October 20, 2025

By Jason Gorber

After screening dozens of films at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), what’s a working critic to do but to keep the momentum going, head to the West Coast, and take in more flicks? After an appallingly early flight to YVR, by mid-afternoon on day seven of the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF), I was seated for my first of many films.

The original iteration of the VIFF actually launched in the late 1950s, but by the end of the next decade, it was forced to close. In 1982 it relaunched, making 2025 the 44^th annual iteration bringing local and international cinema to audiences from around the world.

Its placement in the calendar, situated following the larger fall events, makes this a prime “festival of festivals.” VIFF can play the best titles from Venice, TIFF, as well as many films that entered the circuit earlier in the year from Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes.

By eschewing the need to sway patrons to spend small fortunes for fancy events replete with loaded red carpets, VIFF feels like it is much more “film forward” than other stops on the circuit. Its audience is there for what’s on the screen rather than for who’s wearing what.

In this small but crucial way, VIFF resembles less a smaller, more intimate version of TIFF as it is now, but instead in the most positive of ways, feels like what the Toronto festival set out to be at its outset.

For anyone justifiably appalled by reseller ticket prices approaching four digits for a TIFF screening of a title that already showed at both Venice and Telluride, or the general sense that many presentations increasingly feel more corporate than cinematic, the more chill venue of Vancouver may be exactly what you are looking for. Which brings us to the real benefit of VIFF’s qualities noted above: One can see a heap of films that Toronto didn’t or couldn’t select for their own slate.

VIFF screened the film that won Venice, the title that closed New York, and several that debuted at Telluride to acclaim, all which never became part of the 200+ titles that Toronto selected. They even play all the credits with the lights dimmed to the end, with an announcement reminding audiences that they do so for the respect of the artists and technicians that bring these stories to life.

Regarding the VIFF premieres that I did catch, there were a couple documentaries that caught my eye. The first was Allison Reid’s The Art of Adventure, a warm story of two friends who more than a half century ago set out on the trip of a lifetime. For POV Magazine, I spoke to the filmmaker along with her esteemed subjects, the celebrated naturalist and environmentalist Bristol Foster along with the internationally renowned painter Robert Bateman. It’s easy to be struck by how certain events in one’s life can colour their experiences right through the rest and, in that sense, the film provides as powerful a presentation of the need to carpe diem as any.

I was particularly drawn to Jennifer Chiu’s very fine documentary Clan of the Painted Lady, a beautifully nuanced look at identity and the complexity of cultural expression. Chiu travels through her own family’s story, tracing her Hakka heritage through its many transformational stops along its journey, and in so doing, tells a highly specific tale that resonated deeply in a universal sense. It’s a film bold enough to ask questions and brave enough to recognize there’s a lack of simple answers. Beautifully shot, intensely provocative and compelling, it’s a wonderful discovery of a local talent.

I purposely arrived for the latter half of the fest in order to scoop of as many screenings as possible without the massive overlap with TIFF and Cannes’ selections. That choice did gift me more than a few that are likely to be among my favourites of the year. Take Bradley Cooper’s Is This Thing On?, the stand-up dramedy based in part on a true story that provides an almost documentary-like gaze upon a couple in crisis. Laura Dern is luminous, Cooper shines in a supporting role, but co-writer Will Arnett (along with Cooper and Mark Chappell) does much of the heavy lifting, managing to turn in a leading role that’s among his best. Add the likes of Andra Day, Christine Ebersole, Ciarán Hinds, Sean Hayes, Amy Sedaris, and even Peyton Manning (!), and this is one of the great ensemble pieces of the season.

Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly came to Canada after debuting near star George Clooney’s estate in Italy, and this story of an A-list actor having a crisis is an absolute delight. This kind of behind-the-scenes shtick can often devolve into naval gazing, but like the latest streaming hit The Studio, the dance between verisimilitude and downright fact is fascinating when the likes of this kind of leading man is put under the pressure of having to live like an actual human being. Clooney’s charisma is off the charts, but it’s Adam Sandler who finally gets another role to showcase his craft, along with another terrific turn from Laura Dern. Co-written by Baumbach along with esteemed character actor Emily Mortimer, this sun soaked tale of fame and friendship is exceptional.

Some TIFF films got another turn at Vancouver, and I was pleased to see audiences there also take a shine to Daniel Roher’s very fine Tuner. A fascinating dramatic debut for this Oscar-winning director, Rohers keen eye for detail developed in his non-fiction films very much carries over to this rich crime drama with a musical bent. Speaking of music, the Berlin debuting Blue Moon also screened at VIFF after TIFF, telling the story of Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke) coming to terms with his former working partner Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) finding a new lyricist, a collaboration that would reshape Broadway. The lesser of Richard Linklater’s two 2025 films (his exceptional Cannes-debuting Nouvelle Vague also played both TIFF and VIFF), Blue Moon stumbles with its staginess, but still shines with its captivating characters and strong performances anchored by long-time collaborator Ethan Hawke.

Paolo Sorrentino’s latest La Grazia, which is another title that debuted at Venice, has brief moments that work, but this odd tale of an Italian president struggling with the duties of his office falters more than it succeeds. Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni’s documentary Cutting Through Rocks took home Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize, and this bold examination of a midwife who attempts to birth justice and reform within her community was warmly received. Petra Volpe’s Late Shift, Switzerland’s official Oscar selection, is a bold medical drama showing a nurse at the end of her rope. It’s another film that bristles with the reality of the situation it dramatizes.

I did leave the festival environment on Saturday to experience something that I truly cherished. Employing the talents of some of Vancouver’s effects specialists, the local planetarium had been transformed into a showcase for screening audio and visuals celebrating Pink Floyd’s famed Dark Side of the Moon. While Toronto’s own Planetarium has laid dormant for years, this digital retrofitting of the space made for an absolute blast, with the back-to-back experience of running the album through in whole a particular treat.

Finally, there was a screening Father Mother Sister Brother, Jim Jarmusch’s latest ensemble piece that over three chapters tells various family stories that echo between each section. The first chapter, starring Tom Waits, Adam Driver, and Mayim Bialik, never quite gets its pacing right, starting things off in a way that’s odd and fairly predictable. The second chapter, with Charlotte Rampling, Cate Blanchett, and Vicky Krieps, is far more solid, with the three eliciting far more emotions with their elevated awkwardness. Then there’s the last section, with Indya Moore and Luka Sabbat, which goes slightly awry, feeling both superfluous and under baked at the same time.

The fact that this is the film that took the top prize at Venice may be a surprise, but it’s hard to begrudge the celebration of a filmmaker who for decades has been making subtle, quirky, and deeply personal independent films. While this one was certainly mixed for me (an inevitable consequence of comparison brought about by the chapter structure),  this award can easily be seen as a kind of lifetime achievement honour for a terrific talent who brought us films like Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai and Dead Man.

In the end, VIFF felt a refreshing reminder of what this scope of festival can accomplish, one with enough international clout to provide Canadian debuts of some of the most in-demand titles of the year, but without the added competitive baggage that TIFF chooses/is forced to navigate. It was an absolute pleasure to meet the many patrons with whom I shared these screenings, and the general vibe resulted in a joyful and memorable celebration of this seasons’ cinematic offerings.