Experience the 7th edition of the Chilliwack Independent Film Festival in-person November 17-19 at the Cottonwood Cinema. Explore the schedule below to see each screening block and purchase your tickets today.
Q & A with director after screening. This urgent documentary about activist Layla Staats shows the faces and personal stories behind the struggle of First Nations reserves to receive a basic human right: drinkable water. In this urgent, hybrid, border-crossing documentary, activist Layla Staats is our guide to the struggle of First Nations reserves to receive a basic human right — drinkable water. Canadians often hear statistics about this: there are currently 32 long-term boil-water advisories in 28 communities throughout the country. But this film puts faces and personal stories to the numbers, in a very accessible way.
A thrilling portrait of a young Siksika woman and the deep bonds between her father and family in the golden plains of Blackfoot Territory as she prepares for one of the most dangerous horse races in the world… on bareback. A sport for the truly brave, Logan Red Crow is an Indian Relay rider who vaults from horse to horse in short, exhilarating races. She is a champion in the making -besides her skill and sheer grit, Logan has a loving family, an elite group of horses, and a home on her ancestral lands. Those are invaluable, but this rider will need more for victory.
When an 11-year-old city boy is sent to his grandmother’s ranch on the Navajo reservation against his will, he is introduced to a new way of life and an unexpected guest teaches him the importance of family, tradition, and what it means to be a Navajo man.
A celebration of the arts in our community. Featuring a variety of world premiere screenings from Fraser Valley filmmakers. Following the screenings there will be a Q & A. Craft beer and wine available throughout. Featured Films: Brink, Show Support, Whispers of the North, M. Othman, Solitude, Silver Lining: A Compulsive Love Story.
A screening of 8 short films from across the world. From race, cultural roots to immigration, experience a diverse selection of short films that tackle an array of important subjects. Films Featured: You Ask Too Much, My Name Is Arnold, Wallpaper, As It Was, Yun, The Gold Teeth, Jerome, The Fourth.
Can quilting change the world? In January 2020, the RCMP killed homeless rights activist Barry Shantz at his home in Lytton, B.C. during a mental health crisis. That morning, his partner called 911 for help. What they got was an army of police officers, but not a single mental health worker. In response to this tragedy, his sister Marilyn Farquhar creates a series of art quilts titled Kairos to process her grief and share her story.
It’s 2003, and 13-year-old Rell “Goat” Andreson and her mom Jane are scheming and scrounging their way through another Penticton summer. Having illegally sublet the house they’re renting; they’re now holed up in an RV park bordering Skaha Lake. From this modest base of operations, Goat befriends an awkward outsider, skateboards, shoplifts, and talks a big game about becoming a world-class surfer… Despite living 700km from the ocean. Followed by Q & A.
A celebration of Indigenous stories and artists from across BC and beyond. Learn and experience moving short films followed by a powerful Q & A. Films Featured: Cloud Striker, Wallowing Bull, Nisihkason Lex, Tiny, Ohskennón:ten Owí:ra (Little Deer)
This block plays at four twenty for a reason... Our newest addition explores mind bending films from across the world. We're not saying to smoke something, but if you did you'd be in for a trip. Films Featured: Dammi, Greenbody, Watercraft, Introduction, Lonely Island, Somewhen Again and Again, La Perra, Mothers and Monsters.
Q & A with directors after screening. On June 15, 2011, we witnessed Vancouverites’ capacity for anarchy. Hours after the Vancouver Canucks lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, there was panic in the streets, shattered glass on the sidewalks, and smoke and pepper spray in the air as rioters left police cars ablaze and laid waste to blocks of downtown. As thousands of smartphone photos were posted online in the wake of the mayhem, social media platforms became the equivalent of old-fashioned “Wanted” posters. It turned out that concerned citizens’ handheld devices had unwittingly turned them into Big Brother. In this absorbing documentary, Kathleen S. Jayme (The Grizzlie Truth) and Asia Youngman revisit the events of that chaotic night through interviews with the likes of Roberto Luongo, Jon Ronson, and Alexandra Samuel, and track down several of the then-young offenders who became the poster children for the riots and paid mightily for their misdeeds. In doing so, they make the compelling argument that mob mentalities flourish as readily and destructively online as they do in the streets.
A pub landlord in a previously thriving mining community struggles to hold onto his pub. Meanwhile, tensions rise in the town when Syrian refugees are placed in the empty houses in the community.
An exquisite selection of Oscar-caliber short films from festivals such as TIFF and Cannes. These powerful films tackle relationships and struggling to find our place in an increasingly disconnected world. Films Featured: Basri & Salma in a Never-Ending Comedy, When The Sky Goes Green, Bloom, Hair or No Hair, Zip, I'm on Fire.
An eclectic mix of dark comedy short films across different genres. Experience the downright bizarre. Followed by Q & A. Films Featured: Trail, Slip, The Skimmer, Primetime Mother, Poof, Road Head, Le Sexe De Ma Mere.
A mother demands answers from teacher when her son begins acting strangely.
From high school to university, experience some of the best student films across the Fraser Valley and beyond. Q & A after screening with filmmakers. Films featured: Streetcar, Another, One More Time With Feeling, The Only Person In The World, The Line, Memories Beneath Frigid Waters, Maria.
A selection of five fascinating documentaries from across the world and the Fraser Valley. Q & A following the screening. Films featured: Slhálí (Woman), Motherland - Mother Hand, Dumpster Archeology, Wild Summon, Overtime.
A collection of inspiring feel good films from across North America meant to brighten your day. Films Featured: Hill Roller, Pen Pals, Begin Again, Little Mouse, Sandbox, Chicken, Danceable.
Explores the incredible growth and tragic collapse of the world's first smartphone and how it smashed huge enterprises before surrendering to Silicon Valley's fiercely competitive companies.
Experience a variety of BC short films across different genres and celebrate Canadian film talent at its finest. Following the screenings will be a Q & A with filmmakers. Films Featured: Paint, Smoke Eater, Okuribi, For Roy, Smile For Me, Mea Culpa, The Mess We're In, Fear & Trembling.
A powerful selection of short films about and/or from lgbtqia2s+ artists that explore the nuances and experiences of life. Films Featured: Terror/Forming, Beautiful Gun, Lighthead, Passiflora, Stay.
