Calgary Underground Film Festival revealed the program of 15 features and 14 shorts for the 13th edition of CUFF.Docs Documentary Film Festival taking place November 19-23, 2025.
The festival opens with Butthole Surfers: The Hole Truth and Nothing Butt directed by Tom Stern. The documentary tells the story of how two college students found solidarity in their weirdness, recruited likeminded misfits, and embarked on one of the most radical rock journeys of all time: the legendary American punk band, Butthole Surfers.
“Once again, the team has curated a really unique, and eclectic mix of documentaries from around the world, for curious minds to dive into. The stories, characters, and creative styles of documentary filmmaking each year always excite us, and I love the range we’ve found for the 2025 festival,” said CUFF Festival Director and Lead Programmer Brenda Lieberman.
CUFF puts a special focus on Alberta content, presenting #skoden, a feature documentary directed by Damien Eagle Bear from the Kainai First Nation of the Blackfoot Confederacy. The film delves into the origins of an iconic meme about a Blackfoot Indigenous man living in Lethbridge. The Calgary-shot documentary Hearse Chasing follows singer-songwriter Cassidy Waring Cassidy Waring as she returns to her hometown of Calgary, seeking answers about her family’s tragic breakdown.
CATVIDEOFEST, returns for the third year featuring 75 minutes of newly curated cat videos, with 10% of ticket sales going to the Meow Foundation.
Other film highlights include Nash the Slash (Nash the Slash Rises Again!) directed by Tim Kowalski, a documentary about the Canadian electronic music innovator and the hybrid Canadian doc, Modern Whore directed by Nicole Bazuin, reimagines popular portrayals of sex work to explore the experiences of Toronto sex worker Andrea Werhun.
CUFF.Docs 2025 Lineup
Features
skoden (Director Damien Eagle Bear): Every meme has its story. #skoden delves into the origins of NDN country’s most iconic meme to redefine the man at the center of it all, Pernell Bad Arm.
ANDRÉ IS AN IDIOT (Director Tony Benna): When André, a brilliant idiot, learns he’s dying from a disease he could have detected with a colonoscopy, he decides to document his final journey.
BOORMAN AND THE DEVIL (Director David Kittredge): The true story of how John Boorman made a big-budget sequel to THE EXORCIST, and how his surreal and unconventional film became a legendary disaster.
BUTTHOLE SURFERS: THE HOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUTT (Director Tom Stern): The story of how two college students found solidarity in their weirdness, recruited likeminded misfits, and formed the legendary American punk band, Butthole Surfers. Opening Night Film!
CORONER TO THE STARS (Directors Ben Hethcoat & Keita Ideno): Dr. Thomas Noguchi’s high-profile autopsies of icons like Marilyn Monroe, Robert Kennedy, and Sharon Tate thrust him into the spotlight, while sparking backlash from Hollywood.
HEARSE CHASING (Director Teresa Alfeld): Singer-songwriter Cassidy Waring returns to Calgary to confront the family tragedy that shaped her.
HOW DARK MY LOVE (Director Scott Gracheff): Controversial painter Joe Coleman, known for his intricate portraits of serial killers and outlaws, undertakes his most challenging subject yet – a seven foot portrait of his wife, Whitney.
THE LIBRARIANS (Director Kim A. Snyder): As an unprecedented wave of book banning is sparked in Texas, Florida, and beyond, librarians under siege join forces as unlikely defenders fighting for intellectual freedom on the front lines of democracy.
MODERN WHORE (Director Nicole Bazuin): A hybrid documentary that reimagines popular portrayals of sex work to stylishly explore the experiences of Toronto sex worker Andrea Werhun.
NASH THE SLASH RISES AGAIN! (Director Tim Kowalski): An unearthly film about artistic integrity, courage, and the price-tag that comes with it, NASH THE SLASH RISES AGAIN! uncovers the sinister Canadian electronic music innovator.
NEVER GET BUSTED! (Director David Anthony Ngo): A highly decorated Texas narcotics officer turns his back on the police force, busting crooked cops and teaching drug users how to hide their stash.
NOW! MORE! YES! (Director Max Hey): A legally blind used car salesman drunkenly purchases an ambulance online with his boss’s credit card.
THE PYTHON HUNT (Director Xander Robin): Every year, the Florida government calls upon the general public to compete in an invasive python removal contest in the Everglades in an attempt to save the threatened ecosystem.
SUMMER CAMP (Director Mateo Ybarra): Under the sweltering heat of summer, thousands of young scouts gather in the heart of the Swiss mountains to take part in a historic camp.
THE TALE OF SILYAN (Director Tamara Kotevska): A down-on-his luck farmer develops a unique bond with a wounded white stork as he nurses the bird back to health.
Special Event
CATVIDEOFEST: A brand-new compilation reel of the latest and best cat videos culled from countless hours of unique submissions and sourced animations, music videos, and classic internet powerhouses.
Shorts
Screening as part of a Documentary Shorts Package and before features
DANCE OF THE BOOTLEGGER (Director Adam Karp)
DIMINISHING RETURNS (Director Colin Whitman)
HYODO’S PARADISE (Director Jacque Rabie)
ICE COWBOY (Director Victoria L McFadyen) *Alberta
INSTANT ANIMATION (Director Ted Stenson) *Alberta
LÉO MAJOR: ONE MAN ARMY (Director Jeremy Pollock) *Alberta
LIAM & FRIENDS (Director Chad Blain) *Alberta
LIFELINE (Director Morgan Pinnock) *Alberta
MONSTER SLAYER (Director Catie Skipp)
OLD GIRL IN A TUTU: SUSAN RENNIE DISRUPTS ART HISTORY (Director Cheri Gaulke)
THE SNIP (Director Alain Delannoy)
STICKMAN: ART FOR THE REBEL SOUL (Director Kalyn Edworthy) *Alberta
STREET CATS YYC – A MINI DOCUMENTARY (Director Liv Nelson James) *Alberta
WE’RE FINE (Director Misha Karpenko)
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