Vancouver International Film Festival 2026
October 1-11, 2026
https://viff.org
VIFF 2026: 2SLGBTQIA+ FILMS
A Distant Call dir. Andrea Suwito (France/Indonesia/UK) | Insights
Friday Oct 2, 1:15pm, International Village 8
Wednesday Oct 7, 8:30pm, International Village 10
In Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province, the ancient Bugis recognize five genders: men, women, transgender men, transgender women, and bissu. Eka, one of the few remaining bissu, struggles to reconcile their identity with community expectations and their own devout Muslim faith as they prepare for their Hajj pilgrimage. Steeped in the minutiae of daily life, A Distant Call is at once deeply personal and culturally expansive, rooted in the fluid search for meaning and selfhood in a shifting world. ONLINE
Club Kid dir. Jordan Firstman (USA) | Special Presentations
Friday Oct 2, 9pm, Vancouver Playhouse
Monday Oct 5, 9:15pm, The Park Theatre
Peter’s hedonistic life in New York’s queer club scene is upended by the surprise arrival of Arlo, his 10-year-old son that he never knew existed. Jordan Firstman’s bouncy, exuberant debut feature is a charming odd-couple comedy about unexpected parenthood, quiet redemption, and the bonds that can take surprising forms. A wondrous triumph at Cannes, Club Kid is difficult not to love. ONLINE
Coward dir. Lukas Dhont (Belgium/France/Netherlands) | Special Presentations
Monday Oct 5, 5:45pm, Vancouver Playhouse
Friday Oct 9, 6:15pm, The Park Theatre
Sunday Oct 11, 6pm, The Park Theatre
With the First World War raging, Pierre (Emmanuel Macchia) leaves his family farm for the frontlines to serve the Belgian cause. In the trenches, he meets Francis (Valentin Campagne), a magnetic figure who stages theatre productions that offer their brothers-in-arms a measure of escape. Feeling an immediate kinship with the troupe, Pierre also develops an explosive chemistry with Francis. As their relationship blossoms, they are called to demonstrate the bravery required to pursue sexual self-actualization. ONLINE
Dance of the Sun On the Water dir. Ming Wong (United Kingdom) | VIFF Short Forum
Thursday Oct 8, 9:30pm, International Village 8
Friday Oct 9, 3:45pm, International Village 8
The queer story of St. Sebastian is made even queerer, as seven performers restage his life inside the National Gallery. A Part of Short Forum 8: Queer Magic ONLINE
Flesh and Fuel dir. Pierre Le Gall (France/Poland) | Panorama | Canadian Premiere
Friday Oct 2, 9pm, Alliance Francaise
Saturday Oct 10, 9:15pm, Fifth Avenue Cinema
Étienne lives a solitary existence as a truck driver for a French company, his love life consisting mainly of anonymous sex with men in empty parking lots. But after a passionate encounter with Bartosz, a Polish truck driver, his steady routine is thrown out of gear, and as their jobs continue to keep them apart, they struggle to imagine a future together. Striking a keen balance of romanticism with realism, Flesh and Fuel is a surprisingly tender gay romance set in the unlikely milieu of European truckers. ONLINE
Jaripeo dir Efraín Mojica, Rebecca Zweig (Mexico/USA/France) |Spectrum| N/A
Thursday Oct 1, 8:30pm, VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
Wednesday Oct 7, 10:45am, International Village 8
Saturday Oct 10, 9pm, VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
Every Christmas in Penjamillo, Michoacán, the jaripeo — an annual rodeo of bull riding, horses, music, drinking, and dust — becomes a public performance of masculinity. Efraín Mojica and Rebecca Zweig’s film looks beneath the spectacle to reveal a queer undercurrent of coded glances, secret hookups, double lives, and desire. Premiering in Sundance’s NEXT section, Jaripeo follows a community making room for itself inside a culture that was never as straight as it pretended to be. ONLINE
Jim Queen dir. Marco Nguyen, Nicolas Athané (France) | Altered States
Thursday Oct 1, 9:15pm, The Park Theatre
Friday Oct 9, 8:30pm, Alliance Francaise
Saturday Oct 10, 9pm, The Rio Theatre
Handsome, shallow, and ultra-muscular, Jim Queen is a gay influencer content to live off his looks. But when he’s infected with Heterosis — a drug manufactured by far-right activists that causes straightness — Jim must join forces with a closeted follower to seek a cure and combat his oppressors. From the opening musical number to the spoof of conversion therapy and beyond, Jim Queen is a raucous satire — a film unafraid to skewer gay “body fascism” and bigoted conservatism with the same spear. ONLINE
La Bola Negra dir. Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo (Spain/France) | Special Presentations
Friday Oct 9, 9pm, Vancouver Playhouse
A big, old-school historical melodrama gets a thrillingly modern, queer makeover in this second feature from writer-director duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi. Juggling three timelines and three gay protagonists across 1937, 1932, and 2017, this supremely confident and richly crafted triptych is much more than the sum of its parts — though working out quite how they interlock is a key pleasure. A bold and exhilarating piece, this dark horse raced away with the Directing prize at Cannes. ONLINE
