#FIRSTLOOK: 2024 CANADIAN FILM FEST LINEUP ANNOUNCEMENT

Canadian Film Fest (CFF) presented by Super Channel, the indie-spirited festival dedicated to celebrating Canadian filmmakers, today announced its lineup for the 2024 edition. New this year, CFF is extending the Festival to six days and expanding its shorts programming by screening six dedicated Homegrown Shorts programs, including a spotlight on Toronto filmmakers. CFF will return to Cineplex’s Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto, showcasing 11 features and 45 shorts and will take place March 18 – 23, 2024. Tickets go on sale March 4 and can be purchased at canfilmfest.ca.

CFF will transport cinefiles across Canada with feature films from Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia. The Festival will kick off with Ian Harnarine’s Doubles, executive produced by Spike Lee, about a Trinidadian street vendor who travels to Toronto to decide if he will help save his estranged father from dying. The film is adapted from Ian’s acclaimed short Doubles with Slight Pepper, which won Best Canadian Short Film at TIFF 2011 and Best Live Action Short Drama at the 2012 CSAs. Other festival highlights include Audrey Cummings’ Western Place of Bones starring Heather Graham and Tom Hopper about a bank robbery gone wrong in 1876; Anna Fahr’s compelling Valley of Exile, about two sisters seeking refuge in Lebanon after fleeing their home during the Syrian civil war; Winnipeg director Sean Garrity’s moving film The Burning Season chronicling an affair unfolding backwards in a reverse narrative; and the deeply personal documentary WaaPake (Tomorrow) where director Dr. Jules Arita Koostachin shares the impact and suffering of residential school Survivors.

“We are so proud to continue uniting film lovers with an outstanding lineup, celebrating Canadian stories that resonate with people across the nation. From heartfelt narratives to bold cinematic visions, this year’s program champions fresh new voices that will captivate and inspire. At CFF, we have a rich tradition of amplifying Canadian talent exclusively, and we can’t wait to welcome new and returning audiences and filmmakers to the festival to share some of the most innovative works our country has to offer,” said Ashleigh Rains, Festival Director, Canadian Film Fest.

In addition to each feature film being preceded by a short, the CFF will also present six Homegrown Shorts programs. These enlightening and diverse stories dive into an array of subject matters such as addiction, identity, cultural heritage, rebellion, cosmic disasters and more. Highlights include Aaron Hong and M.R. Horhager’s animated short Three Trees, narrated by Whoopi Goldberg about three young trees who learn about themselves, friendship and their place in the world; Christopher Yip’s Fish Boy a tender meditation on religion, queerness, and polyamory through the eyes of an Asian American teenager; Katie Uhlmann’s When You Know You…Know? about how social media affects our everyday lives; Eva Thomas’s Redlights where an evening outing takes a dangerous turn for two Indigenous women; and Katia Café-Fébrissy’s Still Waters about a young queer couple coping with the loss of their child.

CFF is proud to partner with Super Channel, Scotiabank, Heritage Canada and other generous sponsors and granting agencies and grateful for their ongoing support of the festival, Canadian film, and artists.

BY THE NUMBERS:

56 Total Films
11 (20%) Features
45 (80%) Shorts
35 (63%) Toronto Shorts
35 (63%) BIPOC Filmmakers
33 (59%) Female/Non-Binary Filmmakers

Click here for the complete festival schedule or visit canfilmfest.ca.