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65 films to be screened at Chilliwack Independent Film Festival

Block of Fraser Valley films will open the 6th annual festival at Cottonwood 4 Cinemas
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‘The Grizzlie Truth’ is one of many films in the 2022 Chilliwack Independent Film Festival. (The Grizzlie Truth)

More than 60 films by independent filmmakers will be screened in Chilliwack during an upcoming film festival.

The Chilliwack Independent Film Festival (CIFF) is back for its sixth edition at Cottonwood 4 Cinemas Nov. 18 to 20.

“The festival then goes virtual with most films available Nov. 21 to Dec. 4 to be viewed Netflix-style from the comfort of your own home,” said festival director Taras Groves. “With feature films, documentaries, short films, creator panels and more, there’s something for everyone.”

This will actually be the second CIFF event happening in 2022. The 2021 festival was postponed last year due to flooding and films were screened in January 2022. They donated half of the money from the 2021 ticket sales to the Canadian Red Cross for flood relief.

READ MORE: Chilliwack Independent Film Festival returns after being postponed due to flooding

Because of the postponement, that meant less time to organize this year’s festival.

“(It) definitely has been tougher with less time to prepare this year. The loss of two months and doing two festivals in a year is a big strain,” Groves said.

‘Shark’ is one of the films featured in the ‘cult films’ block at the 2022 Chilliwack Independent Film Festival. (Shark)
‘Shark’ is one of the films featured in the ‘cult films’ block at the 2022 Chilliwack Independent Film Festival. (Shark)

They also lost a third of their budget due to it being delayed and because of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, he added.

But, they were still successful in bringing 65 films to this year’s festival. The number of films being offered this year has more than doubled since the inaugural event in 2017 where 29 films were screened.

READ MORE: New independent film festival lands in Chilliwack

The short films have been separated into blocks and will be screened together including Fraser Valley films, cult films, student films and world cinema short films. There are also six full-length feature films.

The block of Fraser Valley films will be opening the festival on Friday, Nov. 18 at 6:30 p.m.

‘Tear You Apart’ is one of the films featured in the ‘Fraser Valley film’ block at the 2022 Chilliwack Independent Film Festival. (Tear You Apart)
‘Tear You Apart’ is one of the films featured in the ‘Fraser Valley film’ block at the 2022 Chilliwack Independent Film Festival. (Tear You Apart)

The price for each in-person screening block is $9.99. A full festival in-person pass for all films is $49.99. Virtual passes are $9.99, but not all films are accessible through the virtual platform.

Additionally, some filmmakers will be in town for the event including Nash Edgerton from Australia. And film distribution company Raven Banner Entertainment will be doing a talk at Cowork Chilliwack about how people can sell their feature film.

“We’re just really passionate about supporting film and artists after a long few years. We hope the community comes out and supports.”

The 2022 Chilliwack Independent Film Festival runs Nov. 18 to 20 at Cottonwood 4 Cinemas and then goes virtual from Nov. 21 to Dec. 4.

For more info, and to buy in-person film passes and virtual passes, go to ciff.ca.

RELATED: Chilliwack Independent Film Festival rated one of the best in the world


 

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Jenna Hauck

About the Author: Jenna Hauck

I started my career at The Chilliwack Progress in 2000 as a photojournalist.
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