The best in non-fiction cinema from behind the Canadian lens. From sea to sea to sea, this section features ten bold and inspiring films in competition for a $5000 juried prize.

Films in this Section are also eligible for the Telus Audience Awards. 

Film Selections

A.RTIFICIAL I.MMORTALITY

Is artificial intelligence the key to immortality? Filmmaker Ann Shin explores this question with scientists and visionaries who foresee a ‘post-biological’ world where...

ARCHIPELAGO

Poetic musings, documentary images and contemporary impressions work together to form a semi-fictional odyssey through director Félix Dufour-Laperrière's native Quebec.

DEAD MAN'S SWITCH: A CRYPTO MYSTERY

A young CEO responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars dies suddenly in India, unleashing speculation that his exit was only one of...

THE GIG IS UP

Uber, Amazon and other platforms tempted people into leaving the traditional workforce with promises of good wages, flexibility, and the ability to be...

KIMMAPIIYIPITSSINI: THE MEANING OF EMPATHY

Filmmaker Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers turns her camera toward her community—the Kainai First Nation in Alberta—and crafts an intimate portrait of those who suffer the...

LAST OF THE RIGHT WHALES

North Atlantic right whales are dying faster than they can reproduce. With less than 400 remaining and only 90 breeding females, they could...

THE LAST TOURIST

THE LAST TOURIST reveals the real consequences of one of the worlds largest industries through the forgotten voices of those working in its...

ONE OF OURS

When a Haitian boy adopted by an Indigenous family is refused the right to play in the All Native Basketball Tournament, he faces...

RETURNING HOME

RETURNING HOME follows Phyllis Jack-Webstad whose story inspired Orange Shirt Day and parallels the tragedy of Canada's Residential Schools with the environmental degradation...

SUBJECTS OF DESIRE

SUBJECTS OF DESIRE examines how shifting global beauty standards are embracing Black aesthetics, but often at the expense of Black women.

ZO REKEN

In Haiti's capital, a humanitarian aid organization’s vehicle has been hacked: its passengers now use it to talk about neocolonialism and to denounce...
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HOW DO I WATCH

Starting September 23 through October 3, films will be available to stream on-demand via CIFFcalgary.ca. You can watch on your phone, laptop, computer, or your TV with your AppleTV, Roku, or Chromecast Device.  Learn about technical requirements for at-home cinema or test your device. 

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