Hye’s Picks: Canadian Film Festival 2024 Edition

Canadian Film Fest (CFF) presented by Super Channel, the indie-spirited festival dedicated to celebrating Canadian filmmakers, today announced its lineup for the 2024 edition. CFF is showcasing 11 features and 45 shorts this year. Also new this year, CFF is extending the Festival to six days and expanding its shorts programming by screening six dedicated Homegrown Shorts programs, including a spotlight on Toronto filmmakers.

Here I give you a list of my personal picks of films screening at CFF this year.

Feature Films

Monday, March 18, 7:00 pm
Opening Night Film: Doubles | Directed by Ian Harnarine
A Trinidadian street vendor must travel to Toronto and decide if he will help save his estranged father from dying.
Preceded by the short film Xie Xie, Ollie.

Tuesday, March 19, 6:30 pm
Look at Me*| Directed by Taylor Olsen
A fictional autobiography about an insecure, awkward and lonely bisexual actor who goes on an unwitting journey of self-love in the midst of an eating disorder relapse.
Preceded by by the short film Nosocomephilia.

*I screened Look at Me as part of Slamdance Film Festival earlier this year. Olsen created this film based on a solo theatre piece. It is a film that depicts a very vulnerable topic may be difficult to watch at times; however, it is also a compassionate look at how a person living with an eating disorder tries to work through the muddy layers to love and accept themselves.

Wednesday, March 20, 9:00 pm
Place of Bones | Directed by Audrey Cummings
1876. A mother and daughter alone on a remote ranch fight for survival against a gang of ruthless outlaws.

Thursday, March 21, 9:00 pm
Valley of Exile | Directed by Anna Fahr
Set in the early years of the Syrian war, Valley of Exile chronicles the journey of Rima and Nour, two sisters who find unexpected refuge in a makeshift settlement in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley after fleeing war-torn Damascus.
Preceded by the short film Khastegari.

Friday, March 22, 6:30 pm
Daughter of the Sun* | Directed by Ryan Ward
A 12-year-old girl struggles with life on the run as she travels across the country with her father who has Tourette Syndrome. Wanting nothing more than a normal family life, she befriends a community of outcasts in the remote countryside who want to harness a volatile supernatural power her father is hiding.

*This film premiered at Fantasia Film Festival last year to a great reception. At Fantasia, it received the bronze medal as second runner-up in audience voting on the Best Canadian Feature Film lineup. The film is quite cinematic in scope with a story that will keep you engaged from beginnign to end.

Short Film Program

Homegrown Shorts 2
Wednesday, March 20, 1:30 pm

Homegrown Shorts 6
Saturday, March 23, 2:30 pm

CFF returns to Cineplex’s Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto will take place March 18 to March 23, 2024. For more festival information including tickets and screening times, please visit canfilmfest.ca.