Building on the success from our 2009 festival and the launch of Mavericks, an ambitious international filmmaking competition and local industry development initiative, 2010 will be a pivotal year for CIFF in our drive to continue with creating meaningful industry development activities. In 2009 we had the attendance and participation of 200 marquee Canadian and international filmmakers, film industry professionals, and distributors where they exchanged knowledge and ideas related to the present and future state of filmmaking. This year, we’re putting the focus back into Alberta and on ingenuity and accessibility to ideas and technology.
 
The landscape of visual invention and media expression is changing and CIFF aims to be on the front edge of this dynamic transformation. As the industry continues to react to the digital world a new paradigm in filmmaking is emerging and CIFF is committed to be a key player in contributing to its development and future – our Film Talks in 2010 focus on new technology and the digital world, how that affects the path of the Canadian film industry, creative media artists, and the affordability of filmmaking.

Television Is So Nineties Webcasting & The Future of Broadcasting Stories

Local director/producer Grant Harvey and writer/producer Jason Filiatrault released their web series BUNNY HUG to the masses with a whole plethora of goals in mind. What they didn’t do was put it on, or through, a traditional TV channel. Few do any longer in independent cinema. Join us, as we use the three part BUNNY HUG as a case study in how you can actualize your ideas in daring new ways, and what the web can broadcast meaningfully for you. Forget You Tube--- we’re talking about smart content, working within a greater strategy, and the growing taste for the movie-going public to get their content just how they like it--- online and fully customized. Speakers to include: Grant Harvey & Jason Filiatrault.

Eye To The Future Unprecedented Access to HD Imagery

DIY just got even more indie for shooters everywhere. New DLSRs with motion capabilities are flooding the market, in the shadow of Red-mania and other technologically advanced “pro-sumer” gear, and this influx of high definition imagery leaves cinematographer’s heads spinning. Where do you even start in independent cinema any longer? Does film even matter in these “zero-budget” times? We’ve pooled together some of the province’s most busy and daring directors of photography to talk about this issue and elaborate on camera choices, the aesthetics of those choices, and how a producer can best navigate these muddy waters. Speakers TBD-- stay tuned!