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Feb 6 -15, 2026
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Program Guide
Festival Info
In British Columbia, the government requires that you be a member of a Society that shows unclassified films and that you be over the age of 18. The Victoria Film Festival screens unclassified films. Membership is only $2. Once you are a member, you can see the movie at the Festival and the Vic Theatre until the end of July. We are not able to take phone orders. Tickets are sold at the door 30 minutes before showtime, and FilmFest pros know how quickly films sell out, so purchase in advance.
Festival Awards
Several of the films juried and accepted into the Festival are selected to receive awards. Watch for the announcement of the winners by February 17, 2026.
- Best Feature Film
- Best Canadian Feature
- Best Canadian First Feature
- Best Documentary
- Best Short Film
- Audience Favourite Feature
- Cultural Currents Award
Venues
The Vic theatre | 808 Douglas St
Capitol 6 | 805 Yates St
Roxy Theatre | 2657 Quadra St
Toaster Rocket Cinema | 712 Cormorant St
Star Sidney | 9840 Third St, Sidney, BC
The Union Club | 805 Gordon Street
Intrepid Theatre | 1609 Blanshard St
Destroyed Cinema | 1923 Fernwood Rd
Opening Gala | Film & Party
Three rebellious nuns (Miriam Margolyes, Jacki Weaver, Judy Davis) and a determined young Māori boy (Elijah Tamati) go on a wildly funny, hearttugging road trip across New Zealand in search of miracles, justice, and a way home. When a fierce snowstorm derails their plans, this unlikely crew must summon faith, grit, and each other to survive a journey that delivers exactly what they need—just not in the way they expect.
OPENING PARTY | 9:00 PM | Autonomous 2110 Store St,
Step into a 50s diner that just went off its meds. Grab a ‘soda’, shake it off, and roam through a cosmic-sized space filled with cocktails, local eats, games of questionable coordination, and the occasional psychic twitch. Twister? Absolutely. Yahtzee? Mandatory. And don’t be afraid to order “the usual”—we’ll pretend to know what that means. The Beatles will be there in spirit. They’re prepared. Are you?
In Conversation With
FEB 7 | 3:30 PM | The Vic Theatre
The VFF goes all in with elbows up as we present two of Canada’s greatest gems, Mary Walsh and Sheila McCarthy, in conversation with Richard Crouse. Following the live on stage conversation, we present the BC premiere of their latest film, Dancing on the Elephant
Mary Walsh
Mary Walsh created and starred in This Hour Has 22 Minutes, CBC’s wildly popular take on current affairs. The series earned her many of her numerous Gemini awards and showcased her dynamic range of characters, including the flagrantly outspoken ‘Marg Delahunty’. Select feature film credits include The Grand Seduction, Closet Monster, Mambo Italiano, and Dancing on the Elephant, for which she won the 2025 Joan Orenstein Award for Outstanding Performance at the Atlantic International Film Festival.
Sheila McCarthy
Decades after establishing herself as one of Canada’s great actresses in I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing, Sheila McCarthy is having a long-earned international moment with her riveting performance opposite Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Judith Ivey and Frances McDormand in Sarah Polley’s Women Talking. She and her castmates were the recipients of the Robert Altman Award for Best Ensemble at the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards.
Other recent film credits include starring roles in Helen Shaver’s psychological thriller Happy Place, All the Lost Ones with Douglas Smith, and Dancing on the Elephant.
Richard Crouse
Richard Crouse is a prominent Canadian film critic, broadcaster, and author who has been a fixture in Canadian entertainment media for decades. He is the regular film critic for CTV News Channel.
Toaster Rocket Cinema
Back for its second year, you can now find the Toaster Rocket Cinema in a new location – the Print Hole at 712 Cormorant Street. This unique pop-up theatre is the spot to watch quirky films in an intimate, casual setting.
Late night on Saturdays, things get spooky as the venue transforms into the “Terrifying Toaster” for new horror films. Starting at Victoria’s “midnight” (10:00 PM), you’ll want to be there for Lucid on February 7 and Hunting Matthew Nichols on February 14.
Destroyed Cinema
Destroyed Cinema is a local events company and film distributor focused on DIY, underground, genre, and off-beat movies founded by Nick Workman and JP Meldrum in October 2024.
Destroyed’s aim is to elevate films outside the film festival status quo and provide a theatrical audience to those left by the wayside. Our events include Music + Cinema showcases that pair local DIY artists with new underground films, ‘Secret Cinema’ pop-ups, as well as music-only shows meshing genres and reaching across Victoria’s abundant underground scenes. Our events have spanned The Roxy, Little Fernwood, Colage Market, and even the Rio Theatre in Vancouver.
Destroyed is excited to host three Music + Movie nights in collaboration with Victoria Film Festival, as well as a Microcinema Market in collaboration with our friends at Colage.
Art Exhibit
Art Exhibit
February 7 –14 1 PM to 7 PM
Faz-Cade by Elias Lazenby
The Animatronic Arcade is a surreal, retro-inspired art installation that merges nostalgia with unease. Visitors step into a distorted arcade where reality “glitches,” and animatronics awaken in unexpected ways. The space evokes the eerie charm of abandoned game halls, blending vibrant neon aesthetics with unsettling mechanical life.
The installation explores themes of nostalgia, decay, and the uncanny—inviting audiences to question the boundaries between play and fear, technology and life from a Gen Alpha perspective.
Medium: Refurbished animatronics, retro arcade props, multimedia screens
Art in Film
Island Brushstrokes
E.J. Hughes @ The Vic, 3:00 PM Sunday, Feb 8th
The enduring works of renowned British Columbia painter E.J. Hughes are spotlighted in a journey through his legacy and life.
Q & A after film with the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
Reception to follow @ Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
Jammies & Toons
Feb 15 11 AM The Vic Theatre
Opening: mention FilmCan shorts before feature
The ritual of Saturday morning animations and cereal returns to The Vic. Put away those video games and come out to the theatre in your pajamas – yes, I mean you too Dad! We’ll provide milk and cereal. How nice is that! We haven’t forgotten the parents, so there will be delicious Fernwood Coffee to jump-start your day or salvage it, whichever the case may be.
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