VIFF 2025 | 'Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie' Orbits the Past

"This is gonna be a copyright nightmare!"

Vancouver International Film Festival

VIFF 2025—BlackBerry director Matt Johnson revisits his well-loved but little-seen Toronto mockumentary television comedy, first a web series and then a short-lived cult Viceland sitcom, in the hilarious and aptly named Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie. Essentially an out-and-out ripoff and possible copyright violation of Back to the Future, Johnson and his real-life friend and longtime collaborator, film composer Jay McCarrol, play fictionalized, unsuccessful musician versions of themselves, desperate to play a gig at the historic Rivoli nightclub with no real plan.

Framed as an extended episode of their series where they plan some wild scheme with the same goal of booking a show at the music venue, things quickly go awry after a wildly filmed stunt involving skydiving off the CN Tower onto the Rogers Centre (aka the SkyDome). Nirvanna the Band the Show and its predecessor were known for their reality-based, improvised style, where the duo films on the streets using hidden cameras and interacting with real people unaware of what's going on.

First conceived in 2017, there are some impressive scenes of dual versions of the two with the aged, older contemporary actors interacting with their younger selves in an attempt to alter or "fix" their future selves. It's a well-worn time-hopping concept done in fresh, new ways with plenty of in-jokes about how far we have or have not come as a society that surprisingly revolves around the long-defunct, Canadian novelty soft drink, Orbitz.

Johnson and McCarrol have made another outrageous but loving tribute to their friendship, home city of Toronto, and film culture. Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie pulls off a silly, punk rock comedy about fame, the joys of companionship, and the journey instead of the (Canadian) destination. After seventeen years, the zany premise and pair's ridiculously gonzo antics play even better than ever as they stretch the mileage of their chemistry.

Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie screened at the 2025 Vancouver International Film Festival as part of the Special Presentations series at the Rio Theatre. It will embark on a fourteen-city live tour with Johnson and McCarrol in attendance, including another post-VIFF stop at the Rio Theatre on November 10th.


More | YVArcade / CBC / Exclaim / Indiewire / POV