By Julian-Ray Fortaleza
Another year, another Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) worth celebrating. The 45th edition ran from October 1 to 11, bringing filmmakers and movie lovers together for 11 days of cinema from around the world. With international features, documentaries and independent productions, VIFF 2026 offered plenty of reasons to spend time in a theatre.
This year’s lineup included The Debut, directed by Jesse Eisenberg and starring Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti, which opened the festival, and Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine, featuring John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell, which closed it. Other highlights included Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Love, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s All of a Sudden and I Play Rocky. Canadian documentaries such as Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney, Run Terry Run and Man in Motion: The Rick Hansen Story also explored notable figures and stories from the country’s history.
But some of my most memorable experiences came from films closer to home.
First Comes Love: Nakabingwit
One of my biggest highlights was First Comes Love: Nakabingwit, the feature debut of Vancouver filmmaker Joella Cabalu. The hybrid documentary follows three Filipina-white couples navigating interracial relationships, exploring race, class, colourism and cultural differences while finding humour and tenderness in the realities of building a life together.
The film’s world premiere on October 3 at SFU Woodward’s was a sellout, with cast and crew in attendance. At the start of the screening, I recorded a clip of the audience participating in “isang bagsak” and posted it afterward. That post led to an interaction with Joella on Instagram, making the experience even more memorable.
Nakabingwit went on to have three scheduled screenings during VIFF, on October 3, 7 and 10, with the final screening at Alliance Française Vancouver listed as standby.
Beyond its successful festival run, the film is an important contribution to Filipino-Canadian cinema. Its stories are rooted in specific cultural experiences, but its questions about identity, belonging and love are universal. Cabalu has created a film that makes audiences laugh while encouraging them to reflect on the assumptions that shape relationships.
Seeing a local filmmaker receive this kind of response was one of the festival’s most rewarding moments.
Pocket Mirror
Another standout was Pocket Mirror, a local British Columbia production that premiered at VIFF. Some films stay with you long after you leave the theatre, and this was one of them for me.
Its ending, especially, has stuck with me in a way I was not expecting. Without giving anything away, it left me thinking about the film well after the credits rolled. That lingering feeling is one of the reasons I love film festivals: sometimes, you discover something unexpectedly that stays with you for days.
Between Pocket Mirror and the community celebration surrounding Nakabingwit, VIFF offered experiences that went beyond simply watching movies.
Ultimately, that is what makes the festival worthwhile. VIFF brings major international productions to Vancouver while making room for emerging filmmakers and stories rooted in our own communities.
Whether discovering an unexpected favourite, witnessing a sold-out local premiere or experiencing a film whose ending refuses to leave your mind, VIFF 2026 gave me plenty to remember.
Another successful year at VIFF, and another reminder of why I keep coming back.
Leave a Reply