November 1 is World Vegan Day, and the IVFF is celebrating over 80 years since the word "vegan" was coined to describe the distinct splinter faction of The Vegetarian Society and their newsletter.

The films in this program maintain a sensitivity to viewers who might otherwise be cautious about vegan films that depict the violent realities of our food and fashion industries -- safe for the tenderest of hearts, but come prepared to feel deeply for the animals on the screen!

Isn't it time for a vegan protagonist in a Hollywood-class comedy? Jo (Kate Nash, Netflix Original Glow) runs a vegan café and intends to compete in the World Barista Championships -- but comes into conflict with the rules of competition requiring her to use cow's milk for her latte foam art. (Also Sairose-Monica Jackson, Derry Girls, and Toby Sebastian, Game of Thrones)

This is the IVFF that we have known for eight years -- the compilation of the year's best vegan-themed short films. A gentle but deeply emotional examination of animals, people, lifestyles, and advocacy for a more compassionate and healthy world for all.

The relationship between human and non-human animals often seems a monolithic legacy of unequal benefit, yet a paradigm that is about to shift. People are seeing animals, bearing witness to our intolerable systems, and understanding speciesism in ways that are simultaneously as new as veganism and as old as our earliest writings about our fellow Earthlings.

2025 was a breakout year for feature-length films -- 23 of them across six categories. But there can be only one winner of the Vegan-Themed Feature Film category...and it will be screened at 3pm on Sunday, November 2.

After two days of deliberation, pitching, and solutioneering the systemic injustices that must be resolved to achieve a compassionate and safe living space for humanity, the participants of the 23rd Vegan Convergence of the People will be joining this special screening of projects that celebrate Climate Healers and their partners, including Plant Based Treaty and the Animal Save Movement. This will be an opportunity for Toronto to embrace our visitors whether they further the movement through films or vibrant volunterism.