ArtsScreen

Calgary International Film Festival offers a large supply of shorts showcases at this year’s event

There’s no shortage of options when it comes to taking in shorts at the Calgary International Film Festival.

Organizers announced the lineup of non-feature-length films on Wednesday as part of their slow roll out for this year’s event, which takes place Sept. 20 to Oct. 1 in the city.

Sixty-eight short films from 22 different countries will be shown throughout the 12 days, with 24 — or 35 per cent — of those coming from Canada, and 11 being homegrown in this province and able to compete for the $2,500 prize for Best Alberta Short at the event.

“As the Calgary International Film Festival gains a reputation for showcasing some of the best short films from around the world, the quality of submissions continues to increase,” Brennan Tilley, shorts programmer with Calgary Film, said in the release.

“We are faced with tough decisions about which to screen for our audiences. This year Albertan filmmakers have their work shown alongside major award winners and other Oscar hopefuls. We mix in crowd pleasers and under-the-radar gems that are particularly suited to the sensibilities of the attendees of our festival.”

Organizers note that submissions to the festival rose by almost 500 this year to 2,012 from 1,552 for the 2016 fest.

The shorts lineup, which will be screened during eight different showcases and before the features, will include a special Hot Docs event, which was “commissioned in commemoration of Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation (and is a) compilation of six short documentaries inspired by Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”

Other special shorts events include: a new noon-hour package at the Palace Theatre on Sept 27, which also includes a buffet lunch, all for the price of $20; and the Best of Shorts showcase on the closing Sunday of Calgary Film, which will feature the finalists, with the winner, as well as the those of the jury and audience awards, presented at an party later in the evening.

The winner of the Best of Shorts Award is “eligible for consideration in the Animated Short Film/Live Action Short Film category of the Academy Awards, without the standard theatrical run that a film typically needs to qualify for an Oscar nomination.”

For tickets, the complete lineup of short films that will be screened and more information on this year’s Calgary International Film Festival, please click here

Tags: