EDMONTON — Super Channel and the Canadian Film Fest (CFF), a festival dedicated to celebrating Canadian independent filmmakers, announced today they have partnered to launch a virtual edition of the recently postponed 2020 CFF with the Canadian Film Fest presented by Super Channel.
Beginning Thursday, May 21 and running for three consecutive weekends, nine feature films which were slated to premiere at the CFF this past March, will air on Super Channel Fuse on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 9 p.m. The festival feature films will have a linear-only, limited run.
In addition, 25 short films from the CFF will be peppered into the Super Channel Fuse schedule around the feature film presentations.
The Canadian Film Fest presented by Super Channel will immerse viewers in a virtual festival experience complete with pre-recorded and live Q&As with filmmakers, access to industry programs online (such as panel discussions and master classes) and a virtual awards presentation, says the news release. Further details will be announced soon.
“When we learned that the CFF was postponed and in jeopardy of being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we felt we had to do something to enable these important Canadian films to be experienced and enjoyed by film lovers during these uncertain times,” said Don McDonald, president and CEO of Super Channel, in the release. “We jumped at the chance to not only resurrect the festival experience for CFF fans, but to also expand its audience by bringing a virtual version of the festival to Super Channel viewers across the country. We are sure that our audience is going to be delighted with the opportunity to view these exceptional Canadian films, many of which are Canadian and world premieres.”
“On behalf of the board, our filmmakers and our small but mighty team at the Canadian Film Fest, we are forever grateful to Super Channel for seeing the value of our festival and partnering with us to revive our 2020 edition,” said Bern Euler, executive director, Canadian Film Fest. “We are proud to showcase some of our country’s freshest voices and talent to Super Channel’s national audience, further reinforcing the importance of our Canadian storytellers.”
The Canadian Film Fest presented by Super Channel will kick off on May 21 with The Cuban (directed by 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 out the Festival experience on June 6, will be the 2020 Slamdance Film Festival Audience Award-winner Shoot to Marry (directed by 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.
Other feature film highlights include the Toronto premieres of award-winning titles Queen of the Morning Calm (directed by 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 (directed by 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 (directed by 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.
More information about the short films and nine feature films scheduled to air during the Canadian Film Fest presented by Super Channel can be found here.
