The 2023 Vancouver International Film Festival, the 42nd event in the history of the Vancouver International Film Festival, was held from September 28 to October 8, 2023.Bridget Stringer-Holden, "Vancouver International Film Festival 2023 announces live performances and special presentations". The Georgia Straight, August 11, 2023.
Awards Winners of the juried Canadian film awards were announced on October 5.V.S. Wells, "VIFF announces Canadian film award winners". The Georgia Straight, October 5, 2023. The Vanguard award winner was announced on October 8, and Audience Award winners were announced on October 12.
Award Film Filmmaker Audience Award, Galas & Special Presentations Monster Hirokazu Kore-eda Audience Award, Showcase The Monk and the Gun Pawo Choyning Dorji Audience Award, Panorama Irena's Vow Louise Archambault Audience Award, Vanguard Let Me Go (Laissez-moi) Maxime Rappaz Audience Award, Northern Lights Aitamaako'tamisskapi Natosi: Before the Sun Banchi Hanuse Audience Award, Insights Physician, Heal Thyself Asher Penn Audience Award, Spectrum Asog Seán Devlin Audience Award, Portraits Call Me Dancer Leslie Shampaine, Pip Gilmour Audience Award, Altered States Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant) Ariane Louis-Seize Best Canadian Film Fitting In Molly McGlynn Best Canadian Film, Honorable Mention Gamodi Felix Kalmenson Best Canadian Documentary Someone Lives Here Zack Russell Best Canadian Documentary, Honorable Mention Asog Seán Devlin Best Canadian Short Film Katshinau Julien G. Marcotte, Jani Bellefleur-Kaltush Best Canadian Short Film, Honorable Mention Our Grandmother the Inlet Jaime Leigh Gianopoulos, Kayah George Emerging Canadian Director Valley of Exile Anna Fahr Emerging Canadian Director, Honorable Mention Richelieu Pier-Philippe Chevigny Best BC Film WaaPaKe Jules Arita Koostachin Best BC Film, Honorable Mention Asog Seán Devlin Vanguard Award Animal Sofia Exarchou Vanguard Award, Honorable Mention Octopus Skin (La Piel Pulpo) Ana Cristina Barragán
Films The full schedule was announced on September 6.Becca Clarkson, "Lineup for 2023 VIFF revealed ahead of the 1st fully in-cinema event since the pandemic". CTV News Vancouver, September 6, 2023.
Galas and special presentations English title Original title Director(s) Production country Anatomy of a Fall Anatomie d'une chute Justine Triet France The Boy and the Heron 君たちはどう生きるか Hayao Miyazaki Japan La Chimera Alice Rohrwacher Italy, France, Switzerland Fallen Leaves Kuolleet lehdet Aki Kaurismäki Finland, Germany I'm Just Here for the Riot Kathleen Jayme, Asia Youngman Canada Last Summer L'Été dernier Catherine Breillat Monster 怪物 Hirokazu Kore-eda Japan Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe Robert McCallum Canada A Normal Family 보통의 가족 Hur Jin-ho South Korea The Old Oak Ken Loach United Kingdom, France, Belgium The Pot-au-Feu La Passion de Dodin Bouffant Tran Anh Hung France Priscilla Sofia Coppola United States The Promised Land Bastarden Nikolaj Arcel Denmark, Germany, Sweden Seven Veils Atom Egoyan Canada Swan Song Chelsea McMullan Canada The Zone of Interest Jonathan Glazer United Kingdom, Poland, United States
Showcase English title Original title Director(s) Production country About Dry Grasses Kuru Otlar Üstüne Nuri Bilge Ceylan Turkey, France, Germany, Sweden Close to You Dominic Savage Canada, United Kingdom Creature Asif Kapadia United Kingdom The Delinquents Los delincuentes Rodrigo Moreno Argentina, Brazil, Luxembourg, Chile Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World Nu astepta prea mult de la sfârsitul lumii Radu Jude Romania Evil Does Not Exist 悪は存在しない Ryûsuke Hamaguchi Japan Four Daughters بنات ألفة Kaouther Ben Hania France, Tunisia, Germany, Saudi Arabia Four Little Adults Nelja Pienta Aikuista Selma Vilhunen Finland, Sweden Green Border Zielona granica Agnieszka Holland Poland, Czech Republic, France, Belgium How to Have Sex Molly Manning Walker United Kingdom I Am Sirat Deepa Mehta, Sirat Taneja Canada Il Boemo Petr Václav Czech Republic, Italy, Slovakia Just the Two of Us L'Amour et les forêts Valérie Donzelli France Kidnapped Rapito Marco Bellocchio Italy, France, Germany The Monk and the Gun Pawo Choyning Dorji Bhutan, France, United States, Taiwan The Royal Hotel Kitty Green Australia, United Kingdom The Teachers' Lounge Das Lehrerzimmer Ilker Çatak Germany They Shot the Piano Player Dispararon al pianista Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal Spain, France Tótem Lila Avilés Mexico, Denmark, France
Panorama English title Original title Director(s) Production country 19B Ahmad Abdalla Egypt All Ears Liu Jiayin China Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry Elena Naveriani Georgia, Switzerland The Braid Laetitia Colombani France, Canada, Italy Days of Happiness Les Jours heureux Chloé Robichaud Canada The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed Joanna Arnow United States Gamodi Felix Kalmenson Canada, Georgia Goodbye Julia وداعا جوليا Mohamed Kordofani Sudan Here Bas Devos Belgium Housekeeping for Beginners Domakinstvo za Pocetnici Goran Stolevski Macedonia, Poland, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo If Only I Could Hibernate Баавгай болохсон, Baavgai Bolohson Zoljargal Purevdash Mongolia In Broad Daylight 白日之下 Lawrence Kan Hong Kong Irena's Vow Louise Archambault Canada, Poland Let the River Flow Ellos Eatnu Ole Giæver Norway, Sweden, Finland Measures of Men Der vermessene Mensch Lars Kraume Germany Oceans Are the Real Continents Los océanos son los verdaderos continentes Tommaso Santambrogio Cuba, Italy One Day All This Will Be Yours En dag kommer allt det här bli ditt Andreas Öhman Sweden Only the River Flows 河边的错误 Wei Shujun China Puan Maria Alché, Benjamín Naishtat Argentina, Italy, France, Germany, Brazil Raging Grace Paris Zarcilla United Kingdom The Rapture Le Ravissement Iris Kaltenbäck France Red Rooms Les Chambres rouges Pascal Plante Canada Robot Dreams Pablo Berger Spain, France The Settlers Los Colonos Felipe Gálvez Haberle Chile Snow in Midsummer 五月雪 Chong Keat Aun Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan Suddenly Melisa Önel Turkey There's No Place Like Home Den, der lever stille Puk Grasten Denmark Toll Pedágio Carolina Markowicz Brazil, Portugal A Tour Guide Eun-mi Kwak South Korea Tsugaru Lacquer Girl バカ塗りの娘 Keiko Tsuruoka Japan Undercurrent アンダーカレント Rikiya Imaizumi Japan Wild Swans Gorai Phakhri Rajni Basumatary India
Vanguard English title Original title Director(s) Production country Animal Sofia Exarchou Greece, Austria, Romania, Cyprus, Bulgaria Bitten La Morsure Romain de Saint-Blanquat France The Face of the Jellyfish El Rostro de la Medusa Melisa Liebenthal Argentina Let Me Go Laissez-moi Maxime Rappaz Switzerland, France, Belgium Octopus Skin La Piel Pulpo Ana Cristina Barragán Ecuador On the Go María Gisèle Royo, Julia de Castro Spain The Sea and Its Waves La Mer et ses vagues Liana Kassir, Renaud Pachot Lebanon, France Tomorrow Is a Long Time Míng tian bi zuo tian chang jiu Jow Zhi Wei Singapore, Taiwan, France, Portugal
Northern Lights English title Original title Director(s) Production country Aitamaako'tamisskapi Natosi: Before the Sun Banchi Hanuse Canada Les Filles du Roi Corey Payette Fitting In Molly McGlynn Float Sherren Lee Hey, Viktor! Cody Lightning I Don't Know Who You Are M. H. Murray I Used to Be Funny Ally Pankiw In Flames Zarrar Kahn Richelieu Pier-Philippe Chevigny Seagrass Meredith Hama-Brown Someone Lives Here Zack Russell Union Street Jamila Pomeroy When Adam Changes Adam change lentement Joël Vaudreuil Wild Goat Surf Caitlyn Sponheimer
Insights English title Original title Director(s) Production country Common Ground Josh Tickell, Rebecca Harrell Tickell United States Deep Rising Matthieu Rytz United States The Invention of the Other A invenção do Outro Bruno Jorge Brazil Lynx Man Ilveskuiskaaja Juha Suonpää Finland, Estonia Mareya Shot, Keetah Goal: Make the Shot Baljit Sangra, Nilesh Patel Canada The Mission Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss United States, India On the Adamant Sur l'Adamant Nicolas Philibert France, Japan Physician, Heal Thyself Asher Penn Canada WaaPaKe Jules Arita Koostachin Canada Winter Chants 冬未來 Jessey Tsang Tsui-Shan Hong Kong
Spectrum English title Original title Director(s) Production country Asog Seán Devlin Canada, Philippines Between Revolutions Între revoluții Vlad Petri Romania, Croatia, Iran Hello Dankness Soda Jerk Australia Kim's Video David Redmon, Ashley Sabin United States, United Kingdom, France Lonely Oaks Vergiss Meyn Nicht Fabiana Fragale, Kilian Kuhlendahl, Jens Mühlhoff Germany Mighty Afrin: In the Time of Floods Angelos Rallis Greece, France, Germany The Mother of All Lies Kadib Abyad Asmae El Moudir Morocco, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar Orlando, My Political Biography Orlando, ma biographie politique Paul B. Preciado France Smoke Sauna Sisterhood Savvusanna sõsarad Anna Hints Estonia, France, Iceland The Tuba Thieves Alison O'Daniel United States
Portraits English title Original title Director(s) Production country Anselm Anselm – Das Rauschen der Zeit Wim Wenders Germany Apolonia, Apolonia Lea Glob Denmark, Poland Caiti Blues Justine Harbonnier Canada, France Call Me Dancer Leslie Shampaine, Pip Gilmour United States, India A Cooler Climate James Ivory, Giles Gardner France Invisible Beauty Bethann Hardison, Frédéric Tcheng United States It's Only Life After All Alexandria Bombach United States Pianoforte Jakub Piątek Poland Robert Irwin: A Desert of Pure Feeling Jennifer Lane United States Sculpting the Giant Banu Wirandoko, Rheza Arden Wiguna Indonesia
Altered States English title Original title Director(s) Production country The Animal Kingdom Le Règne animal Thomas Cailley France Animalia Parmi nous Sofia Alaoui Morocco, France, Qatar Chronicles of a Wandering Saint Crónicas de una Santa Errante Tomas Gomez Bustillo Argentina, United States Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant Ariane Louis-Seize Canada My Animal Jacqueline Castel Canada Restore Point Bod obnovy Robert Hloz Czech Republic, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia The Sacrifice Game Jenn Wexler United States Tiger Stripes Amanda Nell Eu Malaysia, Taiwan, France, Germany The Wait La espera F. Javier Gutierrez Spain White Plastic Sky Műanyag égbolt Tibor Bánóczki, Sarolta Szabó Hungary, Slovakia
Leading Lights A special program curated by guest programmer Anthony Shim, featuring a selection of films that had influenced his own journey as a filmmaker.
English title Original title Director(s) Production country Dust in the Wind 戀戀風塵 Hou Hsiao-hsien Taiwan Joint Security Area 공동경비구역 Park Chan-wook South Korea Peppermint Candy 박하사탕 Lee Chang-dong South Korea, Japan A Woman Under the Influence John Cassavetes United States
Focus: Women, Life and Freedom A special program curated by guest programmer Fay Nass, screening films about misogyny and the subjugation of women.
English title Original title Director(s) Production country Joonam Sierra Urich United States Numb Amir Toodehroosta Iran Seven Winters in Tehran Sieben Winter in Teheran Steffi Niederzoll Germany, France Terrestrial Verses Ayeh Haye Zamini Ali Asgari, Alireza Khatami Iran Valley of Exile Anna Fahr Canada, Lebanon
Short Forum All films in this short film program are Canadian.