Canadian Film Festival

The Canadian Film Festival, formerly known as the Canadian Filmmakers Festival, is an annual film festival in Toronto, Ontario.[1] Showcasing a program of Canadian independent films,[2] it is held in March of each year and usually runs for five days.

Canadian Film Fest
LocationToronto, Ontario, Canada
Founded2004
LanguageEnglish
Websitewww.canfilmfest.ca

The festival was launched in 2004, and ran annually until 2008 at the Royal Cinema.[3] Although not staged between 2009 and 2011, it was relaunched in 2012 and has run annually since.[4] The festival has been staged at the Scotiabank Theatre since 2017.[5]

The festival was formed in association with the Toronto International Film Festival Group, but operates independently of TIFF. It serves commonly, but not exclusively, as the Toronto premiere venue for films which premiered elsewhere on the Canadian or international film festival circuits in the previous year but have not yet screened in Toronto, although it also serves as the premiere venue for some films.

The 2020 festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada; instead, the organizers partnered with the pay TV service Super Channel to provide television and streaming broadcasts of the films that had been slated to screen at the festival.[6] With the pandemic continuing into 2021, festival organizers again partnered with Super Channel to present the 2021 edition of the festival under the same model.[7]

Award for Best Feature Film
Year Film Director Ref
2004ExpirationGavin Heffernan
2005The OverlookersChristopher Warre Smets[8]
2006The End of SilenceAnita Doron[9]
2007The Zero SumRaphael Assaf
2008The Last Hit ManChristopher Warre Smets[8]
2012A Little Bit ZombieCasey Walker[10]
2013The Storm Within (Rouge sang)Martin Doepner[11]
2014Patch TownCraig Goodwill[12]
2015Ben's at HomeMars Horodyski[13]
2016How to Plan an Orgy in a Small TownJeremy Lalonde[14]
2017Great Great GreatAdam Garnet Jones[15]
2018The Drawer BoyArturo Pérez Torres[16]
2019The Dancing Dogs of DombrovaZack Bernbaum[17]
2020Shoot to MarrySteve Markle[18]
2021Sugar DaddyWendy Morgan[19]
2022CarmenValerie Buhagiar[20]
2023BabysitterMonia Chokri[21]

Films

Features

Shorts
  • Divorce Photographer — Christine Buijs
  • Dude, Where's My Ferret? — Alison Parker
  • Duty Calls — Jackie English
  • The Floaters — Nick Wilson
  • Flung — Christopher Warre Smets
  • The Girl Next Door — Peter Mabrucco
  • Julia Julep — Alana Cymerman
  • Keystone — Ian Foster
  • Looking for Today — Dylan Rayne Fitzgerald
  • Onto Us — Natty Zavitz
  • Pit — Jonathan Steckley
  • Shavasana — Ian Macmillan
  • Static — Tanya Lemke
  • Synapse Dance — Karen Suzuki
  • Winter Hymns — Dusty Mancinelli
  • Worst.Day.Ever. — Adam Goldhammer

Features

Shorts
  • A.O.K. — Aris Athanasopoulos
  • The Bakebook — Suri Parmar
  • The Cameraman — Connor Gaston
  • Come Back — Hannah Anderson, Aidan Shipley
  • Companionship — Zachary Ramelan, Alex Loubert
  • Farm Is a Four-Letter Word — Ryan Couldrey
  • Grocery Store Action Movie — Matthew Campbell
  • I Love You So Much It's Killing Them — Joel Ashton McCarthy
  • Magic Mushrooms — Sean Wainsteim
  • Milk — Winnifred Jong
  • Parent, Teacher — Roman Tchjen
  • Rainfall — Efehan Elbi
  • She Came Knocking — John Ainslie
  • Sleeping In — Denis Dulude
  • Sunny Side Up — Caitlin Dosa
  • Time Out — Navin Ramaswaran
  • Tuesday, 10:08 a.m. — Thomas Pepper, Jane Tattersall
  • Ways to Water — Kit Weyman
  • Welcome Stranger — Brit Kewin

Features

Shorts
  • As Long As It Takes (Le temps qu'il faut) — Abeille Tard
  • Before the Day — Paul McGillion
  • Breathing Through a Straw — Leigh Rivenbark
  • Cancel the Fucking Internet — Ryan Kayet
  • The Catch — Holly Brace-Lavoie
  • C.P.R. — Clara Altimas
  • Dinette — Christopher Lazar
  • Emmy — Hannah Cheesman
  • Friends on Facebook — Chris Ross
  • Game — Joy Webster
  • Good Hands — Lauren Vandenbrook
  • I Love You More — Kevin Hartford
  • The Last Goodbye — James Benda
  • Martin's Hagge — Penny Eizenga
  • Must Kill Karl — Joe Kicak
  • Newborn — Ray Savaya
  • Prom Night — Samantha MacAdam
  • Purl — Ian Macmillan
  • Slap Happy — Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Dusty Mancinelli
  • The Things You Think I'm Thinking — Sherren Lee

Features
  • Creep Nation — John Geddes
  • The Dancing Dogs of Dombrova — Zack Bernbaum
  • Honey Bee — Rama Rau
  • Nose to Tail — Jesse Zigelstein
  • Nowhere — Thomas Michael
  • Pond Life — Gord Rand
  • Red Rover — Shane Belcourt
  • This Is North Preston — Jaren Hayman
  • Wolves Unleashed: Against All Odds — Andrew Simpson

Shorts
  • Among the Soil — Francis Luta
  • Be My Guest — David Jermyn
  • Brave Little Army — Michelle D’Alessandro Hatt
  • Case of the Massey Bodice Ripping — Karen Knox
  • Christmas Green — Clara Altimas
  • Claire — Spencer Ryerson
  • Darkside — Erin Carter, Sam Coyle
  • The Desolation Prize — Shane Day
  • Dotage — Cat Hostick
  • Duck Duck Goose — Shelley Thompson
  • Engaged to be Engaged — Joseph Covello
  • Hang Up! — Richard Powell
  • Home in Time — Patrick Hagarty
  • I Beat Up My Rapist — Katrina Saville
  • Keep Coming Back — Brendan Brady
  • Moon Dog — Chala Hunter
  • No. 3: In the Absence of Angels — Camille Hollett-French
  • One Leg In, One Leg Out — Lisa Rideout
  • The Riveters — Kate Felix
  • A Snake Marked — Juan Riedinger
  • Screaming on the Inside — Salar Pashtoonyar
  • Shuttlecock — Melanie Jones
  • Spatss! — Régis Loisel
  • Spooning — Rebecca Applebaum
  • Take Your Mark — Scott Cavalheiro
  • Terminally in Love — Emily Jenkins, Justin Black
  • This Is Not a Drill — Ravi Steve
  • With You Always — Angela Besharah
  • Woman in Stall — Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Dusty Mancinelli

Awards
  • Best Feature: The Dancing Dogs of Dombrova[17]
  • Best Short: Terminally in Love[17]
  • William F. White Reel Canadian Indie: Honey Bee[17]
  • People's Pick: Wolves Unleashed: Against All Odds[17]
  • DGC Ontario Best Director: Zack Bernbaum, The Dancing Dogs of Dombrova[17]
  • ReTake Furniture Rentals Best Set and Production Design: Terminally in Love[17]
  • Best Actor in a Feature: Aaron Abrams, Nose to Tail[17]
  • Best Actor in a Short: Krista Morin, Spooning[17]
  • Achievement in Documentary Filmmaking: Wolves Unleashed: Against All Odds[17]
  • Best Short, Honorable Mention: No. 3: In the Absence of Angels
  • Harold Greenberg Script Competition: Stephen Sloot, Harold Doesn't Die[17]

Features

Shorts
  • 8+ Weeks — Mike Mildon
  • 20:12 — Kevin Champagne Lessard
  • 20 Minutes to Life — Veronika Kurz
  • Age of Dysphoria — Jessica Petelle
  • Along the Water's Edge — Jonathan Elliott
  • The Bear and the Beekeeper — Kristina Mileska
  • Because One Day — Aref Mahabadi
  • Blue in Hollywood — James Gangl
  • Buzzard — Joy Webster
  • Chubby — Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Dusty Mancinelli
  • Death of the Party — Melanie Jones
  • Everyone's Leaving Us — Jessie Gabe
  • For the Best — Madeline Wahl
  • Heart Bomb (Une bombe au cœur) — Rémi St-Michel
  • Hypernova — Tate Young
  • Joey — Jessica Hinkson, Laura Nordin
  • Liminal — Dan Abramovici
  • Plush — Anna Jane Edmonds
  • Pressure Play — Eric Bizzarri
  • The Red Bicycle — Fazila Amiri
  • Shoegazer — Isa Benn
  • Stealing from Stoners — Cameron LaPrairie, Brett Morton
  • Swimmers — Chris Ross
  • Tips — Mercedes Papalia
  • You Too, Chuckles — Kevin Hartford

Unscreened

Several films had been planned for the festival lineup, but were not able to be screened due to the shift from physical to broadcast screening. However, the films were still screened for the jury, and remained eligible for the festival awards.

  • All About Who You Know — Jake Horowitz
  • Nail in the Coffin: The Fall and Rise of Vampiro — Michael Paszt
  • Unidentified Woman — Katrina Saville
  • You Hired a Hitman — Ravi Steve

Awards
  • Best Feature - Shoot to Marry[18]
  • William F White Reel Canadian Indie - Queen of the Morning Calm[18]
  • Best Short - Liminal[18]
  • ReTAKE Best Set Design - The Bear and the Beekeeper
  • DGC Ontario’s Best Director - Gloria Ui Young Kim, Queen of the Morning Calm[18]
  • Best Breakout Performance - Maya Harman, Chubby; Eponine Lee, Queen of the Morning Calm[18]
  • Editing - Nail in the Coffin
  • Best New Voice - Isa Benn, Shoegazer[18]
  • Cinematography - François Messier-Rheault, Heart Bomb (Une bombe au cœur)
  • Best Music - Alex Bird, Because One Day

Features

Shorts
  • 1978 — Hamza Bangash
  • Acting Out — Jean-Sébastien Beaudoin-Gagnon
  • Ain't No Time for Women (Y'a pas d'heure pour les femmes) — Sarra El Abed
  • Aniksha — Vincent Toi
  • Bad Omen — Salar Pashtoonyar
  • Birdie — Alexandre Lefebvre
  • Breakout — Kevin Hartford
  • Clothing (Les vêtements) — Caroline Blais
  • Danica's Mom — Kennedy Kao
  • The First Goodbye — Ali Mashayekhi
  • The Flexed Arm Hang — Findlay Brown
  • Girls Shouldn't Walk Alone at Night (Les filles ne marchent pas seules la nuit) — Katerine Martineau
  • Goodbye Golovin — Mathieu Grimard
  • Inuit Languages of the 21st Century — Ulivia Uviluk
  • Just for the Record — Vojin Vasovic
  • The Kall — Barbara Mamabolo
  • Mister Cachemire (Monsieur Cachemire) — Iouri Philippe Paillé
  • Moon (Lune) — Zoé Pelchat
  • Nothing Pretty Here (Rien de beau ici) — Gabrielle Vigneault-Gendron
  • Of Memory and Debris (De memoria y escombros) — Rodrigo Michelangeli
  • Otanimm-Onnimm (Father/Daughter) — Neko Wong-Houle, Terrance Houle
  • The Pond, at Night (L'Étang, la nuit) — Olivia Boudreau
  • The Room — Sami Mermer, Houman Zolfaghari
  • Roseline Like in the Movies — Sara Bourdeau
  • The Sky is Blue, Katlhoum — Darani Urgessa
  • The Trip — Mikizi Migona Papatie
  • Wish — Ingrid Veninger
  • With Feeling — Gillian McKercher
  • The World to Come — Josh Fagen

Awards
  • Best Feature - Sugar Daddy[19]
  • EDA Foundation Best Producer - Salar Pashtoonyar, Bad Omen[19]
  • Best Short - Jean-Sébastien Beaudoin-Gagnon, Acting Out[19]
  • DGC Ontario Best Director - Wendy Morgan, Sugar Daddy[19]
  • ReTAKE Furniture Rental Best Set Design - White Elephant[19]
  • William F. White Reel Canadian Indie - Events Transpiring Before, During, and After a High School Basketball Game[19]
  • Best Ensemble - White Elephant[19]
  • Best Music - Marie-Hélène L. Delorme, Sugar Daddy[19]
  • Best Performance - Kelly McCormack, Sugar Daddy[19]
  • Best Director (Short) - Katerine Martineau, Girls Shouldn't Walk Alone at Night[19]
  • Best Performance, Female (Short) - Joanie Martel, Moon (Lune)[19]
  • Best Performance, Male (Short) - Éric Bernier, Mister Cachemire (Monsieur Cachemire)[19]
  • Breakout Performance (Short) - Amaryllis Tremblay, Girls Shouldn't Walk Alone at Night[19]
  • Best Screenplay - Samuel Cartin, Mister Cachemire (Monsieur Cachemire)[19]

Features

Shorts
  • Ahu's Journal — Weeda Azim
  • Aska — Clara Milo
  • Beast — Benjamin Nicolas
  • Bleach — Mattias Graham
  • Decomposing — Nessa Aref
  • Defund — Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah, Araya Mengesha
  • Feeling the Apocalypse — Chen Sing Yap
  • fufu — Omolola Ajao
  • god@mail.com — Roger Gariépy
  • I Hate You — Taylor Olson, Koumbie
  • In the Fray — Allyson Glenn
  • In the Jam Jar — Colin Nixon
  • Joutel — Alexa-Jeanne Dubé
  • Mimine — Simon Laganière
  • Not My Age — Kaitlyn Lee
  • Nuisance Bear — Jack Weisman, Gabriela Osio Vanden
  • On the Fence — Paula Ner Dormiendo
  • Opération Carcajou — Nicolas Krief
  • Proximity — Jamie Miller
  • Rent Do — Gavin Michael Booth
  • See You, Garbage! (Au plaisir les ordures!) — Romain Dumont
  • The Eternal Chaos of Allan Andre — Stephane Mukunzi
  • The Future Innu (L'Innu du futur) — Stéphane Nepton
  • Things We Feel But Do Not Say — Lauren Grant
  • Trophy — Sandra Coppola
  • We Don't Need Your Kind — Kennedy Kao
  • White Rose — Marilou Caravecchia-Pelletier
  • Woodpecker — Kevin T. Landry

Awards
  • Best Feature - Carmen
  • Best Short - See You, Garbage!
  • DGC Ontario Best Director - Marie Geneviève Chabot, Beneath the Surface
  • ReTAKE Furniture Rental Best Set Design - The Noise of Engines
  • William F. White Reel Canadian Indie - Ashgrove
  • Best Ensemble - Ashgrove
  • Best Music - Tenzin
  • Best Breakthrough Performance - Tenzin Kelsang, Tenzin
  • Best Producer (Short) - Asad Chaudhry, On the Fence
  • Best Acting Ensemble (Short) - I Hate You
  • Best Cinematography (Short) - Sam Holling, Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman, Nuisance Bear

Features

Shorts
  • Alex — Aisha Evelyna
  • Amani — Alliah Fafin
  • Bach Ma — Darlene Huynh
  • Call Me Daddy — Amanda de Souza
  • Corvine — Sean McCarron
  • Desi Standard Time Travel — Kashif Pasta
  • The English Teacher — Jeremy James Fokuoh
  • Everything Will Be All Right — Farhad Pakdel
  • Fursona — Alyssia Labbé-Hervieux
  • Great Seeing You — Holly Pruner
  • Junior's Giant — Paula Brancati
  • Majboor-E-Mamool — Haaris Qadri
  • Menace — Joy Webster
  • Momma's Boy — Sonny Atkins
  • No Bedroom — Ryan Leedu
  • October 5th — Lily Labelle
  • Quiet Minds Silent Streets — Karen Chapman
  • Rachel and Raha — Nedda Sarshar
  • Shallots and Garlic — Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto
  • Sissy — Caleb Harwood, Simon Paluck
  • Soap — Lulu Wei
  • The Temple — Alain Fournier
  • There Are No Children Here — Shehrezade Mian
  • There Was Nothing — Alexandre Lavigne
  • The Untouchable — Avazeh Shahnavaz

Awards
  • Best Feature - Babysitter[23]
  • Best Short - Menace[23]
  • DGC Ontario Best Director - Adrian Murray, Retrograde[23]
  • ReTAKE Furniture Rental Best Set Design - Babysitter[23]
  • William F. White Reel Canadian Indie - Bloom (Jouvencelles)[23]
  • Best Screenplay - How to Get Your Parents to Divorce (Pas d'chicane dans ma cabane!)[23]
  • Best Ensemble - How to Get Your Parents to Divorce (Pas d'chicane dans ma cabane!)[23]
  • People's Pick for Best Flick - Polarized[23]
  • Best Documentary Short - Quiet Minds Silent Streets[23]
  • Best Performance - Eric Peterson, Junior's Giant[23]
  • Best Breakthrough Performance - Cassandra Paige, No Bedroom[23]
  • Best Producer (Short) - Shyam Valera, Desi Standard Time Travel[23]
  • Best Acting Ensemble (Short) - The Untouchable[23]
  • Best Cinematography (Short) - There Was Nothing[23]
  • Old logo before the name change
    Old logo before the name change

References
  1. James Adams, "'It's more than just a festival. It's a cause.'". The Globe and Mail, March 24, 2008.
  2. "The Canadian Film Festival levels up and embraces Filth". Now, March 20, 2017.
  3. "Canadian Film Fest presents ...: A patriotic showcase of movie talent in new features, docs and shorts plus a host of panels, parties and other special events at the Royal". Toronto Star, March 25, 2016.
  4. "Everyday's a good day for a film fest". National Post, March 23, 2012.
  5. "Film Fest opens for patriotic moviegoers". Toronto Star, March 17, 2017.
  6. "Postponed Canadian Film Fest finds new home on Super Channel". Canadian Press, April 20, 2020.
  7. Norman Wilner, "Canadian Film Fest announces 2021 lineup, will stream on Super Channel". Now, March 9, 2021.
  8. "Scriptwriter shoots from the heart with Hit Man screenplay". Streeter, July 16, 2008.
  9. Chris Knight, "Good location comes with the territory". National Post, June 27, 2006.
  10. Graham Lanktree (April 28, 2012). "Ottawa gets A Little Bit Zombie". metronews.ca. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012.
  11. Charles-Henri Ramond, "Rouge sang: deux prix à Toronto". Films du Québec, March 25, 2013.
  12. Juliana Cummins, "Patch Town takes best feature prize at 2014 CFF". Playback, March 25, 2014.
  13. Etan Vlessing, "Ben’s at Home heads to Pacific Northwest Pictures for Canada". Playback, March 30, 2015.
  14. Regan Reid, "Canadian Film Fest announces 2016 winners". Playback, April 4, 2016.
  15. Regan Reid, "Great Great Great picks up CFF best feature". Playback, March 27, 2017.
  16. Lauren Malyk, "CFF ’18: The Drawer Boy, Luba score top prizes". Playback, March 26, 2018.
  17. Jordan Pinto, "The Dancing Dogs of Dombrova wins best feature at CFF". Playback, March 25, 2019.
  18. Debra Yeo, "Documentary ‘Shoot to Marry’ and feature ‘Queen of the Morning Calm’ win Canadian Film Fest awards". Toronto Star, June 8, 2020.
  19. "Sugar Daddy CFF Winner". Northern Stars, April 19, 2021.
  20. "Maltese film Carmen gets best feature award in Canadian Film Fest". Times of Malta, April 5, 2022.
  21. Kelly Townsend, "Babysitter wins Best Feature at 2023 Canadian Film Fest". Playback, April 3, 2023.
  22. Liam Lacey, "The Canadian Film Festival: Films by emerging Canadian filmmakers find a second-time-around pandemic home on Super Channel". Original Cin, April 1, 2021.
  23. Kelly Townsend, "Babysitter wins Best Feature at 2023 Canadian Film Fest". Playback, April 3, 2023.
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