The Debut VIFF 2026 Opening Gala Special Presentations
Tickets
On sale viff.org
About
The Vancouver International Film Festival is honoured to open our 45th edition with this special screening of The Debut, an outstanding new comedy written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg.
When she uncharacteristically auditions for a local musical production on a whim, Mona (Julianne Moore), a meek, middle-aged housewife with zero stage experience, is taken under the wing of Jerry (Paul Giamatti), the “biggest name in New Jersey community theatre.” As he works to shake her out of her self-conscious shell, questions arise about where vision ends — and sadism begins. Meanwhile, as Mona comes to fully inhabit her character, she grows increasingly untethered from reality.
In turns emotionally honest and utterly outlandish, the latest directorial effort from Jesse Eisenberg (who also supplied the tunes for the musical-within-the-movie) manages to both send up the self-importance that flourishes at the lower rungs of the theatre world, while genuinely celebrating the self-actualization that can occur under the spotlight’s glow. One of the year’s most biting satires, The Debut nevertheless boasts endless affection for its cast of misfits.
Please note that this is a private, by-invitation event. Tickets may be made available to the public at a later date.
Presented by
When she uncharacteristically auditions for a local musical production on a whim, Mona (Julianne Moore), a meek, middle-aged housewife with zero stage experience, is taken under the wing of Jerry (Paul Giamatti), the “biggest name in New Jersey community theatre.” As he works to shake her out of her self-conscious shell, questions arise about where vision ends — and sadism begins. Meanwhile, as Mona comes to fully inhabit her character, she grows increasingly untethered from reality.
In turns emotionally honest and utterly outlandish, the latest directorial effort from Jesse Eisenberg (who also supplied the tunes for the musical-within-the-movie) manages to both send up the self-importance that flourishes at the lower rungs of the theatre world, while genuinely celebrating the self-actualization that can occur under the spotlight’s glow. One of the year’s most biting satires, The Debut nevertheless boasts endless affection for its cast of misfits.
Please note that this is a private, by-invitation event. Tickets may be made available to the public at a later date.
Presented by
