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Feb 25, 2020

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Canadian Film Fest Announces 2020 Lineup

Canadian Film Fest Announces 2020 Lineup

Toronto, ON - February 25, 2020 – The Canadian Film Fest (CFF), an indie-spirited festival dedicated to celebrating Canadian filmmakers, today announced its lineup for 2020. The Festival will open with The Cuban (dir. Sergio Navarretta), starring Ana Golja from Degrassi: Next Class and Oscar winner Louis Gossett Jr., which follows a young Afghan immigrant’s unexpected friendship with an elderly Cuban musician in this coming-of-age drama about the power of music over Alzheimer’s. Closing the Festival will be the 2020 Slamdance Film Festival Audience Award-winner Shoot to Marry (dir. Steve Markle), a real life romantic comedy about a heartbroken filmmaker who uses documentary filmmaking as a means to meet the love of his life. The 14th edition of CFF returns to its home at Cineplex’s Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto, with 10 features, 28 shorts, and a total of 15 World Premieres. The Festival will take place March 24-28, and tickets can be purchased at canfilmfest.ca starting March 10th.

“More than ever, we are receiving incredible submissions from diverse Canadian filmmakers that represent a unique voice,” said Bern Euler, Executive Director, Canadian Film Fest. “The Festival’s continuing dedication to equality makes this our 3rd year programming gender parity across all features and shorts. This lineup truly showcases the level of talent we have, and we are thrilled to share them on the big screen.”

This year’s feature film highlights include the Toronto Premieres of award-winning titles Queen of the Morning Calm (dir. Gloria Ui Young Kim) a film about a young immigrant sex worker, her little girl and their journey of self-empowerment and love, and Volition (dir. Tony Dean Smith), a time-bending thriller about a man afflicted with clairvoyance who tries to change his fate when faced with a vision of his own imminent murder. The Festival will present three World Premiere features which include Clapboard Jungle (dir. Justin McConnell), a documentary featuring Hollywood legends Guillermo del Toro, Paul Schrader, and George A. Romero, which chronicles the life and career of an independent filmmaker striving to answer how they survive in the current climate of the film industry; and Hazy Little Things, the first feature programmed at this Festival by former CFF Alumni Sam Coyle, which follows writer Billie through a birthday weekend full of friends and family rushing to her 'rescue' after she accidentally threatens suicide on social media.

CFF showcases 28 new short films which will be peppered throughout the Festival, either before a feature film or as part of the two Homegrown Shorts programmes. The Festival welcomes back past Slamdance winners Dusty Mancinelli and Madeleine Sims-Fewer with the World Premiere of their latest short, Chubby, which follows the struggles of a ten year old girl. Producer Elise Bauman (from the highly popular and award-winning web series Carmilla) will be in attendance this year for her latest project TIPS, (dir. Mercedes Papalia) which tells the story of a desperate server who confronts a young couple celebrating their Tinder anniversary, after they write a negative review about her service (and hair) online. Other films include 20 Minutes to Life (dir. Veronika Kurz) about an 11 year old “good kid” who gets her first detention and imagines it as a prison complete with barred windows, guards, and a warden; Award-winning French-language film Heart Bomb (dir. Rémi St-Michel) about a man’s ultimate dilemma to follow his passion or risk his integrity in order to reach the firmament; and ShoeGazer (dir. Isa Benn), which showcases the story of a young black female who desperately tries to carve out a place for herself in the world, as she learns there is more to her relationship with her hair than she once thought.

For the complete list of titles and events for this year’s festival, click here. More information can be found at canfilmfest.ca.

ABOUT THE CANADIAN FILM FEST:
The Canadian Film Fest (CFF) is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to supporting Canadian independent films and cultivating emerging and established filmmaking talent. Film-loving audiences come to enjoy a diverse selection of 100% Canadian film screenings (features & shorts) and filmmakers flock to the CFF's various industry events to take advantage of essential networking opportunities. CFF's mission is to celebrate the art of cinematic storytelling by showcasing Canadian films and filmmakers.

Social Media:
#CanFilmFest
Twitter/Instagram: @CanFilmFest
Facebook: facebook.com/CanFilmFest
Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/Canadianfilmfest

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