About the Calgary International Film Festival
The Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) is a 10-day celebration of visual arts and cinema, screening over 200 multi-genre films from around the world and highlighted by a series of gala events, awards ceremonies, and special presentations.
Since 1999, CIFF has become one of the largest film festivals in Canada – enjoyed by upwards of 50, 000 cultural enthusiasts - and a premiere cultural event in Calgary’s social calendar. Demonstrating unparalleled diversity and accessibility as an arts medium, CIFF is integral to the cultural fabric of the city, delivering measurable impact, connectivity, and cultural relevance.
Top 12 things you didn't know about CIFF
- 365 - CIFF is a charitable, not-for-profit arts and culture organization that presents events throughout the year
- 10000 - It takes more than 650 volunteers working over 10,000 hours to make CIFF a success
- 2M - CIFF greatly impacts the local economy, with attendees spending more than $2M in Calgary’s downtown core during the 10-day festival
- 3 - For every $1 of ticket sales, $2 of investment is required to operate CIFF
- 1200 - CIFF receives more than 1,200 film submissions from around the world every year!
- >18 - Many CIFF programs, including the Youth-by-Youth Cinema competition, support and foster emerging film and media artists
- 9M - CIFF’s website received 9M hits and 83,000 visits from 109 countries last year
- 25000 - In celebration of its 10th anniversary in 2009, CIFF gave one of the largest cash prizes for filmmakers amongst film festivals around the world
- 12M - CIFF generates more than 12M local, national and international media impressions each year
- 50000 - More than 50,000 cultural enthusiasts enjoy CIFF’s cinematic experience on an annual basis
- 200+ - CIFF 2011 will bring 200 films from around the world to Calgary
- 60+ - CIFF 2011 will showcase a diverse slate of enlightening and entertaining films from over 60 countries.
Programming
The Festival presents films from more than 100 countries over ten exciting days, in categories that include Feature, Short, and Documentary categories and genres ranging from Family and American Indie to World Cinema and Music On Film. CIFF is also proud to present a number of awards to outstanding films as selected by esteemed juries and panels each year. Among them are the prestigious Mavericks Award, the Best in Canadian Features, International Features, Documentaries, Live Action Shorts, Animated Shorts, the Alberta Spirit Award which celebrates excellence in indigenous filmmaking and new media projects, as well as the coveted People’s Choice Award.
Finding inspiration in Alberta’s core western values and developing them into an artistic mandate for cultural growth, Mavericks was launched at CIFF’s 10th anniversary in 2009 as a celebration of independence of spirit, thought and execution in visual artistry. Though Mavericks, Calgary, where the West meets the world, will become a destination to cultivate connection and community for current and historical international trailblazers to celebrate, reward, and explore the new horizons of contemporary cinema. In addition, the CIFF Society presents Doc Soup and six-month screening series of informative, award winning and critically acclaimed documentary films as well as many special screening and partnership events throughout the year.
Impact
To its vast list of community stakeholders, the Calgary International Film Festival delivers measurable impact, connectivity and cultural relevance as a world-class event. CIFF serves to increase spending in the downtown core through festival patron activity, effectively bolstering the local film industry with business development opportunities while promoting Calgary as a world-class destination for culture. Through Mavericks, CIFF provides a window into our world-class city, its culture and community spirit, business development opportunities within our dynamic economy, and visitation for out of town travelers, industry figures, and business delegates to enjoy. Having a world-class international film festival in Calgary is critical to its cultural landscape. For existing and new Calgarians/Canadians cinema offers an unparalleled celebration and exploration, of diversity; social, economic, and ethnic, and an accessible cultural offering in which to engage and celebrate Calgary’s arts and culture. World-class culture improves quality of life in Calgary and helps to enforce its reputation as a desirable destination in which to work, play, live, and of course, visit. Organizations like CIFF play a vital role in helping Calgary project its destination value out to the world and Calgarians alike.
