VICTORIA -- The annual Victoria Film Festival will proceed as planned next month with a ticketed, online-only event amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 27th edition of the festival will feature 50 full-length films and 23 shorts, streamed online over 10 days from Feb 5 to Feb. 14.

While there will be no in-person gatherings associated with VFF 2021, organizers say the popular filmmaker Q&A sessions will still be available online to ticketholders.

The festival will feature the Canadian premiere of The Secret Garden, an adaptation of the classic novel of the same name, starring Colin Firth. The festival also features All-in Madonna, a Vancouver Island production from local filmmaker Arnold Lim.

International entries include Agnes Joy (Iceland), Charter (Sweden), and Once Upon a Time in Venezuela (Venezuela).

The festival’s full program guide is available here.

Tickets for the festival are $8 per film or an all-access pass for $79. The festival is open to audiences across British Columbia and all films can be streamed at any time over the 10 days of the festival.

"We are thrilled to be able to share an inclusive and far-reaching selection of films that celebrates diverse filmmakers, stories, and experiences,” says head programmer Kinga Binkowska. “I think everyone will find something they will absolutely fall in love with."

More information on the festival is available here.