Vancouver International Film Festival

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

The festival runs from September 26th until October 6th in 2024. The VIFF Centre, meanwhile, is the theatre venue where the Vancouver International Film Festival is based and where many of its films take place. Located at 1181 Seymour Street, the VIFF Centre also hosts other films and events throughout the year.

LUNAR NEW YEAR FILMS AT VIFF

In addition to the festival in the fall, the VIFF Centre also hosts other events, including LNY Splash films in February during the Lunar New Year season. LNY Splash is related to LunarFest and The Lantern City which also host special events and activities during in celebration of the Lunar New Year in Vancouver.

In 2024 the Year of the Dragon begins on February 10th. LNY Splash films at the VIFF Centre are the following:

The Sunny Side of the Street (from Hong Kong on February 16th)
The House of No Man (from Vietnam on February 16th)
Abang Adik (from Malaysia on February 16th & 17th)
Untold Herstory (from Taiwan on February 17th
Grandma and Her Ghosts (from Taiwan on February 17th)
Ajooma (from Singapore & Korea on February 18th)
Be With Me (from Taiwan on February 18th)

The films are all in their original languages, but with English subtitles. To learn more about the films, and to book tickets, see the lnysplash.ca website.

Other LYN Splash Things to See

In addition to the above films, LYN Splash also features art displays at three different locations between February 9th and February 29th. At šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square (in the north plaza outside the Vancouver Art Gallery) there is Luna the Dragon by artist Nickie Lewis. At this same location there is also a The Lantern City art installation, plus special LunarFest activities on the weekends of February 10th & 11th, 17th to 19th, and 24th & 25th.

There is a second LNY Splash art display in Vancouver at Granville Street and 14th Avenue. That’s where you’ll find Peace & Prosperity by artist Kuan-chih Su. In Vancouver’s West End, meanwhile, at the corner of Cardero and Robson, there is The Gift of Life by bamboo artist Huei-Ting Tsai.

To learn more about some of the above events, see the LNY Splash, LunarFest and The Lantern City websites.

To learn more about the Vancouver International Film Festival in autumn, continue reading.

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 in Vancouver

2024 marks the 43rd 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.

There were 138 films to enjoy from more than 70 different countries last year. 2024 will likely be similar.

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 date, content types, genres, theatre venues and countries of origin.

For information about films in 2023, visit the Vancouver International Film Festival website.

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. 2024 prices will likely be similar.

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

2023 Regular Screenings

Adults: $18
Students/Youth: $14
Seniors (ages 65+): $16
People requiring wheelchair accessible seating: $13

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 are the regular rates for multi-ticket packages in 2023.

6 Ticket Pack: $102 ($87 for VIFF+ members)
10 Ticket Pack: $165 ($140 for VIFF+ members)
Platinum Pass: $1200 ($1080 for VIFF+ members)

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 from most years are below.

The Annex – located at 823 Seymour Street in Vancouver.
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.