The 21st Calgary Underground Film Festival (CUFF 2024) taking place from April 18-28, 2024 at Globe Cinema unveiled an expanded program, the largest in the organization’s history, showing 41 feature films, 37 shorts, and 8 special events over the 11 days.
From horror and sci-fi to indie comedies and music docs, the festival showcases diverse programming of films that defy convention.
This year’s festival will open with the Canadian premiere of I Saw the TV Glow, the Sundance-selected A24 release from visionary filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun (We’re All Going to the World’s Fair) follows a lonely teenager whom a classmate introduces to a mysterious late-night TV show, and soon the world within the show begins to feel more real than real life.
“Last year’s festival felt so special with audience and industry support, that our goal for this year was to put together the best lineup of films, bring as many guests as possible, and provide an incredible audience experience. We love how the program has come together, and we are looking forward to showcasing everything we’ve planned and celebrating the incredible work of cutting-edge filmmakers in a cinematic environment,” said CUFF Festival Director & Lead Programmer Brenda Lieberman.
Highlights of the CUFF 2024 program include:
Cult favourite John Waters will be in attendance for one night only on Wednesday, April 24, with his new live spoken word show Devil’s Advocate followed by a 30th Anniversary screening of his film SERIAL MOM.
10 Alberta films and special events, including the episodic short-form series Department of Paranormal Affairs from Calgary director Michael Peterson; the Canadian horror-comedy Mother Father Sister Brother Frank from Caden Douglas, who grew up in Calgary; The Last Video Store, a love letter to the era of the video store from Albertan-born filmmakers Cody Kennedy and Tim Rutherford (aka House of Heathens); plus five Alberta shorts.
This year’s Live Script Reading will feature the work of SAIT graduate Braden Brickner, and his upcoming sci-fi creature comedy Little Friggers.
The annual retrospective will celebrate the work of Canadian filmmaker Vincenzo Natali, with the director and collaborator David Hewlett in attendance for screenings of 1997’s Cube (April 20) and 2003’s Nothing (April 21).
Music is a big focus of this year’s festival, with five music documentaries, including docs about feminist icon Peaches (Teaches of Peaches), Ukrainian immigrant and punk legend Eugene Hütz (Scream of My Blood: A Gogol Bordello Story), and the seminal band Redd Kross (Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story).
50+ filmmakers, actors, creators, and industry will be in attendance, to represent their films, take part in free panels open to the public, jury films for CUFF’s awards, and network.
On Wednesday, April 17, the day before the festival officially starts, CUFF will host Calgary’s flagship National Canadian Film Day event, a free 35mm presentation of the 1981Alberta supernatural slasher Canuxploitation classic Ghostkeeper, with cast & crew in attendance for this special reunion screening.