The Kingston Canadian Film Festival is an annual celebration of the best in Canadian cinema held in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

. It is the largest stand-alone showcase of feature films from across Canada. The 2021 festival took place from February 26 to March 7, and was the first-ever digital version of the Kingston Canadian Film Festival. In addition to the best new Canadian films of the year, KCFF presents workshops, panels, live music and podcasts, plus many special guests, with past appearances by

Elliot Page Elliot Page (formerly Ellen Page; born February 21, 1987) is a Canadian actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Elliot Page, various accolades, including an Academy Award for Best Actress, Academy Award nomination, tw ...

Gordon Pinsent Gordon Edward Pinsent (born July 12, 1930) is a Canadian actor, writer, director, and singer. He is known for his roles in numerous productions, including ''Away from Her'', ''The Rowdyman'', ''John and the Missus'', ''A Gift to Last'', '' Due So ...

Deepa Mehta Deepa Mehta, (; born 1 January 1950) is an Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter, best known for her Elements Trilogy, Fire (1996 film), ''Fire'' (1996), ''Earth (1998 film), Earth'' (1998), and ''Water (2005 film), Water'' (2005 ...

Cathy Jones Catherine Frederica "Cathy" Jones (born April 6, 1955) is a Canadian actress, comedian and writer. She is known for her work for 28 years on the Canadian television series ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes''. Jones left the show in 2021. CODCO Jones w ...

, plus cast from

Kids in the Hall The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy troupe formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1989 to 1995, on CBC, in C ...

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( ga, Leitir Ceanainn , meaning 'hillside of the O'Cannons'), nicknamed 'the Cathedral Town', is the largest and most populous town in County Donegal, a county in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Letterkenny lies on the R ...

, Mr. D, and The Trailer Park Boys. The Kingston Canadian Film Festival is held annually in late February to early March and is a registered charity. The festival director is Marc Garniss, associate director is Megan Sirett, features programmer is Jason Anderson, and chair of the board of directors is Blaine Allan.

History

The Kingston Canadian Film Festival was launched in 2001 by Alex Jansen, who was then studying film at Queen's University. It was a three-day event held at the Screening Room Movie Theater, a two screen repertory cinema which Jansen was managing at the time. The Festival was launched with assistance from Moving Pictures: Canadian Films on Tour (who were replaced by 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 permane ...

Group in 2003). In 2002, the Festival added a second, larger venue on the Queen's University campus, increased the number of screenings substantially and added a fourth day to the event, becoming the largest stand-alone showcase of feature films from across Canada. * In 2003, the Festival launched its ongoing "Local Filmmaking Initiative" (LFI), a multi-tiered program focused towards nurturing the local film making community, through the City of Kingston's Healthy Community Fund. * In 2004, the Festival added a fourth venue by temporarily re-opening the Princess Court Cinema. * In 2005, Alison Migneault became Co-Director of the Kingston Canadian Film Festival. The Festival moved its main venue to the Empire Theatre and added a fifth day to the event. * In 2006, Migneault became full Director of the Kingston Canadian Film Festival and Jansen moved into a consulting position. The Festival launched a new French Community Outreach program aimed at Kingston's sizeable French-speaking population. * In 2007, the Kingston Canadian Film Festival launched its first-ever retrospective series, around the 50th anniversary of film making by the acclaimed Canadian director

Allan King Allan Winton King, (February 6, 1930 – June 15, 2009), was a Canadian film director. Life Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, during the Great Depression, King attended Henry Hudson Elementary School, in Kitsilano.Elliot Page Elliot Page (formerly Ellen Page; born February 21, 1987) is a Canadian actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Elliot Page, various accolades, including an Academy Award for Best Actress, Academy Award nomination, tw ...

, plus cast from

, Mr. D, and The Trailer Park Boys. KCFF also presents screenings and events throughout the year, with recent live shows featuring the Canadaland and Taggart and Torrens podcasts. KCFF also presents its own podcast called Rewind Fast Forward, with host Thom Ernst.

Editions and selected films

2021

The digital edition of the Kingston Canadian Film Festival, included short film programs (with dedicated slots for local artists and youth), free workshops, industry guest appearances and awards, everything by Livestream.

2021 Feature Films

* ''

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Kazik Radwanski Kazik Radwanski is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. His early short films have been cited as part of the New Canadian Cinema movement. He made his List of directorial debuts, feature film directorial debut in 2012 with Tower (2012 Canad ...

* ''

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Tracey Deer Tracey Penelope ''Tekahentakwa'' Deer (born February 28, 1978, Mohawk nation, Mohawk) is a screenwriter, film director and newspaper publisher based in Kahnawake, Quebec. Deer has written and directed several award-winning documentaries for Rezol ...

* ''

Bloodthirsty ''Bloodthirsty'' (or ''The Bloodthirsty Trilogy'') is a 1970s Japanese vampire film trilogy produced by Toho Studio, consisting of three of their 1970s horror films: ''The Vampire Doll'', ''Lake of Dracula'' and ''Evil of Dracula''. While there i ...

'' — Amelia Moses * '' Call Me Human (Je m'apelle humain)'' —

Kim O'Bomsawin Kim O’Bomsawin is a writer, film director, and a human rights activist specifically for Indigenous women in Canada and the U.S. O'Bomsawin is of Abenaki origin, which is a First Nation in Quebec, Canada. She is considered a leading indigenous fi ...

* '' Death of a Ladies' Man'' — Matt Bissonnette * ''

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'' — Ryan Noth * ''

First We Eat ''First We Eat'' is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Suzanne Crocker and released in 2020. The film documents the attempts of Crocker and her family, after a landslide temporarily blocked highway access to their hometown of Dawson City, ...

'' —

Suzanne Crocker Suzanne Crocker is a Canadian documentary filmmaker from Dawson City, Yukon. She is most noted for her films '' All the Time in the World'' (2014), which won the award for Most Popular Canadian Documentary at the 2014 Vancouver International Film F ...

* '' How to Fix Radios'' — Emily Russell, Casper Leonard * ''

Marlene Marlene may refer to: People * Marlene (given name), including a list of people with the name * Marlene (Burmese businesswoman), Nang Kham Noung (born 1991) * Marlene (Japanese singer) (born 1960), a Filipina jazz singer active in Japan Film * ...

'' — Wendy Hill-Tout * '' Mouth Congress'' —

Paul Bellini Paul Bellini (born September 12, 1959) is a Canadian comedy writer and television actor best known for his work on the comedy series ''The Kids in the Hall'' and ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes''. He has worked on several projects with Josh Levy and S ...

, Scott Thompson * ''

My Salinger Year ''My Salinger Year'' (also known as ''My New York Year'') is a 2020 drama film written and directed by Philippe Falardeau, based upon the memoir of the same name by Joanna Rakoff Joanna Rakoff (born May 8, 1972) is an American novelist and memo ...

'' —

Philippe Falardeau Philippe Falardeau (born February 1, 1968 in Hull, Quebec) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. Early life Falardeau was born and raised in Hull, Quebec. He later studied political science at the University of Ottawa, before travellin ...

* '' My Very Own Circus (Mon cirque à moi)'' — Miryam Bouchard * ''

Nadia, Butterfly ''Nadia, Butterfly'' is a 2020 Canadian sports drama film, directed by Pascal Plante and released in 2020. The film stars Katerine Savard as Nadia, an Olympic swimmer struggling to redefine her life after retiring from the sport at the conclusion ...

'' —

Pascal Plante Pascal Plante is a Canadian film director and screenwriter from Quebec, whose debut feature film, ''Fake Tattoos (Les faux tatouages)'', premiered in 2017. He won the Vancouver Film Critics Circle award for Best Canadian Screenplay at the Vancouv ...

* ''

No Ordinary Man ''No Ordinary Man'' is the second studio album by American country music artist Tracy Byrd. It features the singles "The First Step", "Lifestyles of the Not So Rich and Famous", "Watermelon Crawl", and "The Keeper of the Stars", all of which reac ...

'' —

Aisling Chin-Yee Aisling Chin-Yee (born 1982) is a Canadian film director, writer, and producer, who works primarily in Montreal and Los Angeles. In addition to her work as a producer, Chin-Yee directed the films '' The Rest of Us'' (2019) and ''No Ordinary Man'' ...

Chase Joynt Chase Joynt is a Canadian filmmaker, writer, video artist, actor, and professor. He attracted acclaim as co-director with Aisling Chin-Yee of the documentary film ''No Ordinary Man (film), No Ordinary Man'' (2020),Pat Mullen"Canada at Cannes: Docum ...

* '' No Visible Trauma'' — Marc Serpa Francoeur, Robinder Uppal * '' Out of the Blue'' -

Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in ''Giant'' (1956). In the next ten years ...

* ''

Restless River ''Restless River'' (french: La rivière sans repos) is a Canadian drama film, directed by Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Ivalu and released in 2019. An adaptation of Gabrielle Roy's 1970 novel ''Windflower (La rivière sans repos)'', the fi ...

'' —

Marie-Hélène Cousineau Marie-Hélène Cousineau is a Canadian film director and producer.Madeline Ivalu Madeline Piujuq Ivalu is a Canadian Inuk filmmaker and actor from Igloolik, Nunavut. One of the cofounders of Arnait Video Productions, a women's video and filmmaking collective in Nunavut, she co-directed, co-wrote and starred in Arnait's first f ...

* ''

Shiva Baby ''Shiva Baby'' is a 2020 comedy film written and directed by Emma Seligman. The film stars Rachel Sennott as Danielle, a directionless young bisexual Jewish woman who attends a with her parents, Joel (Fred Melamed) and Debbie (Polly Draper). Oth ...

'' —

Emma Seligman Emma Seligman (born May 3, 1995) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter, best known for their feature directorial debut '' Shiva Baby'' (2020). Career As a teenager, Emma Seligman contributed film reviews to ''The Huffington Post''. They st ...

* '' Spirit Bear and Children Make History'' —

Amanda Strong Amanda Strong is a Michif Indigenous filmmaker, media artist and stop-motion director based out of the unceded Coast Salish territory in Vancouver, British Columbia. She has exhibited work and her films have been screened at festivals worldwide, ...

* ''

The Kid Detective ''The Kid Detective'' is a 2020 Canadian mystery comedy-drama film written and directed by Evan Morgan and starring Adam Brody, Sophie Nélisse, Wendy Crewson, Sarah Sutherland, and Tzi Ma. ''The Kid Detective'' was screened in the industry pro ...

'' — Evan Morgan * '' The Magnitude of All Things'' —

Jennifer Abbott Jennifer Abbott (born January 8, 1965) is a Sundance Film Festival, Sundance and Genie Awards, Genie award-winning film film director, director, film editor, writer, editor, producer and sound designer who specializes in social justice and envir ...

* '' The Paper Man (Lafortune en papier)'' — Tanya Lapointe * ''Vagrant'' — Caleb Ryan * ''

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'' — Cliff Caines * '' You Will Remember Me (Tu te souviendras de moi)'' —

Éric Tessier Éric Tessier (born March 19, 1966) is a Canadian film and television director and screenwriter from Quebec. He received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022, for the film '' You ...

2021 Podcast Guests

Jeff Barnaby Jeff Barnaby (1976 – 13 October 2022) was a Canadian film director, writer, composer, and film editor. He is known for his horror films ''Rhymes for Young Ghouls'' and ''Blood Quantum''. Early life Barnaby was born on a Mi'kmaq reserve in Li ...

* Audrey Cummings * Matt Johnson * Sean Garrity * Vicki Lean

KCFF 2021 Award Winner

BEST CANADIAN SHORT * ''

Scars A scar (or scar tissue) is an area of fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars result from the biological process of wound repair in the skin, as well as in other organs, and tissues of the body. Thus, scarring is a natu ...

'' dir. Alex Anna FAVOURITE CANADIAN SHORT * ''Sinking Ship'' dir. Sasha Leigh Henry BEST YOUTH SHORT * ''Call Of The Void'' dir. Kyla Stone FAVOURITE YOUTH SHORT * ''Elliot Shepard's Concerto in D Minor'' dir. E.J. Graham STEAM WHISTLE HOMEBREW AWARD FOR BEST LOCAL SHORT * ''Daffodils'' dir. Adrien Benson STEAM WHISTLE HOMEBREW AWARD FOR FAVOURITE LOCAL SHORT * ''A Chinese Love Song'' dir. Lara Besa LIMESTONE FINANCIAL PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD * '' You Will Remember Me (Tu te souviendras de moi)'' dir. Eric Tessier * ''

'' dir. Tracey Deer

References

{{coord missing, Ontario Film festivals in Ontario Festivals in Kingston, Ontario Film festivals established in 2001 Tourist attractions in Kingston, Ontario 2001 establishments in Ontario