In addition to an exciting lineup that features over 200 features and short films, we're thrilled to announce numerous special experiences and events taking place at CIFF 2023. We're going above and beyond to make your festival experience absolutely unforgettable!

LOT '58

Free Family-Friendly Event

Saturday, September 23 | 4:00 P.M. - 10 P.M. at Eau Claire Market South Parking Lot

With a free 1950s-themed party for the whole family, CIFF is taking over the Eau Claire Market parking lot with food trucks featuring Calgary Mini Donuts, Savino Pizza, and Neon Tacos, beer gardens, live music, the second-annual Red car-PET, and an outdoor screening of GREASE - but no outdoor party is complete without fireworks to end the night!

Performances include DJ Mountain Kane, The Queens (led by Francheska Dynamites), Big Rig, Rondel Roberts Band, and Liquor Mountain. 

Red Car-PET

Starts at 5:45 P.M.

Let the dogs (and cats) out for the year's most adorable red carpet! Bring your furry friends down for a professional photo from CIFF's Puparazzi. Your pet will receive the star treatment, a complimentary bandana courtesy of connectFirst Credit Union, and a swag bag from Cheddar Dogs (if they're in the first 20 pets to arrive). Take in the overwhelming cuteness of kitty costume changes, bug-eyed chihuahuas, 'smizing' cats the size of dogs and elderly puppies doing their best. 

SCREENING OF GREASE (1978)

Starts at 8:00 P.M.

Join us for a screening of everyone's favourite 50s set Musical Extraordinaire, GREASE! Bring the whole family and take in this iconic flick alongside Calgary's most hopelessly devoted film fans. We will provide some seating, but we recommend bringing your own chair as the provided seating will be first come, first served.

Special Screenings

HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME with Live Score by Chad VanGaalen (performing as Black Mold)

Wednesday, September 27 | 7:00 P.M. at the Knox United Church

To celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Wallace Worsley's classic 1923 adaptation of Victor Hugo's THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, CIFF joins forces with Calgary's own Chad VanGaalen (performing as Black Mold) to bring his unique sound and live score to the site-appropriate chapel at Knox United Church.

Whether you've watched this silent film classic dozens of times, or this is your first time, no one has seen (or heard) THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME quite like this.

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Heartland World Premiere: Season 17, Episode 250

Thursday, September 28 | 7:00 P.M. at the Jubilee Auditorium

To celebrate this huge milestone for HEARTLAND, the first episode of Season 17, which is also the 250th episode of the show, CIFF will be hosting the World Premiere at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. Stars Amber Marshall, Michelle Morgan, Shaun Johnston, and Chris Potter will be in attendance for the HEARTLAND event and will participate in a Q&A hosted by CBC following the screening of this milestone episode.

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How to fail as a popstar world premiere

Friday, September 29 | 8:00 P.M. at Cineplex Eau Claire

What happens when a star isn’t born? An adaptation of Vivek Shraya's hit play and subsequent book, the CBC Gem original series HOW TO FAIL AS A POPSTAR answers this question with hilarity, vulnerability, a healthy dose of imagination and, of course, music.

The series tracks the journey of Vivek, a young queer brown boy, growing up in Edmonton trying to achieve pop stardom and what went right and wrong along the way – from the perspective of the now 40-something trans feminine multidisciplinary artist that boy became.

Following the world premiere of the first three episodes, Chris dela Torre, host of CBC Calgary's Radio One The Homestretch, will host a Q&A with Vivek Shraya, followed by a musical performance by Shraya.

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BARCODE XR

Opening & Reception September 22 from 8 - 10 P.M. at Eau Claire Market 1st Floor

BarCode XR is a licensed lounge that will be the place for CIFF fans to enjoy a variety of multimedia experiences. We’re bringing all the action and adventure to Eau Claire Market with an impressive lineup of video games, programmed experiences and virtual reality pieces, including award-winners from SXSW, Tribeca, Venice and more!

VIRTUAL REALITY EXPERIENCES

Alone Together (Interactive): Step into the shoes of a professional stand-in and weave in and out of the lives of lonely people. With voice recognition and AI, your interactions are spontaneous, creating excitement and wonder.

Pulsar - The VR Experience: Influence the flow of time, engage in galactic events and discover the magnetic melodies, rhythms, textures and colours hidden in three imagined corners of space.

Reimagined Volume II: MAHAL: The four immortal children of the recently passed creator god, Bathala, come together to defeat their own pain, accept a devastating loss and save their world from a celestial catastrophe.

Tea is Served: The Loch Ness Monster, the Chupacabra, the Mothman, the Wendigo, and one ordinary guy called Brian have all come from across the globe to enjoy an afternoon of tea and mayhem with this year's host - Dracula. 

VIDEO GAMES 

Gunbrella: A noir-punk action-adventure set in a world dependent on a rapidly diminishing natural resource. Players take the role of a gruff woodsman on a quest for revenge, armed with the mysterious Gunbrella, a firearm/umbrella.

A Highland Song: Moira is living with her mum in the Scottish Highlands when she runs away to the coast. Control Moira as she scrambles across the mountains and through valleys filled with echoes, stories, ghosts and songs. 

Meowmentum Mori: A first-person single-player speedrunning platformer where you play as Mori, a novice cat mage. To inherit the family magic, Mori must finish each trail as fast as possible & become a full-fledged cat mage.

Sludge Life 2: The grimiest first-person vandalism sim since SLUDGE LIFE 1—but, like, twice as dense. Explore a huger, weirder, gnarlier open world loaded with secrets, weirdos, jokes, and, of course, plenty of spots to tag.

The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood: Play as Fortuna, a Witch living exiled on an asteroid who forms a pact with a forbidden creature in the hopes of regaining her freedom.

CIFF VIDEO VAULT

Presented by connectFirst Credit Union, the CIFF Video Palace is bringing its audience back to the classic video store. An interactive and nostalgic way to view CIFF’s film lineup, peruse shelves of tapes to see what’s coming up and participate in daily giveaways from connectFirst Credit Union.