May 31 - June 9, 2024
FILMS SCREENING AT VSFF 2018
January 26-27, 2018
Vancity Theatre, Vancouver BC
A CURSED DESIRE
DIRECTOR MICHAEL SILVA / RUNTIME 3 MIN
Friday, January 26, 2018 @ 10 pm
A woman with nothing left to lose searches for a way to find her lost love, who passed away in a car accident. She holds in her possession an ancient spell book filled with dark supernatural wonders as her last hope to be reconnected and to continue their love together. After reading out the Latin scripture inside, she opens a world of evil and is submerged in a nightmare with a demon.
AFTER WE HAVE LEFT OUR HOMES
DIRECTOR MARC ADAMSON / RUNTIME 8 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 7 pm
Under a dictatorship that has banned music, a man hides a record until he is caught and imprisoned. Whilst paying for his crimes he stumbles across a repository of confiscated items, leading to a series of events that will change the course of history.
AKASHI
DIRECTOR MAYUMI YOSHIDA / RUNTIME 10 MIN
Friday, January 26, 2018 @ 8 pm
AKASHI is told through intertwining stories of love that transcends generations and continents. Kana is a Japanese painter living abroad having relationship problems. When her grandmother passes, Kana is forced to reflect on the truth of her grandparents relationship and her own life. AKASHI is a story about living with choices and the grace of accepting when there isn’t one.
ASLEEP
DIRECTOR OLEG JILIBA / RUNTIME 8 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 7 pm
In the future, the things we own take on more human nature. Partially by design to make us feel more comfortable. Meanwhile, owners become more mechanical to one another. This came naturally from a collective thought; that everything could be replaced, there are no more ephemeral moments, everything is recorded, logged and could be called back with a snap of a finger. The idea of romance faded. This is where we find Nicole, on a phone in her apartment trying figure out her current relationship and why it's not working.
BESTIA
DIRECTOR GIGI SAUL GUERRERO/ RUNTIME 8 MIN
Friday, January 26, 2018 @ 10 pm
BESTIA follows the lone survivor (played by Mathias Retamal) of a disaster as he awakens on a deserted beach. It becomes clear that there are more dangers lurking in the woods than a hungry beast.
BREE AND DREW(ME&YOU)
DIRECTOR NICK WILSON / RUNTIME 11 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 1 pm
Bree and Drew just broke up. Panicking to pack up their stuff before the movers arrive, they fall back on witty repartee to mask their true feels as Drew tries to force Bree to take back the ring she never wanted.
CHOCOLATE QUEEN
DIRECTOR MARIUSZ BROZEK / RUNTIME 4 MIN
Friday, January 26, 2018 @ 8 pm
Danny has a secret - an addiction - and though he pretends to live a normal life, he can't resist the delicious, sultry, seductive curves... of chocolate!
CYPHER
DIRECTOR LAWRENCE LE LAM / RUNTIME 20 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 7 pm
Tensions still linger in 1997 LA between the Korean-American and the Black communities after the 92’ Riots. After an incident in his father’s restaurant, Jay, a Korean-American high school student finds himself pulled into LA’s underground hip hop scene where he discovers a platform to confront his painful past.
DOWN THE HILL WITH JACK AND JILL
DIRECTOR JASON WILLIAM LEE / RUNTIME 10 MIN
Friday, January 26, 2018 @ 10 pm
In a desperate attempt to revive their failing marriage, Jack writes Jill a poem that he recites to her one night, causing a chain reaction that spirals out of control, transporting them to another dimension where they stand pitted against one and other in a showdown culminating in unspeakable tragedy.
ECHOES IN THE ICE
DIRECTOR BJ VEROT / RUNTIME 10 MIN
Friday, January 26, 2018 @ 10 pm
Four men explore an abandoned research facility. Within the station unsettling signs of disorder are revealed, and in the lowest level of the facility, a chilling discovery is made.
FLASH FLOOD
DIRECTOR ALLI MACKAY / RUNTIME 6 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 7 pm
Deep within a dream, a cataclysmic flood washes over the planet, and reveals three unique perspectives on gender and identity. The film is animated by volunteer transgender artists and animators from across the globe.
FWD
DIRECTOR STEPHEN SAWCHUK / RUNTIME 7 MIN
Friday, January 26, 2018 @ 8 pm
FWD is a short horror comedy that follows two 20-something women who face the consequences of not forwarding on a late 90’s chain email.
HANDMADE FILM
DIRECTOR CHRISTINE IENNA / RUNTIME 5 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 1 pm
Making film by hand is a rarely practiced craft in today’s film industry. Lindsay McIntyre spends three days making the film emulsion, she shoots on then develops herself.
HIGH ENERGY
DIRECTOR PETER FAINT / RUNTIME 19 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 1 pm
A boy oppressed by his social standing at school dangerously finds community in the racist and misogynist forums of the Alt Right and pick-up artists as he is ultimately goaded to execute real-life change.
HOLLYWOOD'S GREATEST TRICK
DIRECTOR SOHAIL AL-JAMEA/ RUNTIME 24 MIN
Friday, January 26, 2018 @ 8 pm
Visual effects artists are responsible for some of the most iconic moments in movie history. The top 10 highest grossing films of 2016 all contained computer generated imagery. But while Hollywood's profits grow, visual effects artists struggle for fair pay, representation and recognition beyond the most prestigious award in film — an Oscar.
HOME
DIRECTOR RYAN TEBBUTT / RUNTIME 8 MIN
Friday, January 26, 2018 @ 10 pm
A plainclothes detective investigates a noise complaint at a local abandoned orphanage and gets a lot more than he expected.
I M U R - SWIRL
DIRECTOR NANCY LEE / RUNTIME 4 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 1 pm
SWIRL is a deeply vulnerable story which explores love in its fluid and infinite nature. The narrative focuses on Kevin, a black, male dancer, who discovers his bisexuality through his interactions with, Jason, a fellow dancer. “Swirl” artfully contrasts the everyday expression of our internal and external worlds, and how cultural norms cause them to fracture and diverge.
IRIDESCENCE
DIRECTOR MAX BEAUCHAMP / RUNTIME 9 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 4 pm
IRIDESCENCE is an experimental visual short film, which exposes how society needs to label a person by their sexuality. In this story, dance and interpretive movement replaces the dialogue, allowing us to use the body to communicate the relationship between the characters and they’re true human emotions. Through stylize lighting and abstract visual, Iridescence tells the story of an emotionally repressed abusive father and his son who struggles to accept himself and his sexuality.
JESSICA JESSICA
DIRECTOR JASPER SAVAGE / RUNTIME 13 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 7 pm
Two friends in their mid to late 30’s who aren’t married, who aren’t mothers, who aren’t failures, and are both named Jessica. If you’re in your 30’s and want kids your biological clock can become a bear trap, making every guy seem like “the one”. Jessica Jessica is the the funny/sexy/sad truth of how hard it is to be a woman who wants to settle down, but won’t settle.
LIONS IN WAITING
DIRECTOR JASON KARMAN / RUNTIME 17 MIN
Friday, January 26, 2018 @ 8 pm
The newest member of a minor league hockey team, Ray, experiences hazing by his new teammates as he struggles to fit in both on and off the ice. Ray will have to find the courage to accept himself first —and maybe even inspire a fellow teammate.
MENTAL
DIRECTOR JAX SMITH / RUNTIME 11 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 1 pm
Alicia sees reality through a dreamlike lens of externalized psychotic episodes. Caught in a loop of depression and anxiety she uses prescription drugs to numb herself. Unable to discern what is real and what is imaginary, she finally gives into her inner voice’s advice and embraces her biggest fear.
METHODIC
DIRECTOR COLIN WILLIAMS / RUNTIME 10 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 1 pm
Engrossed by a slipping mental state, a theatre actor, James, blurs the line between reality and performance. METHODIC is a psychological drama delving into tropes of Konstantin Stanislavski’s Acting techniques. The substitution of James’ wife for his fellow stage actress dangerously intertwines in a story of jealousy, love, and the costs of individualistic success.
METTA VIA
DIRECTOR WARREN FLANAGAN / RUNTIME 12 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 4 pm
'Deliverance is initialized'. Set in the future It tells the story of a young woman who wakes up in a mysterious 'temple like' room and must figure out what her purpose is there. This in turn leads to her memories being unlocked and the true purpose of the temple, the strange sentient machines that surround her, and ultimately her final destination...
MULTIVERSE DATING FOR BEGINNERS
DIRECTOR KELLY TATHAM / RUNTIME 13 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 7 pm
Ivy and Dave are totally hitting it off... until she says the wrong thing and totally freaks him out. TYPICAL. But tonight's no ordinary night. There's a glitch in the Matrix, déjà vu in the air... and Ivy gets the chance to see how things will turn out if she plays the dating game differently.
SEND US SMOKES
DIRECTOR MICHELLE KEE / RUNTIME 10 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 4 pm
When 7-year-old Adelaide finds the care package of cigarettes she prepared for her father won't be delivered to him as he serves on the front lines of World War 1, she decides to embark on a fantastical adventure to take it to him herself. Starring Sara Canning (War of the Planet of the Apes, Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events), Matthew MacCaull (Tomorrowland, Legends of Tomorrow), and introducing Ada Jones-Kuranko, the film follows the journey of a young girl as she realizes the true nature of war and the sacrifices her father has made.
SOGGY FLAKES
DIRECTOR THE AFFOLTER BROS. / RUNTIME 6 MIN
Friday, January 26, 2018 @ 8 pm
In a low-carb, sugar-free, gluten-intolerant world, a group of washed-up, out-of-work breakfast cereal mascots form a weekly support group. Together they lament the golden ages of yesteryear and attempt to figure out how to swallow the bitter taste of today’s reality. But when Captain Kale, an ex-colleague turned sell-out, shows up to the diner where they host their meetings, they’re forced to re-examine their definition of what it means to be a success.
THE BUTTERFLY
DIRECTOR ANDY ALVAREZ / RUNTIME 8 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 4 pm
Carol, is a seven-year-old girl that faces the challenges of being a refugee in a new country with her family. Not knowing the language, customs, and a new culture of this foreign land, she embarks on a hard and difficult journey that will forever change her perspective in life. A swimming test.
THE FRUIT MACHINE
DIRECTOR OMER KHAN / RUNTIME 16 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 4 pm
In the 1960s, Marleau is forced to take a military-commissioned test that threatens his only chance to reunite with his lost love.
THE LION
DIRECTOR JON CHIANG / RUNTIME 8 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 7 pm
After being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Vancouver hip-hop artist, Francis Arevalo, harnessed the healing power of music. This is his story.
THE GOOD FIGHT
DIRECTOR MINTIE PARDOE / RUNTIME 11 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 7 pm
A young nun yearns to explore her sexuality before taking her final vows and committing to a lifetime of celibacy…
THE MAN IN THE RABBIT MASK
DIRECTOR ARIEL HANSEN / RUNTIME 5 MIN
Friday, January 26, 2018 @ 10 pm
An innocent sleepover becomes a nightmarish evening when two girls summon a cryptic masked man known as Mr. Rabbity.
THE PRINCE
DIRECTOR KYRA ZAGORSKY / RUNTIME 12 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 1 pm
Based on true events, Olivia, a young tap dancer and her uncle, Amir, an actor, struggle with what it means to be Middle-Eastern American and artists in today's racially divided world.
UNDER THE RADAR
DIRECTOR ERIN CUMMING / RUNTIME 10 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 4 pm
In 1978, at the frontier of the digital revolution, a small upstart team of Canadian engineers set out to process the first space borne radar image of earth with a computer. Trouble is, computers of the time were about as strong as a calculator. And what’s worse, a team of brainiacs at NASA was also racing to achieve the same goal. Who will win this space race?
UNINTENTIONAL MOTHER
DIRECTOR MARY GALLOWAY / RUNTIME 12 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 1 pm
In this stirring drama a young nanny, Anna, and the six-year-old she cares for, Lucas, form a deep and loving bond as they experience similar abuse. When the cruelty in their lives escalates, Anna makes a hasty and difficult decision that will change things forever.
UP & AWAY
DIRECTOR TITO FERRADANS / RUNTIME 9 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 7 pm
UP & AWAY is a pre-apocalyptic sci-fi about a couple in a society at the brink of collapse. Our protagonists, Marcus and Freya have a chance to start over aboard the Escambia, a colony spaceship. This film is about the challenges they face in their last days on planet.
VIOLET AND JUNE
DIRECTOR LINNEA RITLAND / RUNTIME 6 MIN
Friday, January 26, 2018 @ 8 pm
You know that feeling when you realize that everyone you know is going to die and so nothing you do will ever be of consequence in comparison to the movements of the universe and then you accidentally fall in love with your best friend? Yeah, me neither.
WOODMAN
DIRECTOR MIKE JACKSON / RUNTIME 17 MIN
Saturday, January 27, 2018 @ 4 pm
After more than a century, the toymaker's wooden boy is still alive, languishing in a ramshackle basement apartment. The Woodman's patchwork computer takes him online but for every lie he tells, his bramble of nose grows. Trapped in this cage, the Woodman searches for a true connection and a chance to finally be real.