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Detours Ahead

A young woman embarking on a road trip watches the landscape transform from idyllic and blissful to cold and unwelcoming. She struggles with independence and self-reliance while moving through the harsh landscape. It all comes to a head when she strikes a deer – she reckons with her grief and moves on.

Esther Cheung

Esther Cheung is a filmmaker and animator from Toronto, Canada. Her directorial debut, In Passing, is an award-winning short that screened in over 50 festivals worldwide. She is known for her poetic approach to story and is inspired by her relationship with place. Detours Ahead is her second film.

Presented as Part Of Virtual – From Dreamscapes to Disruptions to Disassociation Virtual Animation Program

Dream in the Water

Memories of the past. No matter how many times I draw it, no matter how many layers I add, one after the other...
7 min | Yifan Jiang | | North American Premiere | Japanese | English
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Unblending

For people living with structural dissociation, falling asleep can be a very challenge thing – a time when m...
2 min | Michelle Ku | | No dialogue | .
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Every Day Is a Good Day

In Vancouver, there’s a large Chinese community that is full of different backgrounds and cultural nuances. ...
2 min | Kimberley Yip, Sonia Yau, Wendi Ma | | World Premiere | Chinese, English
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So Be It

While celebrating her friend’s engagement, Sera is criticized by her mother for her lack of a love life. Ser...
5 min | Pritty Wang | | Online Premiere | English
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Around the Kitchen Table 围绕这厨房桌子

围绕这厨房桌子: Around the Kitchen Table is a hand-painted animated short that celebrates the daily rit...
19 min | Wen Wen Lu | | World Premiere | No dialogue
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Embrace the Moon

Inspired by the traditional art of Chinese shadow puppetry, Embrace the Moon follows the Moon Goddess who fall...
5 min | Katrina Pleasance | | Vancouver Premiere | English (No dialogue) | English
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In Vain

Zach, being the last fugitive of the city’s resistance against an entity’s tyranny, signals for help. His ...
6 min | Heron Cheung | | Canadian Premiere | English
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Pocket Princess

In this dark stop-motion fairytale of metamorphosis, childhood, and claiming one’s bodily agency through ima...
10 min | Olivia Loccisano | | BC Premiere | English
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Coastal Community Centre’s Fluffy Friend

Coastal Community Centre’s Fluffy Friend is an animated short student film where an adorably mysterious, flu...
2 min | Hannah Sy | | BC Premiere | English
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Dragonfly

Komoro, Japan, 1956. 10-year-old Sumiko chases a red dragonfly through her family’s farm while her mother, Y...
14 min | Julia Morizawa | | Canadian Premiere | English
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Credits
Esther Cheung
FeatureD on

Festival passes

This year, VAFF FESTIVAL, screening programs in person and virtual will be organized into various series in order to better highlight the diverse content in our festival. These Series include Spotlight Series, Documentary Features Series, Narrative Features Series, Westcoast Shorts Series, Canadian Shorts Series, International Short Series, Animation Series, VAFF Industry Insight Series and Special Events.

vaff28 venues

Cineplex Odeon International Village Cinemas

88 W Pender St 3rd floor, Vancouver, BC V6B 6N9

Cineplex Odeon International Village Cinemas

88 W Pender St 3rd floor, Vancouver, BC V6B 6N9