Vancouver Island Short Film Festival (VISFF)

✨The 2026 VISFF Trailer is here!✨ Here’s a little taste of the 18 incredible short films screening at the 21st annual Vancouver Island Short Film Festival! Join us for Shorts Program 1 & 2 on April 17th and 18th. In person at the Malaspina Theatre or streaming to you, wherever you are! Full program details + ticket on sale now at visff[dot]ca #visff #nanaimo #vancouverisland #shortfilmfestival #bcfilmfestival

We are still processing an incredible weekend! To our audience: You are why we do this. A few days later and we’re still buzzing from the energy you brought to the theater. Thank you for showing up for our filmmakers and for being such an incredible part of the Vancouver Island Short Film Festival this year! Thank you for loving short films. Thank you for loving filmmakers. Thank you for spending your weekend with us. 🫶

A huge standing ovation for @iatse891 who helped provided the perfect space for our filmmakers and fans to connect after the lights went up. We couldn’t ask for a better partner in bringing our community together. Thank you for helping bring filmmakers, stories, and our community together. VISFF Closing Night – Presented by IATSE 891

A massive thank you to our 2026 Goldie Award sponsors! 🫶🏆 Because of your generosity, we are able to honor the incredible craft of filmmakers from BC and around the globe. 📚 @windowseatbooks 🍕 @mambopizzananaimo 🏛️ The City of Nanaimo 📻 CHLY 1017fm 🎥 @sparkys_rentals 🎭 @ubcp_actra 🛠️ @iatse891

Film festivals are built on community. We want to send a huge shout-out to our community partners who help make VISFF a reality year after year. From the training grounds at @havenactingstudio and the support of @nanaimo_ifss , to the legendary festival fuel provided by @mambopizzananaimo , these are the people who keep our local film scene thriving. Thank you! VISFF wouldn’t be the same without you.

What a weekend!!! Huge thank you to the Vancouver Island Short Film Festival for including several of our films in your youth showcase. And huge congratulations to the cast and crew of Oroborus!! It took home the best film award this year. We’re so proud of you all. And…So much gratitude to Alex and his Dad Paul for making the trip to represent Oroborus and Dream Big at both the youth panel and the award ceremony.

VISFF Day Two! See you all at 1pm for the 3rd Annual Youth Showcase and 7pm for Short Program 2! Both programs will have filmmaker Q&As and award ceremonies so you don’t want to miss out! Tickets are available online! They’re selling out fast, so grab yours now!

Before you head into the screening, show off your festival style and give us your best angle! 📸 Tag @visff and use #VISFF2026 so we can see all your pretty faces!

We’re thrilled to let our incredible audience know that one of our sponsors, @ubcp_actra , has decided to give their festival passes back to the community. These seats are specifically set aside for anyone who really wants to be part of this but can’t comfortably afford the cost of a ticket right now. Email us at [email protected] to reserve your ticket. These are first-come, first-served until they run out. A huge thanks to the team at UBCP/ACTRA for making this happen.

Can’t make it to the theatre? No problem! 🍿 With the VISFF Virtual Festival livestream, you can watch every moment from the comfort of your couch (from anywhere in the world)! For just $20, your virtual ticket grants you access to all three programs: the Youth Showcase, Shorts Program 1, and Shorts Program 2! Don’t miss a moment—grab your tickets, settle in, and don’t forget to vote for your favorite film to help crown this year’s People’s Choice Goldie winners!

Happy #CanFilmDay! 🍁 Canadian stories are the heartbeat of VISFF. We are so grateful to have spent the last 20+ years sharing these films with the best audience on Vancouver Island. We started two decades ago as a passionate local project—back when submissions were still being mailed in on VHS tapes!—and now we are celebrating our 21st annual festival. The Short Circuit matinee on Friday (1pm) features only films by Vancouver Island filmmakers. The VISFF Short Program 1 and 2 feature incredible Canadian films from British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, and Ontario. Plus, our Youth Showcase highlights up-and-coming filmmakers under the age of 18 from all over BC! Thank you, Vancouver Island, for your support over the decades. Enjoy this little trip down memory lane! 📽️ Love what we do? Help us keep the projector running for 20 more years at visff.com/donate 🎞️✨

This award is decided entirely by you, our audience. At the end of Program 1 and Program 2, you’ll have the chance to vote for the film that moved, inspired, or entertained you the most. We’ll be tallying the results from both nights to find the Goldie Award for People’s Choice. The Nominees for the Goldie Award for People’s Choice Award are: ✨Out for Ice Cream (Crème à glace), Rachel Samson ✨Headache, Paria Shojaeian ✨Cancer Kid, Vasili Manikas ✨Dead on Arrival, Niamh McAllister ✨Le Tour De Canada, John Hollands ✨Arguments in Favor of Love, Gabriel Abrantes ✨Four Hands (Quarte Mains), Hélène Sevaux ✨Shaping a Dress, Aaren Rackett ✨Place Under The Sun, Vlad Bolgarin ✨Brenda and Baxter, Leah Johnston ✨Little Ancestor (La Petite Ancetre), Alexa Tremblay-Francoeur ✨The Line She Carries (Indigenous Geographic), Crystal Martin ✨Weeping Fig, Sohee Hong ✨L’ Anniversaire, Thibault Mombellet ✨The Ride, Zack Hamm ✨Obscura / 옵스큐라, Arnold Lim ✨Ramón Who Speaks to Ghosts, Shervin Kermani ✨Rock Berkut, Tamerlan Almanov This award is sponsored by @ubcp_actra The VISFF Goldie Award Ceremony will take place at the conclusion of Program 2 on Saturday, April 18. Grab your tickets to Program 2 today to find out which film will take home the coveted Goldie Award!