The interview took place between Steven Fan and Casey Wei, Short Forum Programmer for VIFF. It has been edited for length and clarity.

Casey: Hi, Steven.

Steven: Hi, Casey. I am a correspondent for CJSF. I believe you’re in charge of the Shorts process for VIFF. I really enjoy the shorts; watched one about the men bathing in a sauna.

Casey: Are you talking about this year's program? I believe you’re talking about Sauna Day?

Steven: Yes. I saw it, a couple days ago. In a screener. I saw a short a few years ago, I believe it was called Imay – about Filipina immigrants and their families. I believe there’s a sequel this year. But I really like the sauna one because it’s very aesthetic. It’s like a vignette. I find that super cool. I am really into, for example, Akira Kurosawa. I saw one of his late movies which was essentially a collection of vignettes. Anyways, please give the listener an introduction:

Casey: Yeah, the Shorts Forum is the inter Vancouver International Film Festival's shorts program. The previous years that I've been doing it, from 2022 to 2023, the shorts forum just concentrated on Canadian films. But this year, we combined the Canadian and the international shorts program to all be included in the Shorts Forum. So this year, there are 10 shorts programs, one playing every night starting the 27^th [of September – the day after VIFF opening]. It's just the best distillation of the short films that were submitted to VIFF; you know, over 3,000 shorts were submitted, and we selected 69. So it's just like the top 69 films, according to myself, the screening committee, and our consultants. These have been grouped together in a certain flow to create 10 programs.

Steven: How do you create these 10 programs?

Casey: Well, I don't program thematically. It's not like, this program's all about animals, or this program's all about love or whatever. But there are themes running through it. Like, the theme every year of any shorts program is like just the human experience, right? So every year, there is a certain Zeitgeist in the submissions we get; what filmmakers are responding to in the past year, or just what is happening psychically and energetically in the world, which is captured within their submissions.

Steven: Yeah.

Casey: It's our job to spread that throughout the program. Each program has its own vibe, its own flavour. And I think the best way to approach it – because for every short you can see, in our program guide or on our website, the title, directors, country of origin, and a short synopsis – which give you a sense of what it’s about without giving anything away. Because I think one of the best things about a short film is like its ability to surprise you in in such a limited amount of time. So to get a sense of like what each program is like, the best way is to just to check it out, do a little research before coming in; or just trust in the programmer, myself – trust in myself and our team and pick your favourite number out of 1 to 10. And then give it a try!

Steven: For sure.

Casey: I was doing another interview and the host suggested – and this is not how I program btw – but he said, if one film doesn't strike me the right way, I know it's gonna be over in 10 minutes. So it's not the same investment as a feature film. I certainly don't program with that in mind, and I really do feel like very strongly about the quality of the films we selected. But do put a little trust in the programming and the programming team when you're taking on shorts, deciding to get that ticket, to watch it. Because it is different from a feature, right? A feature is so much more, it's more investment, the payoff is longer and, you know, you could start watching a feature film in a theatre 20 minutes in, and you could hate it. But you could also love it all the way through because of the director or something. So yeah, shorts are very different, a very different experience.

Steven: Wonderful. Next question: what do you find most rewarding about shorts?

Casey: That's a good question. I mean, it's kind of grueling – every year I always watch more films than I did the previous year. This year I watched a thousand short films. It sounds insane, but I really did that. And it’s a process where, as a critic – as someone who has the responsibility of selecting the best, I don't feel anything most of the time. I'll watch 10 shorts that are all really well done and feel like, you know, I'm not emotionally responding to anything and then I feel there must be something wrong with me. Because I see the other previewer’s notes and it’s like “this one was great. Like this character was so moving.” And I would be like “this is fine.” But then when I think I'm being too harsh, I'll see the 11^th film [after that 10^th film] that just stirs something in me. And then I'll be like, okay, I'm not dead inside. Like I just have a higher tolerance. So there's a really high threshold. All my friends are like “you don't like anything, you don't like any film.” I'm like, that's not true. I've just been trained to have a higher threshold, right? So there's that element.

Steven: Yes.

Casey: I think it's very much heightened my sense of like what I like and what is good. And this is why I'm a programmer who works with a group of people, consultants, in a team. So that we have a conversation, back and forth. Because I know my way of like seeing things and my way of grading everything, it's just totally subjective. But at the same time, having said that, after seeing a thousand films, I do feel like every year I get a sense of what the what the world – the word of shorts filmmakers – what they’re thinking about, how they're responding to the same kind of global issues that I'm seeing on the news. And I know you said at the beginning, ‘the medium is the message’ – how these works are end results of the journeys people are going through to create culture. And how that how that culture helps us speak to each other. What I get to do is program the Shorts Forum, which is now both Canadian and international films. And then get to use these short films as pieces in kind of representation of what's happening around in the world, year by year. It's such an amazing thing to get to do.

Steven: Oh yes.

Casey: And it's such an amazing thing to get to look back on. For example, in 2023, so many people in Canada – because I only programmed the Canadian shorts that year – were thinking about like parenting and having babies. And birds for some reason.

Steven: Incredible.

Casey: There were so many films submitted that year that were about birds. And then in 2024, Canadian films and international films, they're thinking about going to the moon. They're thinking about not parenting, about not having kids. They're thinking about abortion, and they're thinking about donkeys. So it's really strange, these sort of like patterns that come up.

Steven: Indeed.

Casey: And it's really, you know, that's like the favorite part of my job. Just being able to kind of see and observe and take in what's happening in the world, through the medium of short film.

Steven: For sure. But it's funny that you mentioned kind of this, being a professional curator, critic. I feel that in my day job as well. My friends would come to me like, hey this is amazing. And I would be like, this is garbage. So I totally get that. And it's normal. It’s especially normally if you’re good at your job. Because if you are in fact, impressed with every other thing comes across your desk – you’re not your job well and not doing it correctly. And it’s an amazing thing. A friend of mine – who is a little more cultured than I am – he was talking about a book called The World of Yesteryear (Die von Gestern) by Stefan Zweig. And it talks about the world of Austria-Hungary in the years leading up to the First World War. And one of the things you see is how incredible, being able to observe these cross-currents of the culture is.

Casey: Mhm.

Steven: And I just kind of want to close on a more personal question, really for me personally. I enjoyed Sauna Day – given this, what do you think I should watch?

Casey: You should just check out all of Program 8 because Sauna Day plays in Program 8. And I would describe that program that's very like soft and sensuous and like not so explicitly narrative. A bit more going off a vibe. So if you enjoyed Sauna Day, I think you will enjoy the other films in that program as well.

Steven: I'm a vibes guy, so that's perfect. I will check it out. Thank you so much, Casey.

Casey: Thank you, Steven.

S.F.