The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Festival Society, a provincially-registered non-profit and federally-registered charitable organization, which also runs the year-round programming of the Vancity Theatre and Studio Theatre at the VIFF Centre. Both in terms of admissions and number of films screened (133,000 and 324 respectively in 2016), VIFF is among the five largest film festivals in North America. The festival screens films annually from approximately 73 countries on 10 screens. The festival has three main programming platforms: East Asian film, Canadian film, and nonfiction films. Besides films from around the world, VIFF also includes talks, workshops, performances, and other special events related to cinema. History The festival was first launched in 1958; however, facing financial and organizational difficulties in the late 1960s, it was discontinued after the 1969 festival. The Greater Vancouver International Film Festival Society was incorporated in the early 1980s and relaunched the festival in its current form in 1982. In 2019, Member of Parliament Hedy Fry, chairwoman of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, announced that the Government of Canada would provide over $1.4 million in funding for that year's festival, as well as for cultural infrastructure upgrades to its main theatre. Venues The relaunched festival was staged entirely at the city's independent Ridge Theatre, although the festival has since expanded into a multi-venue event headquartered at the VIFF Centre in downtown Vancouver. The VIFF Centre hosts VIFF's year-round programming, workshops, special events and collaborates with local organizations for special events. Awards Festival awards (juried and audience-voted): Most Popular International Film National Film Board Award for Best Documentary Special Jury Prize Kyoto Planet "Climate for Change" Award Dragons and Tigers Award for Young Cinema Citytv Western Canadian Feature Film Award Women In Film and Television Vancouver Artistic Merit Award Rogers People's Choice Award International Film Guide Inspiration Award documentary Audience Award VIFF Most Popular Canadian Film Award VIFF Environmental Film Audience Award Super Channel People's Choice Award Ignite Award VIFF IMPACT Award BC Spotlight Awards Sea to Sky Award — a $20,000 cash prize awarded to one female key creative on a BC-produced feature or short. Best BC Film Award — $10,000 from Creative BC and $15,000 in post-production services credit supplied by Company 3. BC