Hye’s Picks: Future of Film Showcase 2024

The 11th annual Future of Film Showcase (FOFS), Canada’s premiere festival for emerging Canadian filmmakers returns to Toronto from June 20-23, 2024, with an excellent lineup of films and a wide array of industry events.

This year, FOFS will feature world premieres, informative industry connections, and a continued celebration of Canada’s rising talent.

I recently spoke with FOFS Co-Founder and CEO Eric Bizzarri. We discussed the overall programming for the festival, as well, as some exciting new initiatives for this year.

To further highlight some of this year’s programming, I have curated the below list for you.

Opening Night Shorts Programme
June 20, 7:30pm ET

World Premieres Include
The Sweater
Director: Maziyar Khatam
Pressured into giving away his clothes, an emasculated young man obsessively attempts to reclaim his cherished sweater before it vanishes into the donation abyss.

Light and Land
Director: Kyath Battie
Lingering somewhere between fantasy and realism, this futuristic documentary underscores atmospheric phenomenon within mysterious environmental incongruence.

Indigenous Shorts Programme & Panel discussion: The Intersection of Identity & Artisanship
Friday, June 21, 7:15pm ET
The curated retrospective will explore the intersection of Indigenous and 2SLGBTQ+ identity.

Dance To Miss Chief | Director: Kent Monkman
First Stories – Two Spirited | Director: Sharon A. Desjarlais
Extractions | Director: Theo Jean Cuthand
Aviliaq: Entwined | Director: Alethea Arnaquq-Baril
Positions | Director: Justine Ducharme

This event has been organized in partnership with imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival and the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

FOFS Pitch Competition
Sunday, June 23, 11am ET
Co-presented by POV
Six emerging Canadian filmmakers will each be allocated ten minutes to pitch their short film production to a panel of judges composed of filmmakers and industry professionals who will provide five minutes of constructive feedback.

Dada – World Premiere
Director: Aaron Poole
Sunday, June 23, 7:00pm ET

Written and directed by Poole, Dada was filmed on Manitoulin Island and follows the story of a young teen, Kai (newcomer Ciara Alexys), and her father (James Gilbert; “Saw VI,” “The Conspiracy”) who take a road trip to a cabin next to the world’s largest nuclear power facility. A nonsense game, born out of their distinctive playfulness, escalates into a power struggle when the girl pretends she can “no longer see” the father.