Victoria International Jewish Film Festival

Captivating Cultural  Cinema
Celebrate 10 Years! 
Vic Theatre, 808 Douglas Street
November 2-7, 2024

more info!

10th Annual VIJFF

The 2024 VIJFF will be held at the Vic Theatre and online from November 2nd to 7th.  The VIJFF’s mix of evening & matinée film events—many with live music and nosh—are free of charge.

Among VIJFF film events is a Sunday afternoon all-ages (12+) screening of a particularly warm, audience-pleasing film, Running on Sand. Bring (grand-)children to see captivating cultural cinema!

And in celebration of 10 years of the VIJFF, a special reception in the Courtney Room of the Magnolia Hotel will be held!

Police and private security services have been confirmed at the Vic Theatre for the duration of the festival.

 

November 2-7, 2024

graphic of star of david

The Shadow of the Day

Watch The Trailer
Date: Saturday, November 2 + Online November 3 to 7
Doors/Music: 7:00pm
Film: 7:45pm
Music: Georgiy Matviyiv & Mariia Smolinska
Nosh: Italian Cookie Duo from The Italian Bakery

The Shadow of the Day is a love story set in Italy’s late 1930s pre-WWII atmosphere, between a fascist sympathizing WWI veteran and Anna, a young woman with a dangerous secret.

Running on Sand

Watch The Trailer
Date: Sunday, November 3 + Online November 3 to 7
Doors/Music: 12:30pm
Film: 1:15pm
Music: The Marauders of Funk
Nosh: Babka from Mensch Catering

Running on Sand is a charming comedy of ‘mistaken identity’ that rewards viewers who suspend disbelief for its light-hearted story of an Eritrean refugee’s brief career in Israeli pro soccer.

A kaddish movie

Special Event

VIJFF 10 Year Celebration

SOLD OUT
Venue: Courtney Room at the Magnolia Hotel
Date: Sunday, November 3
Time: 3:00pm to 5:00pm

Lounge in comfortable chic with friends, connect with community, and, with a glass of bubbly and light bites, celebrate 10 years of captivating cultural cinema!

Remembering Gene Wilder

Watch The Trailer
Date: Sunday, November 3
Doors/Music: 6:30pm
Film: 7:15pm
Music: The Elliot Freedman Group
Nosh: Selected Gourmet Cakes from Darling Cake Co.

A loving tribute to comic actor Gene Wilder, shining a light on his enigmatic roles and his working relationships with filmmaker Mel Brooks and actor-comedian Richard Pryor.

A kaddish movie

Matinée Screening

Canada Program

The Fast Runner

Watch The Trailer
SOLD OUT
Date: Monday, November 4
Doors: 1:15pm
Film: 2:00pm

Centred on a young girl who has lost her father to Nazi violence, The Fast Runner is a humanistic story of hope and selfless compassion overtaking confusion and anger.

Matinée Screening

CanaDa Program

Crossing the River

Watch The Trailer
SOLD OUT
Date: Monday, November 4
Doors: 1:15pm
Film: 2:00pm

Crossing The River sets out the incredible lives of the world’s oldest living Holocaust survivor siblings, the Winnipeg-based Fink siblings.

A kaddish movie

Matinée Screening

Canada Program 

Less Than Kosher

Watch The Trailer
SOLD OUT
Date: Monday, November 4
Doors: 1:15pm
Film: 2:00pm

A delightful musical comedy, somewhere between Shiva Baby and The Jazz Singer, about a modern young woman’s unorthodox Jewish life.

Special Event

Canada Program

In Conversation


SOLD OUT

Date: Monday, November 4
Doors: 1:15pm
Film: 2:00pm

Following the Canada Program, experience a conversation with directors David Bercovici-Artieda (The Fast Runner) and Allan Novak (Crossing the River).

A kaddish movie

The Way to Happiness

Watch The Trailer
Date: Monday, November 4
Doors/Music: 6:30pm
Film: 7:15pm
Music: Eryn Sharpe Trio
Nosh: Apple Almond Crossaint from La Patisserie Daniel

Charmingly full of nostalgia, as both homage and past pain, The Way To Happiness centres on memory and desire through a Kindertransport Holocaust survivor’s recollections and renewal.

The Blond Boy from the Casbah

Watch The Trailer
Date: Tuesday, November 5
Doors/Music: 6:30pm
Film: 7:15pm
Music: Avram McCagherty Trio
Nosh: Raspberry Pistachio Cake from La Roux Patisserie

A passionate filmmaker presents his childhood in Algiers during the country’s civil war in the 1960s. As he wanders through the city, the filmmaker immerses us in the moments of happiness, laughter, and tears of his youth.

A kaddish movie

Matinée Screening

All About the Levkoviches

Watch The Trailer
Date: Wednesday, November 6
Doors: 1:30pm
Film: 2:00pm

Unexpectedly widowed Hungarian boxing coach Tamás reconnects with his estranged son, an orthodox Jew, who has brought his own son to mourn their mother & grandmother.

seven Blessings

Watch The Trailer
Date: Thursday, November 7
Doors/Music: 6:45pm
Film: 7:30pm
Music: Cascadia Strings Trio
Nosh: Baklava from Syriana Restaurant & Catering

Warmly, with humour based in family and family misunderstandings, Seven Blessings revolves around eventful Jewish Moroccan wedding gatherings in a family dramedy about fury, forgiveness, and food.

The Peacock That Passed Over 

Online: November 2 to 7
Playing with: Remembering Gene Wilder and Seven Blessings

With diverse whimsy, The Peacock That Passed Over considers a Leeds community’s response to a peacock’s having taken up residence at a synagogue.

Shabbos Goy

Online: November 2 to 7
Playing with: The Blond Boy from the Casbah and All About the Levkoviches

Despite not being Jewish, Terry Neville protects, maintains and lives above a synagogue. His poignant story and funny perspective will surprise and intrigue.

Principles

01

INTER-CULTURAL CONNECTIONS
To build connections among cultures and communities through the universality of cinema, by presenting films featuring Jewish and Jewish-adjacent themes that are less broadly available.

02

DIVERSITY AND ITS INTERSECTIONS
To broaden awareness of cultural diversity and its intersections with Jewish culture, by programming films that transcend particular people, places, and politics by conveying universal themes, shared values, and common ground.

03

CINEMA AESTHETICS
To enhance an appreciation of film artistry and cinematic communication, by celebrating films, their creators, and their diversity of genres and viewpoints on complex subject matter.
Thanks!
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Donate to the VIJFF!

Donations support the VIJFF beyond the few grants it receives. Donors of $36 or more receive a charitable tax receipt. VIJFF movie lovers our, super-appreciated donors of $180 or more, receive special benefits.

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