Our philosophy.
The Edmonton International Film Festival... international, independent and eye-opening. Our Festival is about 'discovery'. We strive to uncover cinematic gems and celebrate unique new voices in independent filmmaking. EIFF is about films and the people who make them.
Just a couple hours drive from the majestic Rocky Mountains, Edmonton is THE heart of the Canadian Prairies, the northernmost big city in North America. And with a population of more than one million people, this is a city that loves movies.
For nine days each autumn, Edmontonians feast on all things cinematic. It's a veritable buffet of the best new indie filmmaking from around the globe. Our schedule includes 55 feature-length slots, and 110 short films programmed into feature-length packages. All films screened at EIFF must be Edmonton premieres.
Our guests.
EIFF loves to welcome veteran and up-and-coming filmmakers and actors to the festival. Over the years, we've had the pleasure of hosting John Waters, Patrick Warburton, Norman Jewison, Carl Bessai, Richard de Klerk, Deepa Mehta, Jorgen Leth, Arthur Hiller, Gabriel Sunday, Stuart Gordon, Anne Wheeler, Werner Herzog, Don McKellar, Stephen McHattie, Neil Mandt, Allie MacDonald, Rita Chiarelli, Bruce McDonald, Shea Whigham and many, many more. And EIFF is quickly becoming known as the most filmmaker-friendly festival in the country.
What People Are Saying About the Edmonton International Film Festival… Each year, EIFF hosts a feast of artists (directors, writers, actors, producers) and film buffs at our cinematic celebration… and many of them walk away having ‘changed’ in some way. It honours us that people take the time to articulate their experience at EIFF – and that includes YOU. We’d like to share these warm words with you here and if you’ve got something positive to add, please feel free to send us your thoughts.
A bit of history.
This is a festival with a rich history and a loyal following of thousands that continues to grow with each passing year. Known as the Edmonton International Film Festival since 2002, EIFF is a 'must-attend' stop on the Canadian festival circuit each September.
All film festivals are in heavy competition with each other to woo the world’s top filmmakers to their event, and Edmonton is no exception. So we’ve decided to do it one filmmaker at a time. EIFF organizers are committed to making each and every guest filmmaker -- whether they’re presenting a feature-length film or a short -- feel like gold.
And the comment we hear most often is that ours is among the warmest, friendliest, best-organized film festivals they’ve ever attended – a quiet little festival in the heart of Canada that packs a programming punch!
Governance.
The Edmonton International Film Festival Society (EIFFS) is a non-profit, charitable organization which is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, selected by a community-based steering committee.
If you would like to donate your time as a member of our Board, please send your resume and an introductory paragraph telling us how your experience can benefit EIFFS to: board@edmontonfilmfest.com. All communications will be kept confidential. Board terms are 2-years in length. Election of new Board members takes place in February each year during the organization’s Annual General Meeting (AGM).
The Edmonton International Film Festival Society was registered in the province of Alberta on September 8, 1999 under the Societies Act of Alberta (Charity number 87156-9984-RT0001).
The kinds of movies we program.
The Edmonton International Film Festival showcases the finest filmmaking into the following programming streams: Contemporary Independents, World Cinema, Doc Central, Edge of Night, Oh Canada!, International Short Film packages, Lunchbox Shorts... presented by SUBWAY® Restaurants and films produced by Albertans -- right here, in Our Own Backyard.
