About
Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is a non-profit charitable organization that celebrates and champions Canadian and Indigenous cinema, as well as filmmakers from the Pacific Northwest. VIFF encourages a better understanding of other cultures, be they within Canada or beyond, through the transformative power of cinema. We host over 1,200 screenings each year, showcasing the work of more than 600 leading Canadian, Indigenous, and international filmmakers.
Our year-round home, VIFF Centre, is a cultural landmark for the arts in the region. It is the only local cinema dedicated to showcasing newly released arthouse titles from around the world, with a strong focus on BC, Indigenous, and Canadian films. The VIFF Centre is the host venue for nearly 100 non-profit and arts organizations, making it a vital champion of film culture in BC. We serve the local filmmaking community by offering a high-quality testing facility that allows each film to be viewed as the filmmakers intended. The VIFF Centre is also an essential venue for dozens of smaller arts organizations and local non-profit groups who use the space for their own events. These partnerships range from simple to various levels of co-presentations, which involve generous discounts and additional administrative support.
Our Impact
VIFF encourages understanding of the world’s cultures through the art of cinema. We believe that film has a unique ability to celebrate the complexity of the human condition and that it is our responsibility to steward that power toward creating meaningful change in our world.
Our programming is founded on the importance of sharing diverse voices and a plurality of perspectives. We prioritize the representation of historically underrepresented films and filmmakers.
VIFF is committed to making films accessible to all audiences. Through our Community Access Ticket program, we strive to remove barriers to inclusion. Each year, VIFF provides complimentary tickets to a variety of organizations that work with individuals who face barriers to attending film screenings at VIFF Centre or during the Festival.
Our Creative Development Programming champions artists across all film disciplines and connects them directly with audiences, encouraging dialogue and depth of experience.
VIFF Ignite program is a free educational tool available to all BC high school educators and students. Ignite uses cinema to spark essential dialogue. The film resource guides provided to teachers are based on the BC curriculum and are designed to inspire in-depth exploration and facilitate discussion, turning the cinema into a classroom.
