The Vaughan International Film Festival (VFF) returns from June 19 – 22 with four nights of curated Canadian and international short films. Over the past decade, VFF has developed a style all its own. In the unhurried environment of the “city above Toronto”, VFF has provided a unique space for independent creators to share their work, amassing a reach of over 19,000 people and kickstarting the careers of local and international filmmakers.
This year’s festival opens with a Student Screening Block on Monday, June 19th. This evening highlights the work of 16 exceptional student filmmakers from 13 high schools across the GTA. Curated by an award-winning panel of industry professionals, these films will be presented at the Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan Theatre At York University. VFF’s 2023 student film judging panel is composed of various members and colleagues of the Entertainment Industry Professionals Mentoring Alliance (EIPMA), a US-based organization that strives to foster emerging talent. The judging panel’s selection for Best Student Film will be announced during the Student Screening Block, and the winning student will have an opportunity to attend VFF’s prestigious Awards ceremony, receive a Panasonic Lumix S5M2 camera valued at $3,399.99, and receive a $3000 contribution towards the department of their school that supported them.
The student screening block will offer a diverse range of genres, including fantasy, comedy, drama, documentary, animation, sci-fi, parody, and thriller. The films are:
- The Adventures Of Marg: New Wheels (Aurora High School)
- Ambedo (St. Joan Of Arc Catholic High School)
- Operation Crackdown (Tommy Douglas Secondary School)
- No Time To Waste (Father Bressani Catholic High School)
- Alone (John Cabot Catholic Secondary School)
- Give Back (St. Elizabeth Catholic High School)
- The Test (Richmond Hill High School)
- Chiaroscuro (St. Elizabeth Catholic High School)
- Trip Switch (Maxwell Heights Secondary School)
- You Mess With The Croc, You Get The Glock (Alexander Mackenzie High School)
- The New Youth Of Digital Natives (Alexander Mackenzie High School)
- We Can Too (Bill Crothers Secondary School)
- You Are Not Just Your Work (Queens Collegiate)
- To See Her Again (Our Lady Queen Of The World Catholic Academy)
- Influence(d) (St. Elizabeth Catholic High School)
- Who’s Our Culprit (Thornlea Secondary School)
The festival’s second day Tuesday, June 20th brings eight international offerings which span different genres. They will be shown at the Terrace Banquet Centre.
- A Roadside Banquet (China) is a drama following Mai, an eleven-year-old Chinese girl, who turns into a feather duster at her baby brother’s first birthday party; soon after learning her parents only ever wanted a boy.
- Pasajero (Passenger) (Argentina) is an animation showcasing a journey through the conflictive relationship between a man, his social environment and codes.
- Death and Ramen (America) is a comedy about a ramen chef who spends his final night alive hanging out with the Grim Reaper. Through a bowl of ramen, they discover the joyous side of Death.
- Scale (United Kingdom) is a surrealist animation about Will, who while driving along the motorway, loses his sense of scale. As his crippling drug addiction deepens, he struggles to unpick the sequence of events that led to his predicament, before he’s lost forever.
- Trail (Canada) is a dark comedy-thriller about a lone hiker who makes a macabre discovery. What started as a tranquil weekend getaway will soon transform into a fight for survival.
- Un Mariage Heureux (Just Married) (Belgium) is a drama regarding years passing, and leaving traces, lies, broken promises, distance, and betrayal. Chronicle of a death foretold, autopsy of a marriage like so many others, or maybe not.
- L’autre Rive (A Shore Away) (Canada) is a drama centring Genevieve, a newly employed worker in an emergency shelter for people experiencing homelessness. Here, she becomes re-acquainted wuth Camille, a young woman whom she believed to have successfully reinserted while being her social worker.
- Make the Call (America) is a thriller following two former best friends who reunite in a changed world, finally confronting the demons that ripped them apart.
The festival’s third day Wednesday, June 21st brings an evening of nine diverse stories from around the world. They will be shown at the Terrace Banquet Centre.
- Fairplay (Switzerland) is a drama surrounding a teenager in search of recognition, a worker ready to do anything to hit the jackpot, and a senior executive at the end of his career who wants to prove to himself that he is still alive—three characters who are losing speed on the competition highway.
- I Do(n’t) (Canada) is a comedy and feel-good rom-com about Carrie, who questions the institution of marriage.
- Feeling the Apocolypse (Canada) is an animation-documentary following a psychotherapist struggling with climate anxiety who explores what it means to live in a dying world.
- Same Old (Canada) is a drama about one bad night for a New York City delivery driver.
- Going Away Party (Canada) is a dramady about Jimmy, who has been chosen to be one of the Mars colonizers due to a rare biological attribute, and Alison, who has planned a party for Jimmy, the love of her life, at their local bar. No one shows up, and Jimmy and Alison are left alone to confront their future apart.
- Aperio (Brazil) is a horror about a 10 year old girl gone quiet and her aching father who after the death of their mother/wife must confront grief in its most nefarious form.
- The Sprayer (Islamic Republic of Iran) is an animation surrounding the land occupied with the sprayers army, where no one has the right to grow any kind of plant — in public or in private. One day, a soldier finds a seed buried deep down in the dust, and his curiosity is just the beginning of something extraordinary, something big, something revolutionary.
- The One-Way Ticket (Germany) is a drama following the story of Taha, a six-year old boy, who has been raised by a misogynist father and lives in a society where women have no freedom of choice. He finds out that his sister wants to escape with her lover and now the decision is his whether to reveal the secret to his father or not.
- Cemento Y Acero (Concrete and Steel) (Spain) is a dark comedy about Victor and Nacho, lifetime friends and mafiosos. They’ve been tortured and chained to a cement block. While Nacho struggles desperately to break free, Victor tries to figure out why their boss has betrayed them. They reflect on their lives and their past, but then Nacho makes a confession that will change their lives forever.
Finally, on Thursday, June 22nd, the festival culminates in the black-tie, red-carpet VIFF Awards event at The Terrace Banquet Centre, hosted by CityTV’s Stephanie Henry. And on the evening of the awards gala, guests will experience a musical performance by Virginia to Vegas and a four-course meal, while connecting with industry leaders and VFF’s supporting partners. And the night’s main purpose, of course, is to award Individual Achievement Awards and honour the winning films.
In summary, the VFF is a hassle-free, unhurried and affordable way to experience and celebrate the best in Canadian and international short filmmaking. The screenings on Tuesday June 20 and Wednesday June 21 are at Cineplex Vaughan Cinemas, a venue that is easily accessible by public transportation and by car (with ample free parking!). The only caveat? Book tickets while they are still available! Reserve tickets to VFF 2023 here.
© Sayak S-G, SesayArts Magazine, 2023
