September 19, 2024

WINDSOR INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES FULL LINEUP FOR ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

WIFF to show 213 feature films with over 320 screenings.

The Windsor International Film Festival (WIFF) is pleased to announce the full lineup for this year’s Festival taking place from October 24 to November 3. WIFF is celebrating the anniversary year with an impressive slate of 213 feature films from 42 countries and 327 screenings.

Sophie Deraspe’s Shepherds, will open the Festival, Nabil Ayouch’s Everybody Loves Touda will be celebrated as the Centrepiece Film and Edward Berger’s Conclave will close out the 11 days.

Other previously announced films include The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal directed by Mike Downie, The Best of the Best: Jazz From Detroit directed by Daniel Loewenthal, The Substance directed by Coralie Fargeat, Eno directed by Gary Hustwit, The Seed of the Sacred Fig directed by Mohammad Rasoulof, Superboys of Malegaon directed by Reema Kahti, and Unstoppable directed by William Goldenberg.

Additional highlights include Anora directed by Sean Baker, which was awarded the Palme d’Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, The Apprentice directed by Ali Abbasi (starring Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong), Vampire Zombies…From Space! directed by local filmmaker Michael Stasko, and Presence directed by Steven Soderbergh.

New for 2024, WIFF is pleased to announce a partnership with National Geographic and the introduction of the Nat Geo film slate. This year the slate includes Blink directed by Daniel Roher and Edmund Stenson, Fly directed by Christina Clusiau and Shaul Schwarz, and Sugarcane directed by Emily Kassie and Julian Brave NoiseCat.

In celebration of our years-long partnership with LiUNA!625, WIFF is proud to present the last 11 years of LiUNA People’s Choice Award Winners. The winners include In Darkness directed by Agnieszka Holland (2011), The Intouchables directed by Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano (2012), Gabrielle directed by Louise Archambault (2013, tie), Short Term 12 directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (2013, tie), Whiplash directed by Damien Chazelle (2014), Trumbo directed by Jay Roach (2015), Maudie directed by Aisling Walsh (2016), Loving Vincent directed by DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman (2017), The Russian Five directed by Joshua Riehl (2018), Prey directed by Matt Gallagher (2019), Women Talking directed by Sarah Polley (2022), and Irena’s Vow directed by Louise Archambault (2023).

“What an honour it is to be celebrating WIFF’s 20th Anniversary this year. It is because of the amazing support from our patrons and partners that we get to continue to grow and to share exemplary film with our community,” says Vincent Georgie, Executive Director and Chief Programmer of WIFF. “With over 200 films from over 40 countries and over 320 screenings, we are proud to say this is our largest festival yet. We can’t wait to spend an exciting 11 days

livening up Downtown Windsor and creating community through great storytelling and great film.”

WIFF is thrilled to announce a partnership with the City of Windsor and Tourism Windsor Essex in the form of a four-year, $200,000 investment.

“WIFF is truly a creative juggernaut in our community, and one of the city’s most important cultural institutions,” said Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens. “WIFF has helped to position and keep Windsor, Ontario, and Canada as a destination of choice for domestic and international travellers and film lovers. 2024 marks WIFF’s milestone 20^th Anniversary of showcasing Canadian, local, and international feature films to audiences craving this shared experience. Over the year’s, significant City support has helped WIFF to deliver its festival with more sustainable infrastructure, establish a home base at the historic Capitol Theatre, produce the much-loved WIFF Under the Stars events, create and enhance WIFF Alley, and much more. WIFF has continuously raised the bar for what is possible when arts and culture combine with business and economic development to create a model of excellence. Certainly, WIFF is a key piece of the puzzle for our Strengthen The Core revitalization plan and our goals of creating a vibrant district with unique experiences and engagement opportunities that attract businesses, residents and visitors to downtown Windsor.”

“I am proud to support the Windsor International Film Festival’s growth and development with a significant investment of $200,000 spread over four years (2023-2026), through the Tourism Reserve Fund,” said Gordon Orr, CEO of Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island. “As WIFF celebrates their 20^th anniversary as one of Windsor’s signature festivals, we congratulate them on this milestone and thank the organizers for continuing to drive overnight visitation from out-of-town movie goers. WIFF has become a must see event and out-of-market visitors travel near and far to Windsor leaving behind a significant and meaningful economic footprint.”

The opening weekend of the festival will focus on the WIFF Prize in Canadian Film. The nominees for the prize were announced earlier this month at a private event during TIFF. Over the opening weekend, all ten nominees will be shown twice, and the winner will be announced on Sunday, October 27, 2024. The nominees include Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story directed by Michael Mabbott and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee, Hunting Daze directed by Annick Blanc, Lucy Grizzli Sophie directed Anne Émond, On Earth as in Heaven directed by Nathalie Saint-Pierre, Paying For It directed by Sook-Yin Lee, Really Happy Someday directed by J Stevens, Russians at War directed by Anastasia Trofimova, Sharp Corner directed by Jason Buxton, Universal Language directed by Matthew Rankin and Who Do I Belong To directed by Meryam Joobeur.