By Mata Press Service

Films from India, China, Japan, South Korea, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Myanmar and other parts of Asia will feature prominently at this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival, which returns Oct. 1 to 11 with one of its biggest international lineups.

VIFF’s 45th edition will screen 162 feature films, including 12 world premieres, six international premieres, 15 North American premieres and 49 Canadian premieres. Another 91 short films and two episodic series are also on the program, with 76 countries represented. Organizers expect about 110,000 people to attend.

The festival opens with Jesse Eisenberg’s The Debut, starring Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti, and closes with Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine, featuring John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell and Steve Buscemi.

But for Vancouver’s large Asian communities, much of the interest will be in a program that reaches deep into East, South and Southeast Asian cinema.

Among the highest-profile entries is South Korean director Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Love, his first film in eight years and a study of class divisions in Korea. It will be presented in memory of Tony Rayns, the longtime VIFF programmer and leading champion of East Asian cinema who died earlier this year.

Japanese director Kore-eda Hirokazu brings Look Back, an adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s manga, while Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s All of a Sudden arrives after being recognized at Cannes. South Korean filmmaker Hong Sangsoo’s Nowhere to Lay My Eyes, which won awards for direction and performance at Locarno, will receive its Canadian premiere.

VIFF programming director Curtis Woloschuk said this year’s films reflect both contemporary cinema and a turbulent global environment.

“Every film in this year’s lineup embodies the culturally engaged, progressively minded, and emotionally resonant storytelling that we seek to champion at VIFF,” he said.

South Asia is also strongly represented.

Indian filmmaker Yogesh Lohan’s Fireflies in the Dark will have its world premiere, while Pakistani director Sarmad Sultan Khoosat brings Lali. Bangladesh is represented by Rubaiyat Hossain’s The Difficult Bride and Mejbaur Rahman Sumon’s Roid.

Nepali director Abinash Bikram Shah’s Elephants in the Fog is also in the Panorama program, alongside Afghan filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat’s No Good Men.

From Myanmar, Aung Phyoe’s Fruit Gathering will receive its North American premiere.

Chinese cinema is represented by several productions, including Zou Jing’s A Girl Unknown, Xu Zao’s Light Pillar and Kangdrun’s Linka Linka, which will have its Canadian premiere.

Hong Kong director Keane T.K. Wong’s Afterpiece is also set for a Canadian premiere.

The Asia-Pacific presence stretches further into Southeast Asia.

Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen returns with We Are All Strangers, while Vietnamese director Bảo Lê’s Hearing, a multinational production involving Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand and Taiwan, will receive its North American premiere.

Thai filmmaker Sompot Chidgasornpongse’s 49 Temples to Heaven, which involves production partners across several Asian countries, will receive its Canadian premiere.

Asian Canadian filmmakers also have a significant presence.

Vancouver-based Joella Cabalu’s First Comes Love: Nakabingwit will have its world premiere. It is one of several B.C. productions in a documentary program of more than 50 nonfiction features.

The festival’s Northern Lights section, devoted to emerging Canadian and Indigenous storytellers, includes Ashley Duong’s Ba’s Book, Habiba Nosheen’s The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony, and B.C. filmmaker Arnold Lim’s The Bryce Lee Story, which will have its world premiere.

The program also includes Carol Nguyen’s Still Night, Burning House and Ian Bawa’s Strong Son.

Asian Canadian voices are represented in VIFF’s short-film program as well. Vancouver and B.C.-connected works include Jessamine Yú Fok’s The Fading of Morning Light, a Canada-Hong Kong production receiving its world premiere, and Kunsang Kyirong’s Letters From Tibet, also a B.C. world premiere.

Other Asian shorts include works from India, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, China and Iran.

The festival is also expanding beyond traditional screenings.

VIFF Live will run throughout the festival, combining cinema with music, performance and live audiovisual events. The program includes the North American premiere of The KLF: 23 Seconds to Eternity, accompanied by Vancouver electronic duo CHXMERAS, and a range of concerts, screenings and multimedia performances.

VIFF executive director Kyle Fostner described the 2026 festival as the beginning of a new phase for the organization, pointing to its recently launched Institute for the Moving Image and expanded live programming.

“This year marks the beginning of a new chapter for the Vancouver International Film Festival,” he said.

The institute will also run VIFF Industry and the Amp Music in Media Summit from Oct. 3 to 8, bringing international filmmakers and industry decision-makers to Vancouver.

Three new business programs, a Co-Production Forum, Works-in-Progress and VIFF Slate, are intended to connect developing projects with mentors, producers and international partners.

A separate panel will examine the impact of artificial intelligence on filmmaking, music and publishing, with discussions around authorship, rights, ethics and the role of human creativity. Speakers include Vancouver-based technology executive Wilson Tang.