The unofficial motto of the Calgary Underground Film Festival (CUFF) might as well be see something you won’t see anywhere else, before that film hits the mainstream.

This year’s CUFF documentaries, playing at the Globe Cinema from Nov. 20 through 24, are among the shining stars of the documentary world, casting a little bit of that light onto some sub-cultures that don’t always make the lineup at other Calgary film festivals.

Be that Kung Fu filmmaking in Halifax, the formation of Tiki culture and the Tiki Bar, or the music come Dada of Devo.

“Part of our mission at the main festival, is showing people films that they might not have heard of yet, movies that really need the exposure and might not have the marketing budget of some of the movies that make it into the cineplexes,” said one of CUFF’s Lead Programmers Cameron Macgowan.

“When we’re looking for a documentary, we’re looking for something that isn’t just talking heads, that really has an artistic approach to the form of documentaries and isn’t something that you could just see on TV. There’s so much great documentary work being done on HBO and Netflix, but it’s all very distinct with their house style.”

He said that results in searching for the fringe content documentaries, that end up having a lot of artistic effort and intent put behind their creation.

Not that the search this year was entirely, as it were, into the wilderness—more than 500 filmmakers submitted their films for consideration into CUFF.Docs.

As part of that process, 10 volunteers spent hundreds of hours reviewing the films before suggesting them to the programming team. Each of those previewers is a long-term CUFF attendee who knows the vibe that the festival goes for.

Macgowan said that the programming team also travels to various film festivals around the world, like Sundance, SXSW, Fantastic Fest and Fantasia to see which ones have had their world premieres that might make for an interesting selection for Calgary.

“We really do look through all of our submissions to ensure that we’re not only seeing movies that have been programmed before, but that we’re seeing all potential options,” said Macgowan.

“We watch a lot of screeners year round. It takes a lot of time, but it’s really meaningful when we get to program the work of a filmmaker that doesn’t have a track record or street credit at other festivals yet. It’s really nice feeling to bring forth the work of a new filmmaker.”

Many great documentaries to choose from at CUFF.Docs

This year’s lineup though was a treat to put together, Macgowan said.

“There were a lot of great documentaries to choose from, and I was beyond excited when we were able to lock down both the documentary on Devo and the documentary on Pavement that are recently being released,” he said.

The latter being the underground indie rock band formed in 1989, before becoming an international sensation, and not a form of asphalt.

Not that it would out of place at CUFF.Docs, as this year’s film about what becomes of Pizza Huts after they close was also a selection, and a top one at that.

“Speaking of the unusual, we have a great documentary called Slice of life, the American dream. In former Pizza Huts. The title says it all. This is about businesses that take over old Pizza Hut buildings,” said Macgowan.

“This documentary is very humane, touching look at what people can do in spaces. It’s kind of about the beauty of community, and we’re all about community at the Calgary Underground Film Festival.”

Another personal favourite of his, he said, was Kung Fu Elliot, about a man trying to make a martial arts film in the Maritimes. That film is making its 10th-anniversary celebration reappearance as part of the lineup.

“It’s a very strange look at a man who makes low-budget kung fu movies and is potentially a criminal on the side. There’s some footage in this documentary that I thought was 100 per cent staged because it is way too crazy to believe, but I listened to the commentary on the Blu-ray, and all of this is for real,” Macgowan said.

“I’m really looking forward to people rediscovering that film. If no one has seen it, I know it’s a pretty rare film.”

CUFF.Docs kicks off on Nov. 20 with the Donn of Tiki, which explores the life of Don the Beachcomber, one of the founders of Tiki culture in the United States.

All of the films take place at The Globe Cinema.

Tickets are available now at www.calgaryundergroundfilm.org/cuff-docs/2024/schedule.

2024 CUFF.Docs feature films

• CATVIDEOFEST: A compilation of the newest and best cat videos selected from innumerable hours of unique performances and animations, music videos and internet classics, with 10% of proceeds being donated to Meow Foundation.
• CHAIN REACTIONS (Director Alexandre O. Philippe): Fifty years after Tobe Hooper’s THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE shocked the world and forever changed the face of global cinema and popular culture, CHAIN REACTIONS charts the film’s profound impact and lasting influence.
• DEVO (Director Chris Smith): An exploration of the gloriously radical spirit that is Devo – a rare band founded by a philosophy; a Dada experiment of high art meets low, hellbent on infiltrating American popular culture.
• DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS (Director Stacy Peralta): 2001 documentary about the pioneering 1970s Zephyr skating team.
• EVERY LITTLE THING (Director Sally Aitken): Amid the glamour of Hollywood, Los Angeles, a woman finds herself on a transformative journey as she nurtures wounded hummingbirds.
• FLASHBACK (Director Peter Hays): It was a glittering oasis in Edmonton, the most conservative place in Canada, a club that owner John Reid vowed would be a safe place for ‘gay people and their friends.’
• HORSE WARRIORS: EPISODIC SERIES (Show Creators Neil Grahn and Dominique Keller): Discover the world of Indigenous Relay Racing with HORSE WARRIORS, a new series on Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN). CUFF.Docs will be showing Episodes 1, 7, 8, and 13—the series finale, ahead of its broadcast on APTN.
• KUNG FU ELLIOT – 10TH ANNIVERSARY (Directors Matthew Bauckman and Jaret Belliveau): The bizarre story of Elliot ‘White Lightning’ Scott, who plans on becoming Canada’s first kung fu action hero with his low-budget karate epic, BLOOD FIGHT.
• MICHEL GONDRY, DO IT YOURSELF (Director François Nemeta): A rare and intimate exploration of Michel Gondry, the visionary artist who redefined music videos and Hollywood with his offbeat, DIY style, from directing icons like Björk and The Rolling Stones to winning an Oscar for ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND.
• MISTRESS DISPELLER (Director Elizabeth Lo): Desperate to save her marriage, a woman in China hires a professional to go undercover and break up her husband’s affair.
• PAVEMENTS (Director Alex Ross Perry): An examination of the iconic 90s indie band Pavement, PAVEMENTS appears to be just another music documentary, until it doesn’t.
• SLICE OF LIFE: THE AMERICAN DREAM. IN FORMER PIZZA HUTS. (Director Matthew Salleh): A contemporary portrait of America, told through a collection of stories observed within the walls of former Pizza Hut buildings across the country.
• SPACE COWBOY (Directors Bryce Leavitt and Marah Strauch): Joe Jennings, a pioneer of skydiving cinematography, looks back on creating iconic moments in film and television, while he tries to turn a dreamlike vision into reality.
• THE DONN OF TIKI (Directors Alex Lamb and Max Well): The incredulous story of Donn Beach, creator of the Tiki Bar, and perhaps the most important influence on modern-day cocktails and bar aesthetics.
• THE LIFE AND DEATHS OF CHRISTOPHER LEE (Director Jon Spira): For eight decades and across almost 300 films, one man defined what it was to be a screen villain for generations of cinema-goers. This is the unbelievable true story of the man behind the macabre, Dracula.
• WHATEVER IT TAKES (Director Jenny Carchman): The extraordinary true-crime story of a middle-aged couple subjected to cyberstalking threats by the Fortune 500 company eBay.