Weâre pleased to announce a weeklong qualifying* theatrical run of French Lessons, the latest film from STUPID CO, the artistic label from filmmaker/distributor duo Anna Maguire & Kyle Greenberg, who also organize the OFF-VIFF film festival. This run follows a 2025 festival campaign with the likes of New/Next, The Downtown Festival, SXSW Sydney, OFF-VIFF and more.
The hybrid-documentary short follows Greenberg who fittingly plays a film distributor, secretly meeting with real-life directorÂ
@arranshearing  (co-director of King Baby and co-founder of OFF-VIFF) to practice French ahead of going to the Cannes Film Festival. A satirical take on the industry vs. artistry divide, the weeklong theatrical announcement advances Stupid Coâs commitment to non-traditional releasing, with Greenberg & Maguire saying in a joint statement:
"As we work to circumvent the archaic pitfalls and/or gatekeepers of the independent film landscape and combat the perceived limitations of short films in the marketplace, this weeklong run of French Lessons and partnership with the EV Vodville Cinema is an exciting step forward to find another new and rare physical pathway for short exhibition. By finding a new physical space to exhibit our short for a week in Vancouver, we feel more than âqualifiedâ to ask for your consideration! Looking further ahead, we canât wait to expand upon our festival OFF-VIFF, by working with EV Vodville to provide another key satellite location for short exhibition as well!â
The pairâs film Hi! You Are Currently Being Recorded is also playing this week as a double bill.
*The weeklong theatrical run of French Lessons is not actually a qualifying Academy run, nor is EV Vodville considered a real theater, nor is Vancouver considered a qualifying theatrical market as it pertains to the Academy, despite much of Hollywood shooting their studio films in Canada, British Columbia and Vancouver (and Academy winners or nominees such as Juno, Titanic, Five Easy Pieces, The Accused, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, First Blood, Godzilla (2014) and many more shot fully or partially in the city). French Lessons was not submitted to any awards by Stupid Co