20 unique short films have been selected for the 18th annual Vancouver Island Short Film Festival (VISFF)!

The 2023 Selection Committee watched over 160 submissions to put together this incredible lineup. The selected short films are a diverse mix of comedies, dramas, animations, documentaries and everything in between from filmmakers from around the globe. The selected short films include films from Australia, Japan, the US, Iran, the UK and Canada. Five films have production and creative ties to Vancouver Island, including Lucid, which features actor John Hannah of The Mummy and Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Happening on April 21st & 22nd, 2023, at the Malaspina Theatre in Nanaimo, BC, for the first time, the 2023 VISFF will be both in person and online. Each program will include 10 memorable and exciting short films and Q&A sessions with featured filmmakers. The festival will conclude with The Goldie Awards Ceremony on Saturday evening.

The 18th Annual Vancouver Island Short Film Festival Final Selection:

Program One: April 21st, 2023

For Roy (Vivian Cheung, Vancouver, BC)

KC (Mike Palmer, Peterborough, ON)

Rascal News (Amélia Simard, Vancouver, BC)

En Dehors de Toi (Kajsa Eklund, Vancouver, BC)

Johnny The Dime (Joseph Blake Menzel, United States)

Joanna Makes a Friend (Jeremy Lutter, Victoria, BC)

Half Samurai (Rashad Haughton, Japan)

The Lovely Sky (Amir Mehran, Iran)

Lucid (Jim Watson, Hamilton, Ontario)

Curiosa (Tessa Moult-Milewska, United Kingdom)

Program Two: April 22nd, 2023

Məca (Ritchie Hemphill & Ryan Haché, Victoria, BC)

BIRDS EYE (Mike Daniel McKinlay, Vancouver, BC)

Zoe and Hannah Forever (Rachelle Younie, Vancouver, BC)

time together (Pauline Gallinat, Nanaimo, BC)

Island TRADIES (Shane Watt, Duncan, BC)

Mystery Meat (Hannah van Dijk, Vancouver, BC)

Split Ends (Alireza Kazemipour, Iran)

What the Dirt Don’t Like (Jenn L Ashton, North Vancouver, BC)

Culicidae (Greg Moran, Sydney, Australia)

Year of the Tortoise (Connor Gaston, Victoria, BC)

Program One screens on Friday, April 21st, at 7:00 pm PDT, and Program

Two screens on Saturday, April 22nd, at 7:00 pm PDT. 

Tickets for both the in-person and online screenings are available here.