Victoria International Jewish Film Festival
Captivating Cultural Cinema
Vic Theatre, 808 Douglas Street
October 10-15, 2026
View 2026 Program
more info!
12th Annual VIJFF
The VIJFF, a festival of Jewish (and Jewish adjacent) cinematic culture, will be held at the Vic Theatre from October 10th to 15th 2026. The VIJFF’s mix of evening & matinée film events—many with live music, special guests, and nosh — are free of charge.
Program to be released soon!
Police and private security services have been confirmed at the Vic Theatre for the duration of the festival.
See you at the movies!
Behind-the-Scenes Interviews
Films and Events
OPENING NIGHT!
Dust Bowls and Jewish Souls
Documentary | 2026 | USA | 89 min
Date: Saturday, October 10
Doors: 6:45pm
Music: 7:00pm TBD
Film: 7:30pm
Ages: 19+
Discover a new side of American folk icon Woody Guthrie in this documentary, revealing how his connection to 1940s New York Jewish culture deeply influenced his enduring musical legacy.
SUNDAY EVENING
Dead Language
Drama | 2026 | Czech Republic, Israel, Poland | 110 min
Date: Sunday, October 11
Doors: 3:45pm
Film: 4:15pm
Ages: 19+
Expanding on an Oscar-nominated short, this drama follows Aya, whose impulsive airport encounter with a Danish visitor sparks unexpected longing and intimacy, unsettling her carefully ordered life.
MONDAY AFTERNOON
An American Tail
(celebrating its 40th Anniversary)
Animation, Drama | 1986 | USA | 80 min
Date: Monday, October 12
Doors: 2:30pm
Film: 3:00pm
Ages: Rated General
Celebrate the 40th anniversary of this beloved animated classic. Follow the heartwarming journey of Fievel Mousekewitz, a young Russian-Jewish mouse seeking a new life and his family in America. Followed by a short panel discussion with community partners, including Fabiola Arias of Voices Victoria.
MONDAY EVENING
The Safe House
Comedy | 2026 | France | 115 min
Date: Monday, October 12
Doors: 6:30pm
Film: 7:00pm
Ages: 19+
In May 1968 Paris, a young boy’s quirky, multigenerational family crams into their shared apartment. Past and present collide when a mysterious guest seeks refuge in their secret hideout.
MONDAY AFTERNOON
What Does Belonging Mean Here & Now? A Community Conversation
(after the film, offsite community event)
Date: Monday, October 12
Activity: 4:45pm – 6:00pm
Location: Shared upon registration
What does it take to feel at home in a new place? Join the Victoria International Jewish Film Festival (VIJFF) and community partners including Voices Victoria for a community conversation on (im)migration, belonging, and building a life somewhere new, while honouring and celebrating difference. All are welcome! Registration required.
DOUBLE BILL!
Date: Tuesday, October 13
Doors: 1:45pm
Film: 2:00pm
Ages: 19+
In Protest
Short | 2026 | USA | 26 min
This short documentary follows a fearless women’s rights activist challenging the world’s silence amid political upheaval, exploring the personal cost of activism and the power of collective resistance.
Labors of Love
Documentary | 2025 | USA | 79 min
Discover the extraordinary legacy of Henrietta Szold, the visionary founder of Hadassah, who shaped Palestine’s early healthcare system and rescued thousands of Jewish children during the Holocaust.
TUESDAY EVENING
Bliss (Hemda)
Drama | 2024 | Israel | 125 min
Date: Tuesday, October 13
Doors: 6:30pm
Film: 7:00pm
Ages: 19+
Set in the Galilee, this tender love story follows Sassi and Effi as they frantically work to overcome grueling debts and obstacles, testing their profound bond like never before.
HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM
The Commandant’s Shadow
Documentary | 2024 | USA, Canada, UK | 103 min
Date: Wednesday, October 14
Doors: 9:00am
Film: 9:30am
Discussion: 11:15am
Ages: PG Rated
This powerful documentary follows the son of Auschwitz’s commandant as he confronts his father’s horrific legacy, culminating in a historic face-to-face meeting with a Jewish survivor of the camp. Program designed for Victoria-area high schools. For more information or to participate, please email vijff.bc@gmail.com.
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON
Shorts Program
I’m Alright | Short| 2025 | Israel | 12 min
Half a Date| Short | 2025 | Israel | 23 min
BAZAAR! | Short Documentary | 2025 | Canada | 18 min
Fiddler on the Moon | Short Documentary | 2025 | USA | 31 min
Beshert | Short | 2025 | Great Britain | 19 min
Double Happiness | Short | 2025 | USA | 17 min
Date: Wednesday, October 14
Doors: 2:30pm
Film: 3:00pm
Ages: 19+
A diverse collection of shorts traversing Israel, North America, and the UK. These bite-sized cinematic gems explore modern romance, profound encounters, cultural heritage, and the complexities of human connection.
WEDNESDAY EVENING
The Sea
Drama | 2025 | Israel | 93 min
Date: Wednesday, October 14
Doors: 6:30pm
Film: 7:00pm
Ages: TBD
When denied an Israeli travel permit on a school trip, a determined twelve-year-old Palestinian boy embarks on a dangerous solo journey to see the Mediterranean Sea for the first time.
CLOSING NIGHT!
Matchmaking 2
Comedy | 2024 | Israel | 107 min
Date: Thurssday, October 15
Doors: 6:30pm
Music: 6:45pm — The Avram McCagherty Trio
Film: 7:15pm
Ages: 19+
In this hilarious sequel, aging ultra-Orthodox bachelor Baruch falls for his matchmaker’s gorgeous daughter.
Online Program
Available online throughout festival week October 10-October 15, this curated program brings together three distinct and harder to access cinematic works created in response to October 7 and its ongoing aftermath. Spanning narrative, documentary, and dialogue-driven perspectives, Falling Up, Always Together, and There is Another Way engage with the profound human, cultural, and political impacts of the crisis. Together, they reflect the complex realities of grief, resilience, and the urgent search for pathways forward.
Viewer note: These films contain discussions and themes related to recent crisis, trauma, and political conflict.
Falling Up
Short | 2026 | Israel | 15 min
Haunted by trauma, Rami finds perverse comfort in a luxury hotel for war evacuees. As reality looms, his desperate grip on this sanctuary spirals into a battle to remain suspended.
Always together
Documentary | 2025 | Israel | 77 min
Displaced after October 7, a twelfth-grade class from Israel’s southern border convinces the government to build a unique Dead Sea boarding school so they can heal and graduate together.
There is another way
Documentary | 2024 | USA, Switzerland | 78 min
Amidst escalating violence, this inspiring documentary follows “Combatants for Peace”—a bi-national group of former Israeli and Palestinian fighters bravely working together to forge a shared path toward collective liberation.
VIJFF 2026 Reel Talks Online Community Discussion — Finding Another Way: Storytelling Through Trauma
Online fireside chat and Q & A
How does art help us hold what words can’t? Join us for VIJFF 2026 Reel Talks for a live online conversation with Stephen Apkon — filmmaker behind There Is Another Way, which follows former Israeli and Palestinian combatants turned peacebuilders — in conversation with acclaimed writer and playwright Mark Leiren-Young. Together they explore how storytelling helps individuals and communities carry trauma without being defined by it, drawing on Apkon’s work in conflict and reconciliation and Leiren-Young’s own plays confronting Jewish identity and antisemitism. Q & A to follow. Registration is required via zoom.
Principles
01
INTER-CULTURAL CONNECTIONS
02
DIVERSITY AND ITS INTERSECTIONS
03
CINEMA AESTHETICS
Thanks!
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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