The Calgary International Film Festival jury has selected its 2024 winners, awarding 12 films with ore than $60,000 in prizes, along with a prestigious opportunity to be considered for an Oscar nomination.
Short film The Assistant, directed by Pierre Llanos, was selected for the Short Film Grand Jury Prize, and the nod for the nom—skipping the normal requirement for a film to have a theatrical run to be considered for an Academy Award.
Taking the top prize from the festival this year for emerging Canadian filmmakers was Matthew Rankin’s Universal Language, which itself has had a bit of Oscars buzz as it was selected as Canada’s pick for Best International Feature Film at the 2025 Academy Awards.
“We chose Universal Language as the winner because it stood out with its unique blend of cultures and surreal storytelling that was both visually stunning and emotionally impactful. The film’s ability to weave humour and absurdity into a deeper narrative about identity and belonging really struck a chord with us,” said CIFF’s RBC Emerging Canadian Artist Award jury.
Speaking about the award win, Rankin said that his entire team was touched by the fact that the film was chosen by CIFF.
“CIFF has been such a heroic leader in championing Canadian cinema, and it is so encouraging and meaningful for us to be recognized by the Emerging Artist Jury Award.”
“Our movie is about drawing very close feelings of intimate proximity between spaces where we might imagine great distance and solitude, and so it brings us so much joy to reach out across the Prairies and connect with our friends in Alberta in this way.”
Documentarian Lisa Jackson’s film Wilfred Buck took home the DGC Canadian Documentary Feature Award, while Singing Back the Buffalo, directed by Tasha Hubbard was given a honourable mention in the category.
“Wilfred Buck is a rare and powerful combination of poetic form, social activism, personal history, and an alternative view of science and the origins of the Universe. Born of profound anger and sadness, Wilfred Buck manages to find precious joy and triumph in the reimagining of the human story,” said the CIFF jury on the film.
Jackson said that she wanted to acknowledge Lethbridge-based Blackfoot Elder Dr. Leroy Little, who played an important role in the development of the film.
“I hope this film can further the dialogue between Western science and Indigenous ways of knowing,” she said.
My Favourite Cake, directed by Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha took home the Best International Narrative Feature Award, while Black Box Diaries, directed by Shiori Ito, took home the Best International Documentary Feature Award.
Both juries emphasize their selections based on the humanity in the films, with the former touching on love and human connection, while the latter the real story of surviving violence and the legal system.
Short films Some Kind of Paradise, directed by Nicholas Finegan; The Miracle, directed by Nienke Deutz; Hello Stranger, directed by Amélie Hardy; Corpus and the Wandering, directed by Joy Roy; and Last Summer, Barry Bilinsky, all took home jury prizes in the live action, animated, documentary, experimental, and Alberta short film categories.
Nix’s Symphony, directed by Karina Loerchner, took home the NBC Universal Youth by Youth Canada Award, which in addition to the $1,000 cash prize, offers an up to $18,000 scholarship to the Vancouver Film School.
For full details on all of the prizes, and on the jury members, see www.ciffcalgary.ca/festival/awards/meet-the-jury-ciff-2024.
