Calgary International Film Festival makes full-scale return after 2-year hiatus

The Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) returns to theatres and home screens after a two-year hiatus and runs from Sept. 22 to Oct. 2.

The festival’s full lineup was announced earlier this year and includes a multitude of local and international entries.

CIFF is one of Calgary’s largest annual events hosted by a team of film programmers and showcases 200 films representing 50 countries from nearly 4000 annual submissions from across the globe, consisting of films of every genre and length.

“The film industry is really important to Albertans in general, it’s actually a growing industry here in our province,” said Steve Schroeder, CIFF’s executive director.

Schroeder says Calgary has one of the highest per capita movie attendances in Canada, which means the event has thousands of people who enjoy the festival every year.

“We also have every year a celebration called Alberta Spirit, which is a screening of shorts made by Alberta filmmakers,” said Schroeder. “That’s always one of the most popular and fun screenings during the festival. So we include a lot of work by local filmmakers (and) it represents, in some years, almost 15 or 20 per cent of the total program of movies.”

One theme from this year’s curated selection is comedy.

“I’d say that there really is a lot of great comedy in the festival, especially comedy with a bit of a twist, a bit of a wink or a sense of humour, or maybe even a bit of a dark edge to it.”

For example, The Pez Outlaw is one of Schroeder’s and his staff’s favourites.

“The Pez Outlaw, which was a real favourite of mine, [is a] very funny documentary about a man who kind of goes underground and in distributing, or selling basically, really unique Pez candy dispensers that weren’t allowed to be sold in the United States.”

Other films Schroeder recommends include French comedy Employee of the Month, and Triangle of Sadness, with the former winning the Palme d’Or in Cannes this year and has proven to be one of the most successful films of the festival so far in terms of ticket sales.

He also recommends a Calgary-made film, The Maidan, which the CIFF website says is a semi-autobiographical story for director Calgary-born Graham Foy.

Lastly, Francheska: Prairie Queen will premiere on Sept. 23 with a live red carpet event with up to 20 drag queens putting on a festive performance.

Industry Week conference

Moreover, screen media creators from Western Canada will gather for the 2nd annual Industry Week conference for four days from Sept. 22 to Sept. 25.

“It brings together films and other screen industry creators for keynotes, panels, networking, and social sections, and also some special events. And it kicks off on the first day with what we call the Alberta State of the Industry Summit. And that’s a day when we try to bring as many of the leaders as well as emerging artists in the industry together and look at what the biggest questions are facing our industry in Alberta.”

For example, it addresses key themes like the big film production boom Alberta has faced recently, a sustainability panel that hosts the director of environmental practices for Netflix for the B.C. region, and lastly diversity and inclusion in the industry.

“And I know that a lot of industry leaders can see recently in the province that that’s one of the top questions and how to invite more diversity into the profession,” said Schroeder.

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One of the biggest challenges organizing this year’s festival was having to navigate the uncertainty of hosting a live event, including the lingering ramifications of COVID-19 precautions and the eventual return to fully in-person events.

“We didn’t know how much longer pandemic measures were going to stay in place,” said Schroeder.

Schroeder also wondered if audiences would return to live events.

He says that people, for the most part, are amped up to attend live and in-person events as seen at their pre-festival trailer party, which is a popular event that screens all the festival’s up-and-coming attractions.

“I think we’re really seeing those signs that the public and audience are very excited to be back in larger numbers in that festival context,” said Schroeder.

One of the biggest pivots they made during the festival showcase during the pandemic was adapting to virtual and online films and content.

People gather outside for the Calgary International Film Festival at Globe Cinema in Calgary on Oct. 3, 2021. (Courtesy of the Calgary International Film Festival)

“There is a real value and a real appetite in some ways for festivals like us to provide online content and where possible stream some of the films that are also available in the cinematic festival, but also provide other types of online content like include things ranging from our new podcast, to be able to stream some vintage films to also an online Q&A with film stars.”

Schroeder says the online content allowed them to reach out to new audiences from Canada they would not otherwise be able to connect with.

”You reach people who maybe can’t come to Calgary. We stream and offer online content across the whole Prairies region.”

Still, Schroeder says the real energy and excitement is people actually gathering in person to attend events and screenings at the various venues around Calgary including Eau Claire, Globe Cinema, Studio Bell, and a recently added venue from last year, Contemporary Calgary.

“While the online stuff helps with accessibility and awareness of stuff in a wider geographical region, it also underscores that really, the lived experiences… that’s the most unique thing that’s kept to offer, when in terms of viewing movies.

“So this year, we’ve really focused on adding special experiences into the festival, certain events with a live flair.”

For example, two sold-out screenings at this year’s event include a popular cult classic about a 100-year-old vampire, Nosferatu, with the score being performed live by Chad van Galen.

Another example is a live event featuring Tegan and Sara, which will premiere the first three episodes of the Amazon series High School.

It’s based on the memoirs of the Canadian Indie pop duo growing up in Calgary, including attending Crescent Heights High School. The duo will also perform a short set and do a live Q&A session.

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The festival also gives out two types of awards for the top performing films of the year, including the jury’s choice and the audience’s choice.

“One is a jury award where we get a panel of people from the film industry, people who know and make movies, and they decide which films are going to get awards. We have a few different audience awards. We have them for short films, we have them for feature films. And we have them in different categories.”

Schroeder says scoring the winning title in one of the listed categories can potentially result in a film going mainstream at the box office.

“You can see on the festival circuit are examples of films that they’ve not really had any mainstream distribution. And they’ve not really been on the industry’s radar. And then they play a few festivals and just win a whole bunch of audience awards.

“And those things can really propel a filmmaker’s career and sometimes, in certain rare cases, you see those films actually break through and get a lot more distribution because of success and winning audience awards.”

As for how the Calgary Film Festival has shaped the culture of the city, Schroeder says it’s had a big impact.

“And I think collectively the impact we have was to make Calgary a great place to live. We have many graduates in this province, and in this city, in the fine arts and in the screen arts, and now increasingly in other types of digital entertainment. And we want those grads to consider staying here and helping build the industry here.”

As for advice on first-time attendees to the festival, Schroeder says one thing people should do is be open to exploring the possibilities, as there is something for everyone.

“First of all, I suggest diving in. And one of the main things that can sometimes hold you back from really experiencing a film festival is just getting overwhelmed by the choice,” said Schroeder.

“I often just suggest to people, if you’re curious about doing it, don’t worry too much about whether you’re picking the right movie or not.

“All the films are great. They’ve been very carefully selected by our team. And sometimes I even love to just pick what I’m going to see more about when I’m available. And I go ‘OK, I can go Tuesday night at 7:00 is the best time, read the descriptions, but then just pick one.”

People can learn more by heading to the CIFF website.