15th annual Vancouver Island Short Film Festival

December 10 2019

The festival received a record 227 submissions from 28 countries. The final lineup features 12 films from Canada, including three by filmmakers living on Vancouver Island, and entries from Mexico, the U.S., Hong Kong, Iran, Israel, Denmark, the U.K., Italy and France.

“Our Selection Committee did an incredible job narrowing down the field, and we’re so grateful for their time and input,” said VISFF Director Karla Duarte. “Based on the number of entries we received, we’re expanding our lineup so we can showcase more short films than past years.”

For the first time ever, VISFF is screening two separate lineups to accommodate a greater number of entries. Audience members can come both Friday and Saturday evening, or attend both the Saturday matinee and awards night to take in all 25 films.

The 15th Annual Vancouver Island Short Film Festival Final Selection:

RIVER THERAPY (Raymond Knight, Nanaimo)

DUST (Shane Book, Victoria/U.S.)

GILTRUDE’S DWELLING (Jeremy Lutter, Victoria)

OSUBA (Federico Marsicano, Italy)

SAFETY (Fabrice Joubert, France)

NOTHING TO SAY (Aubry Mintz, Toronto)

MINOR ACCIDENT OF WAR (Diane Weis, U.S.)

SUCH A SMALL THING (Juno Rinaldi, Hamilton)

TWINLESS (Ronalee Israel & Sapir Danan, Israel)

PEETE (Simon Madore, Toronto)

DEEPNESS OF THE FRY (August Niclasen, Denmark)

RUST BUCKET (Morgan Wynne, U.S.)

MANDATORY (Javad Khorsha, Iran)

BARK (Ryan Irving, Calgary)

ASTEROID SEASON (Earthstar Smith, Vancouver)

SHEEP (Théo Chasson, France)

ALWAYS DANI (Rosa Carranza, Mexico)

SONATINA (Wong Hoi, Hong Kong)

SQUARE ONE (Emily Sargent, U.K.)

GOING UP (Forman Howes, Vancouver)

THE GIRL/ LA FILLE (Keegan Connor Tracy, Burnaby)

TAMPON (Erica Orofino, Canada)

BARGAIN BIN BED (Rob Shaw, Vancouver)

LAURA (Kaayla Whachell, Abbotsford)

WAWATAY (Mark Jones (Producer), Toronto)

The selected films will be split into two lineups and screened twice during the festival. There will be two screenings Friday, February 7 at 7:00pm (followed by a filmmakers Q&A), and screenings on Saturday, February 8 at 2:00pm and 7:00pm (followed by the Awards Ceremony). Tickets are $18 for one show, or $28 for both. They go on sale December 12th through The Port Theatre’s box office and website (www.porttheatre.com). For more information, visit visff.com or email admin@visff.com.