The Canadian Film Festival, formerly known as the Canadian Filmmakers Festival, is an annual

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 ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. Showcasing a program of

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

independent films, it is held in March of each year and usually runs for five days. The festival was launched in 2004, and ran annually until 2008 at the

Royal Cinema The Royal Cinema is an Art Moderne event venue and cinema in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was built in 1939 and owned by Miss Ray Levinsky. When it was built in 1939, it was called The Pylon, with an accompanying large sign at the front of the th ...

. Although not staged between 2009 and 2011, it was relaunched in 2012 and has run annually since. The festival has been staged at the Scotiabank Theatre since 2017. The festival was formed in association with the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

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 The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (). It is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). Most cases over the course of the pandemic have been in Ontario, Que ...

; 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. 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.Norman Wilner
"Canadian Film Fest announces 2021 lineup, will stream on Super Channel"
''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

'', March 9, 2021.

Award for Best Feature Film

Films

2016

Features

*''20 Moves'' — Harv Glazer *'' Across the Line'' —

Director X Julien Christian Lutz (born October 31, 1975), known professionally as Director X, is a Canadian filmmaker, commercial director, music video director, and television director. Having directed more than 100 music videos, he is widely known as a pr ...

*''

Borealis Borealis (Latin for ''northern'' or ''of the north'') may refer to: Astronomy * Borealis Basin or North Polar Basin, a basin on the planet Mars * Borealis quadrangle, an area on the planet Mercury ** Borealis Planitia, a basin within the quadran ...

'' — Sean Garrity *''Dead Rush'' — Zach Ramelan *''

How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town ''How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town'' is a 2015 Canadian sex comedy film directed by Jeremy Lalonde. Plot The film stars Jewel Staite as Cassie Cranston, a newspaper sex columnist returning to her hometown for her mother's funeral, for the fi ...

'' — Jeremy LaLonde *''Jackie Boy'' — Cody Campanale *''The Sabbatical'' — Brian Stockton

Shorts

2017

Features

*''An American Dream'' —

Ken Finkleman Ken Finkleman (born 1946) is a Canadian television and film writer and producer, actor, and novelist. Biography Finkleman was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In Canada, Finkleman is best known as the writer, creator and producer of the CBC Televisi ...

*'' Badsville'' —

April Mullen April Mullen () is a Canadian actress and filmmaker. Career In 2012, Mullen became the first woman to direct a live action, fully stereoscopic 3D feature film, ''Dead Before Dawn'' (2012)''.'' In 2015, she directed the neo-noir grindhouse fe ...

*''Broken'' — Lynne Spencer *''Broken Mile'' — Justin McConnell *''Edging'' — Natty Zavitz *'' Filth City'' — Andy King *''

Great Great Great ''Great Great Great'' is a Canadian drama film, directed by Adam Garnet Jones and released in 2017. The film stars Sarah Kolasky as Lauren, a woman who begins having an affair when she decides that her five-year relationship with Tom (Dan Beirn ...

'' —

Adam Garnet Jones Adam Garnet Jones is a Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter."Young, native and gay, filmmaker champions inclusion for all". '' Edmonton Journal'', March 24, 2007. Personal life Of Cree and Métis ancestry, Jones grew up in Alberta and British C ...

*''

The Heretics ''The Heretics'' is a feature-length, documentary film written and directed by Joan Braderman and distributed by Women Make Movies. It focuses on a group of New York-based feminist artists called the Heresies Collective, and their influential ar ...

'' — Chad Archibald *''Lost Solace'' — Chris Scheuerman *''Modern Classic'' — J.M.B. Hunter

Shorts

2018

Features

*''Becoming Burlesque'' — Jackie English *''The Cannon'' — Marshall Axani *''

The Drawer Boy ''The Drawer Boy'' is a play by Michael Healey. It is a two-act play set in 1972 on a farm near Clinton, Ontario. There are only three characters: the farm's two owners, Morgan and Angus, and Miles Potter, a young actor from Toronto doing resea ...

'' —

Arturo Pérez Torres Arturo Pérez Torres is a Mexican-born Canadian film director and screenwriter.Aviva Armour-Ostroff Aviva Armour-Ostroff is a Canadian actress, writer and filmmaker. She is most noted as the star, co-writer and co-director of the 2021 film '' Lune'', for which she received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Actress at the 10th Canadian S ...

*''

The Go-Getters ''The Go-Getters'' is a 2018 Canadian comedy film, directed by Jeremy Lalonde.Norman Wilner"Review: The Go-Getters is a consciously grubby microbudget comedy thats very funny" '' Now'', December 5, 2018. The film stars Aaron Abrams and Tommie-Ambe ...

'' — Jeremy LaLonde *''

Love Jacked ''Love Jacked'' is a Canadian romantic comedy film, directed by Alfons Adetuyi and released in 2018. The film was shot primarily in Hamilton, Ontario, with some location shooting in Cape Town, South Africa. Plot The film stars Amber Stevens We ...

'' —

Alfons Adetuyi Alfons Adetuyi is a Canadian film and television director and producer."Greater Sudbury's cinematic family". '' Sudbury Star'', April 25, 2009. A partner in the film and television production firm Inner City Films with his brothers Tom, Amos and Rob ...

*''Luba'' — Caley Wilson *''

Ordinary Days ''Ordinary Days'' is a sung-through musical with music and lyrics by American composer Adam Gwon. Set in New York City, the musical follows four characters, Claire, Jason, Warren, and Deb, exploring how their ordinary lives connect in the most am ...

'' — Kris Booth,

Renuka Jeyapalan Renuka Jeyapalan is a Tamils, Tamil Canadian film and television director. Her debut short film ''Big Girl (film), Big Girl'' won the Toronto International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian Short Film at the 2005 Toronto International Film Fest ...

Jordan Canning Jordan Canning is a Canadian director for film and television. She is known for her independent feature films '' We Were Wolves'' (2014) and '' Suck It Up'' (2017), as well as her work directing on television series ''Baroness Von Sketch Show,'' ...

*''Prodigals'' — Michelle Ouellet *'' Room for Rent'' — Matthew Atkinson *''A Swinger's Weekend'' — Jon E. Cohen

Shorts

2019

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 Gord Rand is a Canadian actor and playwright. He is most noted for his recurring role as Det. Marty Duko in the television series ''Orphan Black'', for which he was a Canadian Screen Award nominee for Best Performance in a Guest Role in a Dramatic ...

*'' Red Rover'' —

Shane Belcourt Shane Anthony Belcourt (born December 30, 1972) is a Métis writer, director, and cinematographer from Canada.Jennie Punter, "'I didn't have time to filter'". ''The Globe and Mail'', August 14, 2008. He is best known for his 2007 feature film '' ...

*''This Is North Preston'' — Jaren Hayman *''Wolves Unleashed: Against All Odds'' — Andrew Simpson

Shorts

Awards

2020

Features

*''Alone Across the Arctic'' — Francis Luta *'' Clapboard Jungle'' — Justin McConnell *''

The Cuban ''The Cuban'' is a 2019 Canadian drama film, directed by Sergio Navarretta and written by Alessandra Piccione. The film stars Ana Golja as Mina, a young woman working at a nursing home managed by her aunt Bano (Shohreh Aghdashloo) while preparin ...

'' — Sergio Navarretta *''Hazy Little Thing'' — Sam Coyle *''A Perfect Plan'' — Jesse Ikeman *''

Queen of the Morning Calm ''Queen of the Morning Calm'' is a 2019 Canadian drama film written and directed by Gloria Ui Young Kim in her feature directorial debut.Angela Morrison"CFF Review: 'Queen of the Morning Calm' Is a Must-See Debut from a Rising Canadian Director" ...

'' — Gloria Ui Young Kim *'' Shoot to Marry'' — Steve Markle *'' Volition'' —

Tony Dean Smith Tony Dean Smith (born 12 October 1977) is a screenwriter director and editor for film and television. Smith was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. An award-winning graduate of the Vancouver ...

Shorts

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

2021

Features

*'' Between Waves'' — Virginia AbramovichLiam 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. *'' Chained'' —

Titus Heckel Titus Heckel is a Canadian film director and screenwriter from Vancouver, British Columbia. He is most noted for his 2020 film '' Chained'', for which he received three Vancouver Film Critics Circle award nominations at the Vancouver Film Critics C ...

*''

The Corruption of Divine Providence ''The Corruption of Divine Providence'' is a Canadian supernatural horror film, directed by Jeremy Torrie and released in 2020. Set in a small Métis community in Manitoba, the film centres on Jeanne Séraphin (Ali Skovbye), a teenage girl who be ...

'' — Jeremy Torrie *'' Events Transpiring Before, During and After a High School Basketball Game'' — Ted Stenson *'' Mad Dog and the Butcher (Les Derniers vilains)'' — Thomas Rinfret *'' Range Roads'' — Kyle Thomas *'' Sugar Daddy'' — Wendy Morgan *''White Elephant'' — Andrew Chung *'' Woman in Car'' — Vanya Rose

Shorts

Awards

2022

Features

*'' Ashgrove'' — Jeremy LaLonde *''Beneath the Surface'' — Marie-Geneviève Chabot *'' Carmen'' —

Valerie Buhagiar Valerie Buhagiar (born May 12, 1964) is a Maltese-Canadian actress, film director and television host. She studied acting at George Brown College in Toronto, Ontario, graduating in 1986. Her debut as a filmmaker was ''The Passion of Rita Camill ...

*'' The Last Mark'' — Reem Morsi *''The Long Rider'' —

Sean Cisterna Sean Cisterna is a Canadian film director and producer from Orillia, Ontario, most noted for his 2019 film ''From the Vine''.Barry Hertz, "From the Vine is worth sipping, if only for Joe Pantoliano's drunk-on-life performance". ''The Globe and Mail ...

*'' The Noise of Engines (Le Bruit des moteurs)'' — Philippe Grégoire *'' A Small Fortune'' — Adam Perry *''Tehranto'' — Faran Moradi *''

Tenzin Tenzin ( bo, བསྟན་འཛིན) is a Tibetan given name, meaning "the holder of Buddha Dharma". Tenzin can alternatively be spelled as Tenzing and Stanzin as well. Stanzin is generally used by the Ladakhi people, since Ladakhi language ...

'' — Michael LeBlanc, Josh Reichmann *'' We're All in This Together'' —

Katie Boland Katie Boland (born 1987 or 1988) is a Canadian actress, writer, director, and producer. She began her career as a child actress in film and television and has since branched out into adult roles, in addition to writing, directing, and producing ...

Shorts

Awards

Gallery

CFF Icon.png, Old logo before the name change

References

{{Reflist

External links

Canadian Film Festival
Film festivals in Toronto Film festivals established in 2004 2004 establishments in Canada