The 2023 edition of the Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival, the 35th edition in the event's history, took place from September 16 to 24, 2023 in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.Clement Goh, "Cinéfest Sudbury marks 35 years with focus on comedy and vampires". CBC Northern Ontario, August 23, 2023.
The 2023 festival returned to a fully in-person model, following the partially-online hybrid festivals that took place from 2020 to 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic."Cinéfest 2023 returning to fully in-person format". Sudbury.com, July 28, 2023. Following reduced attendance during the pandemic, the 2023 festival saw such a renewed surge of audience interest that its website briefly crashed on the Thursday before the festival opening.Jim Moodie, "Sudbury's Cinefest festival experiencing a surge of interest". Sudbury Star, September 15, 2023.
Awards Award winners were announced on September 28."Cinéfest reveals 2023 award winners". Sudbury.com, September 28, 2023.
Award Film Filmmaker Audience Choice, Feature Film The Old Oak Ken Loach Audience Choice, Feature Film Runner-Up Anatomy of a Fall (Anatomie d'un chute) Justine Triet Audience Choice, Documentary Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe Robert McCallum Audience Choice, Documentary Runner Up Swan Song Chelsea McMullan Audience Choice, Short Film Death to the Bikini! (À mort le bikini!) Justine Gauthier Audience Choice, Short Film Runner Up Lingering Pieces Jacqueline Lamb Outstanding Canadian Feature Seagrass Meredith Hama-Brown Outstanding International Feature The Royal Hotel Kitty Green Outstanding Female-Led Feature Film Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (Savvusanna sõsarad) Anna Hints Cinema Indigenized Outstanding Talent Aitamaako'tamisskapi Natosi: Before the Sun Banchi Hanuse French-Language Feature Film Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant) Ariane Louis-Seize Inspiring Voices and Perspectives Close to You Dominic Savage Outstanding Short Film I Promise You Paradise (Paradis) Morad Mostafa Outstanding Animated Short Film Return to Hairy Hill (Retour à Hairy Hill) Daniel Gies Outstanding Northern Ontario Short Film Walter's Room Austin Lindsay
Official selections Gala Presentations English title Original title Director(s) Production country The Boy in the Woods Rebecca Snow Canada La Chimera Alice Rohrwacher Italy, France, Switzerland Close to You Dominic Savage Canada, United Kingdom Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant Ariane Louis-Seize Canada My Mother's Men Les Hommes de ma mère Anik Jean Canada The Old Oak Ken Loach United Kingdom, France, Belgium Swan Song Chelsea McMullan Canada Sweetland Christian Sparkes Canada The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry Hettie Macdonald United Kingdom
Special Presentations English title Original title Director(s) Production country Anatomy of a Fall Anatomie d'un chute Justine Triet France Days of Happiness Les Jours heureux Chloé Robichaud Canada A Difficult Year Une année difficile Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache France Fitting In Molly McGlynn Canada The King Tide Christian Sparkes Canada Monster Kaibutsu Hirokazu Kore-eda Japan Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe Robert McCallum Canada My Animal Jacqueline Castel Canada One Summer Le Temps d'un été Louise Archambault Canada Rose Niels Arden Oplev Denmark, France Perfect Days Wim Wenders Japan, Germany The Pot-au-Feu La Passion de Dodin Bouffant Tran Anh Hung France The Promised Land Bastarden Nikolaj Arcel Denmark The Royal Hotel Kitty Green Australia Seven Veils Atom Egoyan Canada The Teachers' Lounge Das Lehrerzimmer Ilker Çatak Germany They Shot the Piano Player Dispararon al pianista Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal Spain, France, Netherlands Warrior Strong Shane Belcourt Canada
Features Canada English title Original title Director(s) Production country Backspot D. W. Waterson Canada Better Days Joan Carr-Wiggin Canada Daniel's Gotta Die Jeremy Lalonde Canada Echo to Delta Écho à Delta Patrick Boivin Canada Hailey Rose Sandi Somers Canada I Used to Be Funny Ally Pankiw Canada I Will Not Starve Non morirò di fame Umberto Spinazzola Canada, Italy Little Jesus Petit Jésus Julien Rigoulot Canada, France Niagara Guillaume Lambert Canada Orah Lonzo Nzekwe Canada A Respectable Woman Une femme respectable Bernard Émond Canada Richelieu Pier-Philippe Chevigny Canada Rodeo Rodéo Joëlle Desjardins Paquette Canada Seagrass Meredith Hama-Brown Canada Suze Dane Clark, Linsey Stewart Canada Who's Yer Father? Jeremy Larter Canada
Documentaries English title Original title Director(s) Production country Adaptation Jake Thomas Canada Another Body Sophie Compton, Reuben Hamlyn United States The Last Stop: Canada's Lost Locomotive Kaio Kathriner Canada The Lebanese Burger Mafia Omar Mouallem Canada On the Adamant Sur l'Adamant Nicolas Philibert France, Japan Rule of Two Walls David Gutnik Ukraine Smoke Sauna Sisterhood Savvusanna sõsarad Anna Hints Estonia, France, Iceland Subterranean Francois-Xavier "Fix" De Ruydts Canada Total Trust Jialing Zhang Germany, Netherlands We Dare to Dream Waad al-Kateab United Kingdom
World Cinema English title Original title Director(s) Production country Aliens Abducted My Parents and Now I Feel Kinda Left Out Jake Van Wagoner United States The Book of Solutions Le Livre des solutions Michel Gondry France La Traversée Florence Miailhe France, Czech Republic, Germany Fallen Leaves Kuolleet lehdet Aki Kaurismäki Finland, Germany Fathers and Mothers Fædre & mødre Paprika Steen Denmark How to Have Sex Molly Manning Walker United Kingdom Kidnapped Rapito Marco Bellocchio Italy, France, Germany Minore Konstantinos Koutsoliotas United Kingdom, Greece The Persian Version Maryam Keshavarz United States Raging Grace Paris Zarcilla United Kingdom Robot Dreams Pablo Berger Spain, France Sleep 잠 Jason Yu South Korea Sometimes I Think About Dying Rachel Lambert United States Vincent Must Die Vincent doit mourir Stéphan Castang France, Belgium
In Full View: Crisis, Conflict, Conscience English title Original title Director(s) Production country Irena's Vow Louise Archambault Canada Praying for Armageddon Tonje Hessen Schei, Michael Rowley Norway Red Rooms Les Chambres rouges Pascal Plante Canada
Cinema Indigenized (Nishnaabek Dbaajmawaat) English title Original title Director(s) Production country Aitamaako'tamisskapi Natosi: Before the Sun Banchi Hanuse Canada Broken Angel MaaShwaKan MaNiTo Jules Arita Koostachin Canada Café Daughter Shelley Niro Canada Frybread Face and Me Billy Luther United States Hey, Viktor! Cody Lightning Canada
Cinema 9 Prime Time English title Original title Director(s) Production country Daughter of the Sun Ryan Ward Canada Leilani's Fortune Loveleen Kaur Canada Satan Wants You Sean Horlor, Steve J. Adams Canada
Late Night Frights English title Original title Director(s) Production country Purgatory Jack Brett M. Butler, Jason G. Butler Canada
Regular short film program English title Original title Director(s) Production country Aves Eli Snyder United States Awakening: The First Day Jos Diaz Contreras, Santiago Carrasquilla United States Bang Bang Piotr Skowronski Canada Boat People Thao Lam, Kjell Boersma Canada Death to the Bikini! À mort le bikini! Justine Gauthier Canada Echoes Échos Sophie B. Jacque Canada The Girl with the Red Beret Janet Perlman Canada Harvey Janice Nadeau Canada Hello to Me in 100 Years Wu-Ching Chang Taiwan I Promise You Paradise Paradis Morad Mostafa France, Egypt, Qatar IF Didier Charette Canada Invincible Vincent René-Lortie Canada The Late Set Bren Patrick Burke Canada Lingering Pieces Jacqueline Lamb Canada Mrs. Iran's Husband Marjan Khosravi Iran Our Males and Females Ahmad Alyaseer Jordan Portrait of a Cowboy Devon Wycoff United States Return to Hairy Hill Retour à Hairy Hill Daniel Gies Canada The Riley Sisters Julia Jackman United Kingdom Stripper Anthony Sneed Canada Two Apples Bahram Javahery Canada Until You Die Jusqu’à ce que tu meures Florence Lafond Canada Walter's Room Austin Lindsay Canada Yellow Dove Aftermath Rony A. Abovitz United States Zeb's Spider Sophie Jarvis Canada
CTV Best in Shorts The festival's dedicated competition for amateur short filmmakers from Northeastern Ontario."Northern Ont. filmmakers showcasing shorts at Cinéfest". Sudbury.com, September 14, 2023.
English title Original title Director(s) Community A Bunch of Junk Ian Johnson Lively Go On and Bleed J. Christian Hamilton Sudbury I Know I Can Fly Matt Steeves Temagami Jerry Rigged Derek Diorio North Bay L'Orbit Thomas Walton Timmins My Authentic Self (A Journey with Art and Autism) Stéphane Ostrander Dowling Walter’s Room Austin Lindsay North Bay When Little Johnny Sleeps Sabrina Wilson Sudbury
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