The 11th edition of Calgary Underground Film Festival’s CUFF.Docs Documentary Film Festival returns to Globe Cinema from November 22-26, 2023 showcasing 15 features, and 10 shorts over five days.

On Wednesday, November 22, the festival opens with It’s Only Life After All, a feature documentary about the iconic folk-rock duo the Indigo Girls, two queer friends who never expected to make it big.

On Saturday, November 25, CUFF will screen the Canadian feature Boil Alert about activist Layla Staats, who shows the faces and personal stories behind the struggle of First Nations reserves to receive a basic human right: drinkable water. The film is executive produced by Calgarian and Nehiyaw performing artist Michelle Thrush, who recently received a Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artists Award. Documentary subject Layla Staats will be in attendance.

Two Alberta films will play this year’s festival: Running Rabbit, a short about a Siksika MMA fighter (Dir. Bret Robert Franics Kenworthy), and the Canadian Yukon film The Ballad of Caveman Bill, whose director David Curtis is originally from Calgary. It tells the story of Bill Donaldson (aka Caveman Bill) who has been living in a cave on a cliff face on the Yukon River, across from Dawson City, for the past 24 years.

There’s also a Cat Video Fest (73 minutes of newly curated cat videos with 10% of ticket sales being donated to the Meow Foundation), a look at the legacy behind the Bruce Lee exploitation craze (Enter The Clones of Bruce), a political satire about Trump’s America composed entirely of film clips and media images from Soda Jerk (Hello Dankness), and a doc about Louis C.K.’s sexual misconduct during his long comedy career (Sorry/Not Sorry), which had its world premiere at TIFF in September.

“This festival is always a ton of fun, as we program such an interesting mix of documentaries, that each target such diverse audiences. Some play with form and style in different ways which end up a hybrid doc, or experimental, while others are very traditional. Plus we have everything from human rights, to music, horror, comedy, and some really personal life stories,” said CUFF Festival Director & Lead Programmer Brenda Lieberman.

CUFF.Docs 2023 Lineup

Features

BEYOND UTOPIA (Dir. Madeleine Gavin)
A suspenseful look at the lengths people will go to gain freedom, BEYOND UTOPIA embeds with a courageous pastor as he works tirelessly to guide various individuals attempting to flee one of the most oppressive places on Earth: North Korea.

BOIL ALERT (Dir. James Burns & Stevie Salas): Executive produced by Calgarian and Nehiyaw performing artist Michelle Thrush, follow activist Layla Staats as she embarks on a dual journey to explore the Indigenous relationship to water as well as her own identity struggles she has grappled with her entire life as a Mohawk Woman. Documentary subject Layla Staats will be in attendance.

CAT VIDEO FEST: A compilation of the newest and best cat videos selected from innumerable hours of unique performances and animations, music videos and internet classics, with 10% of proceeds being donated to Meow Foundation.

CHASING CHASING AMY (Dir. Sav Rodgers): On a quest to understand how a divisive LGBTQ+‘90s rom-com saved his life, a filmmaker is confronted with truths that will ultimately shape who he becomes.

ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE (Dir. David Gregory): A look at the history, controversy and legacy behind one of the most bizarre and successful genres in movie history: the Bruce Lee exploitation craze.

HELLO DANKNESS (Dir. Soda Jerk): Assembling hundreds of film clips and media images, artist duo Soda Jerk’s s narration about the changes undergone by American society since Trump, while relishing in reflecting on contemporary cultural values.

IT’S ONLY LIFE AFTER ALL (Dir. Alexandria Bombach): Blending 40 years of home movies, raw film archive, and intimate present-day verité, a poignant reflection from the iconic folk rock duo the Indigo Girls, two queer friends who never expected to make it big.

KING COAL (Dir. Elaine McMillion Sheldon): A lyrical tapestry of a place and people, KING COAL meditates on the complex history and future of the coal industry, the communities it has shaped, and the myths it has created.

MUTINY IN HEAVEN: THE BIRTHDAY PARTY (Dir. Ian White): The story of The Birthday Party’s ascent, apex, and inevitable collapse – a thrilling tale of the band’s epic struggle, artistic genius, and total dysfunctionality, fuelled by the incendiary relationship between vocalist Nick Cave and guitarist Rowland S. Howard.

QUEENDOM (Dir. Agniia Galdanova): Gena, a queer artist from a small town in Russia, stages radical performances in public that become a new form of art and activism—and put her life in danger.

SORRY/NOT SORRY (Dir. Cara Mones & Caroline Suh): An examination of Louis C.K.’s sexual misconduct during his long comedy career and his comeback, while revealing the backlash women faced for their efforts to hold him to account.

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF SHERE HITE (Dir. Nicole Newnham): Published in 1976, The Hite Report liberated the female orgasm by revealing the private experiences of thousands of women; Shere Hite’s findings rocked the establishment, presaged current conversations about gender and sexuality, and made her a target of the patriarchy.

THE J-HORROR VIRUS (Dir. Sarah J Appleton & Jasper Sharp): The story of how a single Japanese videotape changed the course of global horror history.

TIME BOMB Y2K (Dir. Brian Becker & Marley McDonald): Crafted entirely through archival footage, TIME BOMB Y2K documents the countdown to Y2K against the backdrop of the mass hysteria that infiltrated everything from politics to pop culture.

YOU WERE MY FIRST BOYFRIEND (Dir. Cecilia Aldarondo & Sarah Enid Hagey): Filmmaker Cecilia Aldarondo revisits her 1990s adolescence, a generation after she thought she’d left it all behind.

Shorts

Screening as part of two Documentary Shorts Packages

DEMON BOX (Dir. Sean Wainsteim)
DIE LAUGHING (Dir. Tom Broecker & JL Pomeroy)
DUGOUT DICK (Dir. Harrod Blank & Joanne Shen)
DUNCAN FROM DARTMOUTH (Dir. Ian Paul Johnston)
KRUSH THE WRESTLER (Dir. Alex Megaro)
LYNN’S FIRE (Dir. Steve Zahn)
ORANGE FROM MEMORY (Dir. Michael Arcos)
RUNNING RABBIT (Dir. Bret Robert Franics Kenworthy)
SUMMER NIGHTS (Dir. Virgile Ratelle)
THE BALLAD OF CAVEMAN BILL (Dir. David Curtis)