Vancouver International Film Festival

The Vancouver International Film Festival is a movie festival based out of the Vancity Theatre that takes place from late September until early October.

The next Vancouver International Film Festival runs from September 28th until October 8th in 2023.

Vancouver Film Festival

The Vancouver International Film Festival is one of the largest film festivals in North America. It typically features more than 300 films and as many as 100,000 people attend it each year.

The festival showcases internationally-acclaimed and award-winning films as well as lesser known movies. It also boasts the largest selection of Asian-produced films of any festival outside of Asia, and one of the largest collections of Canadian-made productions anywhere.

Many of the films at the Vancouver International Film Festival are in English, but a significant number are also in other languages with English subtitles. Films from over 70 different countries typically participate and all in their original soundtracks and languages.

Film Festival

2023 marks the 42nd anniversary of the Vancouver International Film Festival. Every genre of film is featured most years including action movies, comedies, dramas, documentaries, science fiction films, horror movies and more.

In 2023, organizers expect to show about 120 feature films plus 100 short films and other events. Exact details are to be confirmed.

Festival Films

The Vancouver International Film Festival features numerous films from all across the globe. To help attendees find movies they might be interested in, films are organized by screening dates, content types, genres, themes, theatre venues, titles and countries of origin.

For information about films from 2022, visit the Vancouver International Film Festival website. Films that were available both online and in-person included 8 Stories About My Hearing Loss from Argentina/Uruguay, 1341 Frames of Love and War from Israel/UK/USA, Aftersun from UK/US, and Alcarràs from Spain/Italy, along with many other films from around the world.

VIFF 2016 Film Theatre — VIFF film showing (photo by Ravi Gill)

Ticket Prices

Admission prices at the Vancouver International Film Festival vary depending on your age and the type of event. 2023 prices are below. For regular screenings, prices range from $10 to $15.

(Note: Prices and other details are subject to change.)

2023 Regular Screenings

Adults: $15
Students (ages 19+): $10
Seniors (ages 65+): $13
People requiring wheelchair accessible seating: $10

Ticket Packs and Festival Passes

For movie lovers planning to attend multiple film screenings, ticket packs and festival passes are a good way to save money. Below were the regular rates for multi-ticket packages in 2022.

6 Ticket Pack: $84 (i.e. $14 per show)
10 Ticket Pack: $135 (i.e. $13.50 per show)
VIFF Connect Pass: $70
Festival Pass: $350

Note: All ticket packs and passes are subject to availability, so admission to all shows isn’t guaranteed in all cases.

Ticket Purchase Options

Tickets can normally be purchased in three different ways: (1) online, (2) in-person before the festival starts at the Vancity Theatre at 1181 Seymour Street beginning in mid-September, or (3) during regular box office hours at any of the festival’s various participating theatres between the first and last day of the festival.

Seymour Street and Vancity Theatre — Vancity Theatre on Seymour Street

Film Festival Venues

Participating theatres and their locations are below.

The Annex – located at 823 Seymour Street in Vancouver.
The Hollywood Theatre – located at 3123 W Broadway Street in Vancouver.
The Kay Meek Arts Centre – located at 1700 Mathers Avenue.
SFU Woodwards – located at 149 West Hastings Street (near Abbott Street).
The Cinémathèque – located at 1131 Howe Street (near Helmcken Street).
Vancouver Playhouse – located at 600 Hamilton Street (near Dunsmuir Street).
Rio Theatre – located at 1660 East Broadway (by Commercial Drive). Note: This is a licensed venue and audience members must be age 19+ and have valid ID.
VIFF Vancity and Studio Theatres – located at 1181 Seymour Street (near Davie Street).

About the Film Festival

The festival is hosted by the Greater Vancouver International Film Festival Society which is a non-profit organization that also looks after the year-round programming of the Vancity Theatre at the Vancouver International Film Centre.

Other Information

Below is a list of other information that’s good to know.

VIFF Festival Memberships are valid year-round at the Vancity Theatre.
As the majority of VIFF films are not rated, in most cases attendees need to be at least 18 years of age (and 19+ for films at The Rio Theatre because it’s a licensed establishment, meaning that alcoholic beverages are available there during the show).
All VIFF films are in their original languages with English subtitles.