By Elke Porter | WBN News Vancouver | August 26, 2026
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Vancouver will host the 45th edition of the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) from October 1 to 11, 2026, and this year's program extends well beyond the screen. Organizers have built out a significant business and industry component, timed alongside a lineup that spotlights both emerging global talent and some of Canada's most recognizable figures. For a city that has positioned itself as a major film and television production hub, VIFF's expanded industry programming signals a deliberate push to strengthen that reputation on the international stage.

At the center of this year's business activity is the newly established Institute for the Moving Image, which will run VIFF Industry and the Amp Music in Media Summit from October 3 to 8. Within VIFF Industry's Business Hub, organizers are launching three new programs this year: the Co-Production Forum, Works-in-Progress, and VIFF Slate. Each program targets a different stage of a filmmaker's career, connecting emerging and established creators with mentors, financiers, and international decision-makers. The festival has also confirmed a lineup of high-profile industry guests, including Matīss Kaža, co-writer and producer of the acclaimed animated film Flow, and Pamela Biénzobas, a programmer with the Locarno Film Festival, both of whom will participate in sessions aimed at supporting business development across the industry.

Music will play a prominent role in this year's programming as well, through VIFF Amp, one of the only film festival initiatives in the world dedicated specifically to strengthening ties between music and film. The program will bring together labels, composers, and music supervisors alongside organizations such as SOCAN and SODEC. Guests include musician Meg Remy of U.S. Girls and composer Peter Peter, who scored the series Heated Rivalry. The collaboration between music and film industries reflects a growing recognition that scoring and soundtrack decisions carry real commercial and creative weight in a project's success.

On the storytelling side, VIFF's opening night film, Jesse Eisenberg's The Debut, offers a fitting parallel to the festival's own talent-development mission. The comedy follows a woman landing her first major role in community theatre, played by Julianne Moore, under the guidance of a demanding director played by Paul Giamatti. The film's premise, centered on the process of breaking into a competitive creative field, echoes the very opportunities VIFF's industry programs are designed to create for emerging filmmakers.

Canadian audiences will also find a strong slate of homegrown documentary subjects this year. Man in Motion: The Rick Hansen Story, directed by Adrian Buitenhuis, profiles the athlete and accessibility advocate's enduring legacy. Run Terry Run, from filmmaker Sean Menard, revisits Terry Fox's story through archival footage. And Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney, from director Matthew Rankin, offers a look at the former prime minister through Rankin's distinctive filmmaking style.

Taken together, VIFF's 2026 programming reflects a festival investing as much in industry infrastructure and career development as in the films themselves, while continuing to make space for stories rooted in Canadian history and public life. Tickets go on sale to the general public on August 27, with a full schedule available at https://viff.org/

TAGS: #VIFF2026 #FilmIndustry #VIFFIndustry #VancouverFilm #FilmBusiness #WBNNews

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