With 100-plus fresh films, the 24th annual Whistler Film Festival (WFF) offers mountains of cinematic adventure.
With over 62 per cent of its line-up celebrating Canadian cinema, WFF (from December 4-8) provides over $188,500 in cash and prizes across its various competitions, making it among the top festivals north of the 49th.
The festival will once again activate the former Village 8 theatres in Whistler Village with additional screenings in the Whistler Conference Centre’s Rainbow Theatre, Maury Young Arts Centre, and Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre.
For those who love to see BC’s Sea to Sky region represented in movies beyond outdoor rec, there’s Heretic. Starring Hugh Grant in perhaps his most uniquely creepy role to date, the film was shot primarily in Squamish, just 30 minutes south of Whistler and features loads of familiar locations. Vancouver-based music supervisor Natasha Durprey oversaw all the song selections for the suspense thriller.
On top of big-budget Oscar contenders September 5, Queer, Unstoppable and The Last Showgirl, of special interest to Mountain Lifers will of course be WFF’s Mountain Culture program. This slate of films showcases the diverse world of mountain culture beyond adventure sports.
“This year’s program brings more short films to Whistler than ever before—with exquisite storytelling and cinematography on subjects ranging from exhilarating extreme sports to women pioneers from the 1800s,” said programmer Vanessa Tam, adding that an inaugural panel on mountain culture filmmaking was created for this year’s Content Summit. “We hope to foster more collaboration between our mountain culture talent and the international industry, and this seems to be a great way of achieving that.” The panel will be included for all industry passholders, as well as available for individual event purchase.
Recognizing that so many in the Whistler and the Sea to Sky region are passionate about adventure storytelling, the festival partnered with Arc’teryx to host a filmmakers’ panel for the community. “Building on last year’s success, talent talks return to the Whistler Public Library to feature our filmmakers in an intimate setting, allowing for in-depth discussions on topics that go beyond a screening Q&A or panel,” added Tam.
Music is a prominent theme this year at WFF, and the new program Play It Loud!, launching Thursday, Dec. 5, features the world premiere of Blue Rodeo: Lost Together. Band founders Greg Keelor and Jim Cuddy, and director Dale Heslip will be in attendance.
Other music-themed screenings include Harkness and Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted.
2024 WFF Dates To Note
● December 4-8: The 2024 Whistler Film Festival presents over 100 films including 47 feature films and nine short film programs including Oscar contenders, breakthrough Canadian titles, heart-stopping adventure films, and award-winning stories from around the globe. Unique industry initiatives and lively events round out this cinematic celebration in North America’s premier mountain resort destination.
● December 4-7: The industry-focused Content Summit serves up a robust four-day itinerary of in-person programming, keynotes, panel discussions, workshops, and networking events in Whistler.
● Saturday, Dec. 7: 2024 Whistler Film Festival FUN’raiser: Rock the Fest, at the Whistler Conference Centre. Presented by RE/MAX Sea to Sky Real Estate, the FUN’raiser promises an epic night of music and fun with A&M Grands Duelling Pianos, featuring Mick Dalla Vee (Randy Bachman Band) and Andrew Johns (Alice Cooper).
● December 10-12: Content Summit Online Networking (for all industry passholders) for 1:1 Market Meetings and roundtable discussions.
2024 FEATURE-LENGTH FILMS & SHORTS PROGRAMS
BORSOS COMPETITION (Canadian, English unless otherwise noted)
Aberdeen | Written and directed by Eva Thomas and Ryan Cooper | BC premiere | English, Anishinaabemowin
Darkest Miriam | Written and directed by Naomi Jaye | BC premiere
Hunting Matthew Nichols | Directed by Markian Tarasiuk, written by Sean Harris Oliver (BC film) | Western Canadian premiere
Kryptic | Directed by Kourtney Roy, written by Paul Bromley (BC film) | BC premiere
Lucky Strikes | Written and directed by Darcy Waite | World premiere
Phoenixes | Written and directed by Jonathan Beaulieu-Cyr | English Canadian premiere | French
Please, After You | Directed by Rob Michaels, written by Amir Kahnamouee | World premiere | English, Farsi
Really Happy Someday | Directed by J Stevens, written by J Stevens, Breton Lalama | BC premiere
Standing On The Shoulders Of Kitties: The Bubbles And Sh*trockers Story | Directed by Charlie Lightening, written by Mike Smith | Canada | Western Canadian premiere
Sway | Directed by Charlie Hamilton and Zachary Ramelan, written by Charlie Hamilton | Western Canadian premiere
Sweet Angel Baby | Written and directed by Melanie Oates | Western Canadian premiere
The Birds Who Fear Death | Written and directed by Sanjay Patel | BC premiere
Who Do I Belong To | Written and directed by Meryam Joobeur | Western Canadian premiere | Arabic
SPECIAL PRESENTATION (English unless otherwise noted)
The Last Showgirl (Opening Night) | Directed by Gia Coppola, written by Kate Gersten | USA | Western Canadian premiere
Better Man (Closing Night) | Directed by Michael Gracey, written by Simon Gleeson, Oliver Cole, Michael Gracey | Australia | Western Canadian premiere
September 5 | Directed by Tim Fehlbaum, written by Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum, co-written by Alex David | Germany | Western Canadian premiere | English, German
Chaperone | Written and directed by Zoë Eisenberg | USA | Canadian premiere
Unstoppable | Directed by William Goldberg, written by Eric Champnella, Alex Harris, John Hindman | USA | BC premiere
Queer | Directed by Luca Guadagnino, written by William S. Burroughs, Justin Kuritzkes | Italy/USA | Western Canadian premiere
Bob Trevino Likes It | Written and directed by Tracie Laymon | USA | BC premiere
The Summer Book | Directed by Charlie McDowell, written by Tove Jansson, Robert Jones | Finland/USA | Canadian premiere
Anangong Miigaading: Star Wars: A New Hope | Written by and directed by George Lucas | USA | BC premiere | translated into Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe)
Standing On The Shoulders Of Kitties: The Bubbles And Sh*trockers Story | Directed by Charlie Lightening, written by Mike Smith | Canada | Western Canadian premiere | *eligible for Borsos Competition for Canadian Feature Film
In The Summers | Written and directed by Alessandra Lacorazza | USA | Western Canadian premiere
Bushido | Directed by Kazuya Shiraishi, written by Masato Kato | Japan | Canadian premiere | Japanese
CANADA’S OSCAR CONTENDER
Universal Language | Directed by Matthew Rankin, written Pirouz Nemati, Ila Firouzabadi and Matthew Rankin | Canada | Whistler premiere | Farsi/French
MOVIES YOU MISSED (English unless otherwise noted)
Heretic | Directed by Bryan Woods, written Scott Beck, Bryan Woods (filmed in Squamish, BC) | USA, Canada | Whistler premiere
MOUNTAIN CULTURE (English unless otherwise noted)
Altitudes | Written and directed by Louise Thaller, Stanislas Giroux | Switzerland | Canadian premiere | French
Diving Into the Darkness | Written and directed by Nays Baghai | Australia | BC premiere
Maya and the Wave | Directed by Stephanie Johnes | USA | Western Canadian premiere | English/Portuguese
Skategoat | Directed by Van Alpert | Australia | Canadian premiere
X Trillion | Written and directed by Eleanor Church | UK | Canadian premiere
WORLD DOCUMENTARY (English unless otherwise noted)
Story and Pictures By | Directed by Joanna Rudnick, written by Shane Boris, Will Csaklos | USA | Canadian premiere | English/Spanish
Resident Orca | Written and directed by Simon Schneider, Sarah Sharkey Pearce | Canada | BC premiere
A New Kind of Wilderness | Directed by Silje Evensmo Jacobsen, written Eva Thomas, Ryan Cooper | Norway | BC premiere | English/Norwegian
Space Cowboy | Directed by Marah Strauch, Bryce Leavitt | USA | Western Canadian premiere
Fairy Creek | Written and directed by Jen Muranetz* | Canada | Western Canadian premiere | WFF23 DocLab Alumni*
NiiMisSak: Sisters In Film | Written and directed by Jules Koostachin | Canada | World premiere
The Legend In Me | Directed by Calvin Hwangritten, written by Taylor McConnachie | Canada | Canadian premiere
COUNTRY OF FOCUS: IRELAND (English unless otherwise noted)
Kneecap | Directed by Rich Peppiatt, written by Rich Peppiatt, Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara, DJ Próvai | Ireland | Whistler premiere | English/Irish
Sharp Corner | Directed by Jason Buxton, written by Jason Buxton, Russell Wangersky | Canada/Ireland | Whistler premiere
Housewife Of The Year | Directed by Ciarán Cassidy | Ireland | Western Canadian premiere
Fidil Ghorm (Blue Fiddle) | Directed by Anne McCabe, written by Patricia Fordeand | Ireland | Canadian premiere | Irish
PLAY IT LOUD! (English unless otherwise noted)
Blue Rodeo: Lost Together | Directed by Dale Heslip | Canada | World premiere
Harkness | Directed by Maria Markina | Canada | World premiere
Reysnator | Directed by Alison Tavel, witten Kathryn Robson, Alison Tavel | USA | BC premiere
Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted | Directed by Isaac Gale, Ryan Olson, written Andrew Broder, Isaac Gale, Paul Lovelace, Ryan Olson | USA | Western Canadian premiere
FILMS ON TAP (English)
Hundreds of Beavers | Directed by Mike Cheslik, written Mike Cheslik, Ryland Brickson, Cole Tews | USA | Whistler premiere
ShortWorks: PROGRAMS BY TITLE
ShortWork 1: The Here and Now | Various
ShortWork 2: Sacred | Various
ShortWork 3: All The Feels | Various
ShortWork 4: Keep Whistler Weird | Various
ShortWork 5: What We Leave Behind | Various
Mountain Culture Shorts 1: Arc’teryx Film Showcase | Various
Mountain Culture Shorts 2: Pioneers of Her Time | Various
Mountain Culture Shorts 3: Bold Pursuits From Sky to Ice | Various
BC Student Shorts | Various | Canadian premiere(s).
Individual and ticket packs are now available at whistlerfilmfestival.com.
Information about air travel, ground transportation, discounted rates, and early bird accommodation rates from WFF’s accommodation partners are available at whistlerfilmfestival.com/film-festival/plan-to-attend.
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