Ontario International Film Festival ONIFF

Press Release.Rlease

Ontario International Film Festival 3rd edition is postponed .

Ontario International Film Festival upper management announced this week that its 3rd edition (2022) will be postponed.

This decision came in after careful consideration of the world’s current situation and the uncertainty that it creates.

Ontario International Film Festival team

Ontario International Film Festival represents filmmakers worldwide. With equality of opportunity and diversity comes increased talent in the film industry and industries of all kind. We are proud to hold this inniative!!

On behalf of the ONIFF team, Happy New Year to everyone. We thank you all for your support and we look forward to another great year. 2021 had it's challenges but it saw alot of great things, great films,great people and great moments. More to come!!!

The number of selections for ONIFF 2021 that were action/thrillers were small, but here were some gems that complimented the genre well.

Boneyard racers was an attempt to bring a small creative crew together on a very tight budget in a compromised industry during the pandemic and create a simple but creative and entertaining short film. The films story is straight forward the but the craft behind creating a supernatural drag race is truely something special.

Uncover was a dramatic thriller that took on the daunting task of telling a story with a very small run time of 4-5 mins, a task in which it succeeded

Gestirn tells a story about letting go of the past. Director Fabio Stecher really wanted to speak directly to audiences and make them relive their own past in a quest to let go.

ONIFF 2021 showed off a great sense if humor.
Zeen director Calyx Passailaigue wanted to make a social commentary that presented the main character as someone whos ego and need ot be seen a certain way trumped the need to make an actual great film. As with any social commentary, there is a under current of humur throughout this short film

Dand legs was made to be a homage to 1920 filmmaking with a black and white silent comedic style.
Quick suitors was a film that Tom Temnisco made as a comedic spin of the post apocalyptic genre as well as romance

In the film Mate & Date, director Marco Iammatteo wanted to put a comedic spin on a tale of mourning and finding hope. He also had to put pogether a film without having any of the actors on set at the same time due to COVID.
These are just a few of the comedic gems we showed at our festival.

On behalf of the ONIFF team, we wish everyone a marvelous christmas and happy holidays

A look back at some of our darker film selections in ONIFF 2021 from the horror/thriller genre.

Director VIVIAN PAPAGEORGIOU wanted to portray a different version of the classic Hansel and Gretal story that was unique in its thematic symbolism of child abuse. This short film subtly shows the difference between a child’s world and an adult’s world.

Trend is a short film that reignited a style from the classic slasher genre and infused it with the fashion world in a unique and stylized genre blend.

Edwin is a feature length film shot in the course of only 3 weeks. The original draft of the film was more of a ghost story but was then changed to have a psychological edge to it, making the film a well made isolated and contained thriller.

Legend of Sombreron director Enrique Mendoza focused on Guatemalan folklore. His film acts as a surreal fairytale with dark and disturbing cautionary themes. The short film plays on the audience's imagination and perception.

A look back at some of the gems we received this year. Award winners varied such as Moving Past Goodbye which received our unique Next Generation Award while films like Petrichor racked up multiple award winning categories. This year had alot to offer in terms of talent and movie making craftsmanship. As we come to the end of the year we will be posting more look backs at many of the selected films that we showed.

Thank you, sponsors & partners for all your support in this years festival
IPG CPA
RealTime
Durham Dental Care
Indian Documentary Producers Association
Academy of Wellness
Location Media Group
Canadian Egyptian Heritage Association
Egyfilm - إيجي فيلم
Canada Multicultural Entertainment

A big thank you to all our filmmakers who submitted their films for this year's festival. Our team and jury had a difficult time picking winners for each of our categories. The work done by everyone for each film was truely exceptional.
Congratulations to the filmmakers that won in each category. These films put on display a great talent and diverse skillset from all around the world. We are proud to have showcased these your talents to the world and wish you unlimited success on your filmmaking ventures. Certificates to be sent to award winners soon!!
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Congratulations to the team of "Moving Past Goodbye" for receiving the Next Generation award 👏

Congratulations to the "Queen vs. Patrick O'donnell" team for winning best International documentary 👏

Congratulations to "The Line" team on winning Best Canadian Documentary 👏

Congratulations to the team of "all blood runs red" for winning best international short film

Congratulations to the team of "Somewhere Then" for winning best student International film. 👏

Congratulations to the team behind "Golden Child" on winning the best Canadian student film category!!! 🎥

Congratulations to "Give Time" on winning the best Canadian Short film category 👏

Congratulations to the "Blue Hour" team and Andy Maton on winning best supporting actor for a Canadian feature category.

Congratulations to the entire team of "The Petrichor" for winning in a whopping 8 categories for a Canadian feature. We were honored to showcase this film at our festival this year 🙌

Congratulations to the entire team behind "Mother of Apostles" for winning in 4 categories for an international feature including best actor,supporting actor,director and cinematography

Congratulations to "A Day and a Night" for winning Best editing for an international feature. We were proud to showcase this movie at our festival. 👏

Congratulations to the team behind "Gate to Heaven" for winning 4 of our prestigous awards including best sound,music and script for an international film and best international film!! We were honored to showcase this film at our festival this year. 🙌

Get excited!!! Tomorrow evening at 7pm the closing ceremony kicks off. All award winners will be announced. Stay tuned and visit www.cya.live/channel/oniff to attend.

A documentary film showcasing the expulsion of the Asian community from Uganda in 1972, 90 days to Leave portrays the lesser known human rights issues related to pan-African relations. Its free on demand to watch at www.cya.live/channel/oniff

Black and White comedy short film "Dandy Legs" is available now free on demand at www.cya.live/channel/oniff