. R. Rahman. Here are ten films to put in the must-see category. 

A Different Man (dir. Aaron Schimberg)

Described as a satirical dark comedy about society’s ideals of beauty and its treatment of those living with disabilities, it’s director Aaron Schimberg’s third film after – as his bio describes – making “two commercially disastrous features.” Starring Sebastian Stan as a man ashamed of his facial deformities that ultimately undergoes a miraculous treatment to alter his appearance – only to have his dreams thwarted by an extroverted man comfortable in his own skin, played by Adam Pearson, an actor and activist living with neurofibromatosis in real life.

Ari’s Theme (dir. Nathan Drillot & Jeff Lee Petry)

The opening film of the festival is both local and musical – two things that we can get behind. Directed by two Vancouver-based filmmakers, it’s a documentary chronicling the life of Ari Kinarthy, a man living with terminal spinal muscular atrophy who dreams about being a composer in his final years. Wanting to leave a legacy and something to be remembered by after he’s gone, he turns to technology to help him achieve his dreams – as his story is told with the assistance of animation and visually striking dream sequences. To accompany the performance, an octet from the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra will perform a live score of Kinarthy’s music.  

Anora (dir. Sean Baker)

It’s already taken home the Palme d’Or at Cannes – the first American film to do so since 2011, and something that’s always a good sign for a run at the Best Picture trophy – and fired up film Twitter last week when a reviewer said newcomer Mikey Madison’s performance was as deserving of all-timer status as Orson Welles’ in Citizen Kane. From the mind behind films like Tangerine, The Florida Project and Red Rocket, Sean Baker continues to examine themes surrounding sex workers in his films and this time finds one sparking a romance with the son of a Russian oligarch. Having been described as a rollercoaster and a crowd-pleaser of the highest order, we wouldn’t expect anything less from Baker.

Universal Language (dir. Matthew Rankin)

Selected as Canada’s official submission for Best International Feature at the Oscars – and with many predicting that it has a decent shot at becoming the nation’s first appearance in the category since 2012’s War Witch – VIFF promoters have been quick to point out Rankin’s status as a lovable oddball and an experimental absurdist when it comes to his previous work and his public persona. Set in Winnipeg in an alternate reality where the official languages of Canada are Persian and French, observations about cultural differences and the boxes that attempt to contain them are delivered through Rankin’s deadpan style. 

Flow (dir. Gints Zilbalodis)

We’re living through a golden age of animation, and Flow is looking to be this year’s Robot Dreams in terms of rising up the ranks and becoming the little indie hit that could – especially if you’re an animal lover. Coming out of Latvia, the film centres on a cat (known only as Cat) making its way through a post-apocalyptic landscape, completely flooded and without a trace of humans. Eventually making its way onto a boat filled with members of other species, the cat and the other animals must find a way to put aside their differences and survive in the new world together. With a unique visual style, this one’s sure to tug at the heartstrings. 

GIFT (dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi)

Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi catapulted himself onto the radar of cinephiles worldwide when he attracted a wave of acclaim for his three-hour slow-burn drama Drive My Car back in 2022. He’s getting set to return with a new movie, Evil Does Not Exist, this year, but it comes accompanied by a companion piece, and any audience who gets to see it can consider themselves as having witnessed a true rarity. Hamaguchi does not intend for GIFT, a silent film, to be screened if it is not presented alongside a live score. Performed by Drive My Car collaborator Eiko Ishibashi, who will be present at VIFF, the cinematic experience is about to be flipped on its head. 

The Seed of the Sacred Fig (dir. Mohammad Rasoulof)

There are movies with global political stakes, and then there’s the courage of Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof’s latest. With a fictional tale interspersed with real footage of protests in his home country, this film follows a judge thrown into the political chaos surrounding the real-world death of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for not wearing a hijab. For telling this story, Rasoulof has been forced into exile and faced with the prospect of being jailed if he returns to his country due to “propaganda against the regime.” If nothing else, watch it to be a part of history.

Mongrels (dir. Jerome Yoo)

One of the films on the docket that hits closest to home, first-time director Jerome Yoo explores his Korean-Canadian heritage in a film that details the lives of a Korean family moving to the BC interior in the late 1990s. Ultimately dealing with dangers from both wildlife and the people of the town, it’s the kind of film that plays directly into what VIFF executive director Kyle Fostner stated was one of the “core thematics” for the slate of films on display: resilience. 

Luther: Never Too Much (dir. Dawn Porter)

Dawn Porter has been attracting widespread attention for her documentaries taking a look at the state of the U.S. political system for the better part of a decade now – especially with 2020’s John Lewis: Good Trouble – but this time, she’s turning her attention to something a little more musical. Taking a look at the life and career of soul icon Luther Vandross and containing segments that Porter pulled from across four decades of interview and performance footage, Porter aims to uplift the legacy of an artist whose queer identity never let him shine as brightly as he could and should have. 

Emilia Pérez (dir. Jacques Audiard)

The closing film of the festival and Netflix’s biggest shot at awards glory, French auteur Jacques Audiard first wrote the story that became Emilia Pérez as a stage opera. The film stars Karla Sofia Gascón as a transgender woman – who also happens to be a remorseful Mexican cartel leader on the run – on a quest to receive the gender-affirming care she needs to both become her truest self and evade capture by assuming a new identity. Gascón is projected to become the first openly trans performer to receive an acting nomination at the Oscars. Already having picked up the Cannes Jury Prize and boasting a supporting cast including Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez, we didn’t even mention that it’s also a musical.