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WIFF PRIZE IN CANADIAN FILM

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What's On, September 2024

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WIFF’s Prize in Canadian Film WIFF is committed to celebrating excellence in Canadian film by honouring Canadian films and filmmakers with an annual cash prize of $25,000. The list of nominees is announced by WIFF in early September, and an independent jury comprised of film industry experts selects and announces the winner during the first weekend of the Fall Festival.

The Francophone-Indigenous film Kuessipan, directed by Myriam Verreault was the recipient of the inaugural prize in 2019, and the Korean-Canadian film Riceboy Sleeps, directed by Anthony Shim was the recipient in 2022.

In 2023, jury president Steve Gravestock announced Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person directed by Ariane Louis-Seize as the winner.

2024 Nominees

Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story
(Michael Mabbott & Lucah Rosenberg-Lee)
Hunting Daze
(Annick Blanc)
Lucy Grizzli Sophie
(Anne Émond)
On Earth as in Heaven
(Nathalie Saint-Pierre)
Paying for It
(Sook-Yin Lee)
Really Happy Someday
(J Stevens)
Russians at War
(Anastasia Trofimova)
Sharp Corner
(Jason Buxton)
Universal Language 
(Matthew Rankin)
Who Do I Belong To 
(Meryam Joobeur)

Jury Panel

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JURY PRESIDENT

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JURY MEMBER

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JURY MEMBER

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JURY MEMBER

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JURY MEMBER

PAST NOMINEES

WINNER – HUMANIST VAMPIRE SEEKING CONSENTING SUICIDAL PERSON

2023 nominees

  • BLACKBERRY, directed by Matt Johnson
  • THE DISHWASHER, directed by Francis Leclerc
  • FRONTIERS, directed by Guy Édoin
  • HUMANIST VAMPIRE SEEKING CONSENTING SUICIDAL PERSON, directed by Ariane Louis-Seize (WINNER)
  • IRENA’S VOW, directed by Louise Archambault
  • MY MOTHER’S MEN, directed by Anik Jean
  • THE NATURE OF LOVE, directed by Monia Chokri
  • ONE SUMMER, directed by Louise Archambault
  • SEVEN VEILS, directed by Atom Egoyan
  • SOLO, directed by Sophie Dupuis
Riceboy Sleeps
WINNER – RICEBOY SLEEPS

2022 nOMINEES

  • BROTHER, directed by Clement Virgo
  • ETERNAL SPRING, directed by Jason Loftus
  • FALCON LAKE, directed by Charlotte Le Bon
  • I LIKE MOVIES, directed by Chandler Levack
  • NORBOURG, directed by Maxime Giroux
  • NORTH OF NORMAL, directed by Carly Stone
  • RICEBOY SLEEPS, directed by Anthony Shim (WINNER)
  • SOMETHING YOU SAID LAST NIGHT, directed by Luis De Filippis
  • THE SWEARING JAR, directed by Lindsay MacKay
  • TO KILL A TIGER, directed by Nisha Pahuja
WINNER – KUESSIPAN

2019 nOMINEES

  • AND THE BIRDS RAINED DOWN, directed by Louise Archambault
  • ANTIGONE, directed by Sophie Deraspe
  • CASTLE IN THE GROUND, directed by Joey Klein
  • EASY LAND, directed by Sanja Zivkovic
  • GORDON LIGHTFOOT: IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND, directed by Martha Kehoe and Joan Tosoni
  • JORDAN RIVER ANDERSON, THE MESSENGER, directed by Alanis Obomsawin
  • KUESSIPAN, directed by Myriam Verreault (WINNER)
  • MATTHIAS & MAXIME, directed by Xavier Dolan
  • PREY, directed by Matt Gallagher
  • WILLIE, directed by Laurence Mathieu-Léger

PAST JURIES

2023 jury members

  • Steve Gravestock (Jury President), Former Senior International Programmer (TIFF)
  • Kerri Craddock, Apple TV Programming Lead
  • Maxime Giroux, filmmaker
  • Peter Howell, film critic, member of the Critics Choice Association
  • Tiffany Hsiung, filmmaker

2022 Jury members

  • Magali Simard (Jury President), Director of Industry and Community Relations at Cinespace Studios Toronto
  • Jason Gorber, film journalist and member of the Toronto Film Critics Association, OFCS and the Critics Choice Association
  • Sally Lee, Executive Director of the Canadian Independent Screen Fund for BPOC creators
  • Joanna Miles, marketing executive
  • Glenn Sumi, arts writer and editor

2019 jury members

  • Karen Bruce, Executive Director, Women In Film and Television Toronto
  • Isabelle Corriveau, Journalist, Radio-Canada
  • Joshua Riehl, Writer-Director, The Russian Five

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