Photos from the 2023 festival can be viewed here…

WINNERS 2023
Here are the Winners of the Toronto Independent Film Festival 2023

Best Thriller Feature: We Came to Wreck Everything Directed by AK Austin
Best Documentary Feature: Analogue Revolution: How Feminist Media Changed the World
Directed by Marusya Bociurkiw
Best Micro-Budget Feature: The Pines Still Whisper Directed by Jamie Knox

Best Best Short Film (Jury Award): Go On and Bleed by J. Christian Hamilton
Best Short Film (Audience Award): A Man Named Death by Rob Tari
Best Short Film (Festival Director Award): For Christ’s Sake by Simon McNally
Best Animated Short: Titanic: A Stop Motion Film by Henry Hagens
Best Youth Short: Pandaland: Making IT Count by Martha Davis
Best Period Short: Bear Oil by Joey Chapman
Best Comedy Short: Freshly Brewed by Leah Renaud & Maria Nicole Lepore
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Short: Beat Speak by Jaymz Bee
Best Experimental Short: Now Hear This by Steve Koven & David Fleishman
Best Short Documentary: The Legend of 23 Hop by Colm Hogan
Spirit of Toronto Short Film Award: Hamilton Vignettes by Gary Kaulback
Best Short Short: In Due Time by Ayana Harper
Best Music Video: Mon Coeur (My Heart) by Kelsey Katrina McNulty

Screenplay Award categories:
Best Feature Screenplay: The Second Hardest Word by Rog Gregg
Best Sci-Fi / Horror Screenplay: 1553 by Annika Carlsson

Festival 2023 tickets were available via Eventbrite.

Here’s the TO Indie 2023 screening schedule:

Fri Sept 15
Shorts Block 1, 6pm
Bid by Thipika Bala
Dancing Tree by June Jing Wang
The Cut by Eric Chen
What Remains by Kylie Edwards

Fri Sept 15
Shorts Block 2, 8:00pm
Go On and Bleed by J. Christian Hamilton
Pure Heart by Peter Andrew Sacco
In Due Time by Ayana Harper
The Legend of 23 Hop by Colm Hogan
Like Family by Leah Walker

Fri Sept 15
Feature film, 10:00pm — SOLD OUT
We Came to Wreck Everything
Directed by AK Austin


THRILLER
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6896826/
an undercover agent is interrogated by two detectives looking to solve the murder of their colleague. A seemingly simple case spirals out of control, pitting cheating gangsters against crooked cops, ex-soldiers against their ex-wives’ lovers, and fallen families against families about to fall, all in a race not to the light but only to remain out of the darkness for a few moments more.

Sun Sept 17
Shorts Block 3, 12pm
Gone Fishing Along the Okefenokee by Hawkin Paleczny
Lie Down With Dogs Get Up With Fleas by Kyle Kulla
The Slow Death by Chris Hird-Saunders

Sun Sept 17
Shorts Block 4, 2:15pm
Pandaland:  Making IT Count by Martha Davis
Titanic: A Stop Motion Film by Henry Hagens
Hamilton Vignettes by Gary Kaulback
Now Hear This! by Steve Koven, David Fleishman
Painting The Boogeyman by Daniela Di Salvo
Soiree by Steve Koven

Sun Sept 17
Shorts Block 5, 4:30pm
A Man Named Death by Rob Tari
CNTRL by Marco Ciardullo & Alex Laframboise
The Wild Goose by John Flood
Go On and Bleed by J. Christian Hamilton.
Couscous salad by Morena Lagrandeur
Law of Attraction by Shashank Banawalikar Subhash

Sun Sept 17
Shorts Block 6, 6:45pm
Freshly Brewed by Leah Renaud & Maria Nicole Lepore
For Christ’s Sake by Simon McNally
Man In The Moon by Joy Broadbent & Justyna Werbel
Blindness by Amir Zavosh
Mon Coeur (My Heart) by Kelsey Katrina McNulty

Sun Sept 17
Feature Film, 9pm
Analogue Revolution: How Feminist Media Changed the World by Marusya Bociurkiw
Directed by Marusya Bociurkiw

DOCUMENTARY
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26653645/
Tracing the rise and fall of analogue feminist communications that preceded the MeToo era. From Halifax to Vancouver, feminist storytellers of the 1970s to 90s took hold of cutting-edge media technology to document everything from violence towards women, to how to insert a diaphragm.

Mon Sept 18
Shorts Block 7, 6pm
Bear Oil by Joey Chapman
Food for Thought by Christine Hann
Beat Speak by Jaymz Bee

Mon Sept 18
Shorts Block 8, 8pm
Couscous salad by Morèna Lagrandeur
The Castrationists by Nicholas Waters
Disconnect by Riley Wadden
Jealous by Jaiden Reese
Physical Destiny by Nika

Mon Sept 18
Feature Film, 10pm
The Pines Still Whisper
Directed by Jamie Knox


THRILLER
https://www.facebook.com/thepinesstillwhisper
A sheltered girl’s perception of her mother is overturned when outside forces reveal hidden truths about her past.

—-

WINNERS 2022

Here are the Winners of the Toronto Independent Film Festival 2022

No-Budget Feature (budget under $25k): Cyber Underground by Rudy Cimic
Micro-Budget Feature (budget under $250k): Prof. by Logan Alexander Mitev
Sci-Fi/Horror Feature: Shifted by Adrian Konstant
Documentary Feature: Fall Fight Shine by Charlotte Wincott
Music Video: Prayer for the Mother by Melissa Ann Das-Arp
Short Film (Jury Award): Jelly by March Mercanti
Short Film (Audience Award): That Scottish Play by Armand Hamouth & Brian Kennington
Short Film (Festival Director Award): Movie Night by Emma Friedman
Animated Short: Limbo 2 by Mahsa Merci
Sci-Fi/Horror Short: A Losing Game by Jungkyu Hwang
Short Short: Still by Alison MacDonald
Experimental Short: Suture by Snezana Pesic

Screenplay Award categories:
Feature Screenplay: Willowfield Manor by Ainhoa Fernández Martínez
Sci-Fi / Horror Screenplay: Sacred Sun by Michael Louis Gould

—–

Here’s the schedule for the 2022 Toronto Independent Film Festival.

All films are screened at the Carlton Cinema in downtown Toronto

Tickets will now be on sale at the Carlton Cinema website

Feature film tickets cost $15 per feature film, shorts blocks cost $15 per 70 minute block.

Thursday Sept 15
Shorts Block 1, Sept 15 at 6:15pm < buy tickets here >
Rebound by Liam Hoban Thrush
Gem & Shaz by Chloé Hung
Movie Night by Emma Friedman
The Ideal Couple by Robert Mulolo
Burger by Kirsten Comerford

Shorts Block 2, Sept 15 at 7:45pm < buy tickets here >
That Scottish Play by Armand Hamouth & Brian Kennington
Jelly by March Mercanti
The Corridor by Amir Zavosh
Meter’s Running by Anna Di Giovanni
A Losing Game by Jungkyu Hwang
Prayer for the Mother by Melissa Ann Das-Arp

Feature Film: Sept 15 at 9:15pm < buy tickets here >
Prof.
Directed by Logan Alexander Mitev

Drama
https://www.hystfilms.com/
High School faculty members gather for what is supposed to be a fun, intimate evening. The eccentric crowd seem to have nothing in common, but as the drinks flow, their interwoven lives bubble to the surface. Deception, trauma, and crime begin to root themselves as these “role models” prove that everyone has something to hide…


Friday Sept 16
Shorts Block 3, Sept 16 at 6:15pm < buy tickets here >
Sea-Changes by Gerda Johanna Cammaer & Randolph Jordan
Suture by Snezana Pesic
Going Away Party by Beth Evans
Limbo 2 by Mahsa Merci
Unchangeable, Eternal by Jonathan Davies
Revenant Reunion by Eb Mensah

Feature Film: Sept 16 at 7:45pm < buy tickets here >
Fall Fight Shine
Directed by Charlotte Wincott

Documentary
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14610008/
Addiction is a brain disease affecting millions of people. The ramifications of substance use disorder impact not only the individuals who struggle, but also their families and society at large. Despite the deleterious and far-reaching consequences of addiction, there are many stories of triumph. Fall Fight Shine uses the voices of scientists to teach you about the brain and the biological changes that take place during various stages of addiction. Film actor Jeff Wincott shares his own experiences with cocaine use disorder and describes his recovery process in order to inspire those who continue to struggle.

Feature Film: Sept 16 at 9:15pm < buy tickets here >
Cyber Underground
Directed by Rudy Cimic

Thriller/Sci-Fi
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8483968/
Tyler Jackson is a software programmer living in a seedy part of Toronto. From his rundown apartment, he carries out a double life online as a hacker under the alias Akiro. Following a recent string of serial murders, Tyler starts to suspect a conspiracy at work targeting members of his online group. After meeting a mysterious girl being blackmailed by the serial killer, he finds himself drawn into a web of shadows involving a hacker who mysteriously vanished two years ago.


Saturday Sept 17
Shorts Block 4, Sept 17 at 6:15pm < buy tickets here >
Unveiling Truths by Dahol Otoide
OPIA by Edward Mines
The Waves by Cia Mellegers
Ollie by Sadiel Gomez Vigoa
The Making of Sawyer Sunset by Kelsey Blake
Still by Alison MacDonald
The Day I Killed Him by J. Christian Hamilton

Shorts Block 5, Sept 17 at 7:45pm < buy tickets here >
Blistered Bloodlines by Omran Omaid
Echo by Quentin Ferrant
Animal Appetites by Quentin Ferrant
Penny and Ramin by Gilad Lippa
Embers in the Forest by Hasan Barzak & Rami Jamalallil
Till Death Do Us Part by Abraham David

Feature Film: Sept 17 at 9:15pm < buy tickets here >
Shifted
Directed by Adrian Konstant

Horror
https://www.thefableforest.com/portfolio/shifted
There are monsters in the world. They used to be human, but now they are something else, and they’re everywhere.