The Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) is a

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

held annually in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

, in late September and early October. CIFF is the largest international film festival in Alberta and the sixth largest in Canada. The Festival's mission is "to entertain and engage audiences by curating the most innovative and compelling films, and creating remarkable festival experiences". In 2020, their festival screened 180 films including the world premiere of '' John Ware Reclaimed'', by Cheryl Foggo from the NFB.

Festival venues

As of September 2016, Calgary International Film Festival films were screened at the following venues in Calgary. Most are located in the downtown core, with several others in nearby neighbourhoods: *Globe Cinema *Eau Claire Market Cineplex *Theatre Junction GRAND * Jack Singer Concert Hall * National Music Centre (NMC) at Studio Bell * Telus SPARK

History

The festival began in 2000 with a screening of the locally produced film

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, and brought in an attendance of 8000 people over six days. Growing steadily over the years, in 2016, the festival welcomed 36,693 people to 211 films, shorts, and other industry events. In 2016, The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences named the CIFF a qualifying festival for the Best Animated Short Film and Live Action Short Film awards. CIFF Executive Director Steve Schroeder stated that the status was a “testament to the strength of CIFF’s short film section, and especially the talent of the filmmakers.” Since 2016, CIFF has made

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's annual list of “50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee, following their place on the list in 2009. The annually complied list provides a guide for independent filmmakers to inform them which festivals they should submit to and attend. In 2018, in collaboration with the

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, The Calgary Foundation and Rozsa Foundation, announced Generation Next. Generation Next is an innovative film program that aims to empower the youth perspective by working with high school students to select and watch films. CIFF celebrated its 18th edition, from September 20 to October 1, 2017 and welcomed over 40,000 people. For its 20th anniversary the festival showcased over 180 multi-genre films from Canada as well as 50 other countries and welcomed esteemed filmmakers,

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and

Jason Reitman Jason R. Reitman (; born October 19, 1977) is a Canadian-American actor and filmmaker, best known for directing the films '' Thank You for Smoking'' (2005), '' Juno'' (2007), '' Up in the Air'' (2009), '' Young Adult'' (2011), and '' Ghostbuste ...

for an In Conversation appearance. In 2020, their festival expanded to a hybrid model, offering in-cinema experiences and at-home streaming for audiences in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.

Film Sections

As is typical with film festivals, there are a number of different sections of films screened, with the films being grouped into series by genre or country of production. These are: Official Selection, Special Presentations, Alberta Spotlight, Generation Next, Emerging Canadian Narrative, Late Shift (horror/sci-fi/thrillers), International Narrative Competition, International Documentary, Canadian Documentary, and Short Films. Since 2016, the festival is an

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qualifier for short films. This means that the winner of the CIFF "Best of Shorts" award is eligible to be considered for an Academy Award. The festival places strong importance on local Albertan filmmakers, and much of its content is curated from the province. New in 2016, the Alberta Scene series includes an event titled ''Showcase Alberta'': in 2016, this was a screening of the 10th-season premiere of the CBC hit drama series

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. Hundreds of fans from all over the world visited Calgary for the event. In 2017, the festival did a Q&A with the cast and creator of the Alberta filmed show ''

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.''

Behind the Screen Guests

As part of their Behind the Screen section, the Calgary International Film Festival holds Q&A sessions, as well as opportunities to meet the film creators, in addition to the regular film screenings. Their 2020 festival guests include: *

Helen Shaver Helen Shaver (born February 24, 1951) is a Canadian actress and film and television director. She has received Emmy and Saturn Award nominations, among other honours. Early life Shaver was born and raised, with five sisters, in St. Thomas, Ont ...

Andrew Phung Andrew Phung is a Canadian actor, improviser, and comedian. He played the character Kimchee Han on the CBC Television sitcom ''Kim's Convenience''."A Convenience truth; Andrew Phung stars in new TV series about an Asian corner store". ''Ottawa C ...

Lawrence Kasdan Lawrence Edward Kasdan (born January 14, 1949) is an American filmmaker. He is the co-writer of the '' Star Wars'' films '' The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), '' Return of the Jedi'' (1983), '' The Force Awakens'' (2015), and '' Solo: A Star Wars ...

& Meg Kasdan * Creators and cast of

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(tv series) *

Steven T. Seagle Steven T. Seagle (born March 31, 1965) is an American writer who works in the comic book, television, film, live theater, video game and animation industries. He is best known for his graphic novel memoir '' It's a Bird...'' (Vertigo, May 2 ...

Finn Wolfhard Finn Wolfhard (born December 23, 2002) is a Canadian actor and musician. He gained recognition for playing Mike Wheeler (Stranger Things character), Mike Wheeler in the Netflix series ''Stranger Things'' (2016–present). His film roles include ...

* Aisling Chin-Lee * Ariel Nasr

Awards

At the 2020 festival, CIFF distributed $24,500 in cash prizes to feature and short filmmakers. * $10,000 CAD: RBC Emerging Canadian Artist Award * $5,000 CAD: DGC Best Canadian Documentary Award * $1,000 CAD: Best International Narrative Feature * $1,000 CAD: Best International Documentary Feature * $2,500 CAD: Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Short (Live-Action or Animated) * $1,000 CAD: Best Live Action Short Film Award * $1,000 CAD: Best Documentary Short Film Award * $1,000 CAD: Best Animated Short Film Award * $1,000 CAD: Best Alberta Short Film Award * $1,000 CAD: Best Student Short Film Award

Other events

In addition to hosting the Film Festival in the fall, CIFF hosts a monthly documentary series called Top Docs, a monthly International film series called, Global Perspectives, and a monthly Music on Screen series.

References

External links

Calgary International Film Festival Official Website
{{Coord, 51.045, -114.057, display=title Film festivals in Calgary Film festivals established in 2000 2000 establishments in Alberta