The 2021 edition of the Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival, the 33rd edition in the event's history, was held from September 18 to 26, 2021 in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.
The 2021 festival was presented under a hybrid model due to the COVID-19 pandemic with both in-person and online screenings.Colleen Romaniuk, "Cinéfest Sudbury unveils its 2021 program; will follow a hybrid format". Toronto Star, August 27, 2021. The festival also introduced a number of juried film awards, following several years of only presenting audience choice-based awards; the new awards program includes cash prizes for Outstanding Canadian Feature, Outstanding International Feature, Outstanding Female-Led Feature, Cinema Indigenized Outstanding Talent, French-Language Feature, Inspiring Voices and Perspectives Feature, Outstanding Short, Outstanding Emerging Canadian Short, and Outstanding Animated Short."Sudbury's Cinefest unveils new awards and major cash prizes". Sudbury Star, August 8, 2021.
Awards Award Film Filmmaker Audience Choice, Feature Film The Vinland Club (Le Club Vinland) Benoît Pilon Audience Choice, Feature Film Runner Up Mass Fran Kranz Audience Choice, Documentary Hell or Clean Water Cody Westman Audience Choice, Documentary Runner Up Julia Julie Cohen, Betsy West Audience Choice, Short Film The Robbery Nika Belianina Audience Choice, Short Film Runner Up Jeep Boys Alec Pronovost Outstanding Canadian Feature All My Puny Sorrows Michael McGowanDonald Macdonald, "Sudbury entertainment briefs: New novel; Cinefest awards". Sudbury Star, October 3, 2021. Outstanding International Feature Official Competition (Competencia oficial) Gastón Duprat & Mariano Cohn Outstanding Female-Led Feature Film Mothering Sunday Eva Husson Cinema Indigenized Outstanding Talent Wildhood Bretten Hannam French-Language Feature Film Underground (Souterrain) Sophie Dupuis Inspiring Voices and Perspectives Dear Future Children Franz Böhm Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers Outstanding Short Film Pipo and Blind Love (Pipo et l’amour aveugle) Hugo Le Gourrierec Outstanding Emerging Canadian Short Filmmaker Talk Trivelle Simpson Outstanding Animated Short Itchy the Camel: Rakes Anders Beer, PH Dallair
Official selections Gala Presentations English title Original title Director(s) Production country All My Puny Sorrows Michael McGowan Canada The Card Counter Paul Schrader United States The Desperate Hour Phillip Noyce Canada, United States The Electrical Life of Louis Wain Will Sharpe United Kingdom Falling for Figaro Ben Lewin Australia, United Kingdom Juniper Matthew J. Saville New Zealand Night Raiders Danis Goulet Canada, New Zealand Official Competition Competencia oficial Gastón Duprat & Mariano Cohn Spain, Argentina One Second 一秒钟 Zhang Yimou China The Vinland Club Le Club Vinland Benoît Pilon Canada
Special Presentations English title Original title Director(s) Production country Best Sellers Lina Roessler Canada, United States Charlotte Eric Warin, Tahir Rana Canada, France, Belgium Dear Future Children Franz Böhm Germany, United Kingdom, Austria Delicious Délicieux Éric Besnard Belgium, France Everything Went Fine Tout s'est bien passé François Ozon France Jockey Clint Bentley United States Julia Julie Cohen and Betsy West United States Maria Chapdelaine Sébastien Pilote Canada The Middle Man Bent Hamer Canada, Denmark, Germany, Norway Mothering Sunday Eva Husson United Kingdom Ninjababy Yngvild Sve Flikke Norway Paris, 13th District Les Olympiades Jacques Audiard France The Perfect Victim La victime parfaite Monic Néron, Émilie Perreault Canada Petite Maman Céline Sciamma France Sam Yan England Canada Underground Souterrain Sophie Dupuis Canada The Worst Person in the World Verdens verste menneske Joachim Trier Norway, France, Denmark, Sweden
Features Canada English title Original title Director(s) Production country All-in Madonna Arnold Lim Canada The Boathouse Hannah Cheesman Canada Drunken Birds Les Oiseaux ivres Ivan Grbovic Canada, Mexico Heirdoms Soumissions Emmanuel Tardif Canada Learn to Swim Thyrone Tommy Canada Motherly Craig David Wallace Canada The Noise of Engines Le Bruit des moteurs Philippe Grégoire Canada Old Buddies Les Vieux chums Claude Gagnon Canada Quickening Haya Waseem Canada See for Me Randall Okita Canada Shadowtown Skuggahverfið Karolina Lewicka, Jon Gustafsson Canada, Iceland Tanglewood Ben Bruhmuller Canada The White Fortress Tabija Igor Drljaca Canada, Bosnia Without Havana Sin la Habana Kaveh Nabatian Canada Woman in Car Vanya Rose Canada
Documentaries English title Original title Director(s) Production country Albedo Stephen A. Smith Canada Artificial Immortality Ann Shin Canada Big Giant Wave Comme une vague Marie-Julie Dallaire Canada Flee Jonas Poher Rasmussen Denmark, France, Norway, Sweden The Gig Is Up Shannon Walsh Canada Hell or Clean Water Cody Westman Canada My Tree Jason Sherman Canada Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché Celeste Bell, Paul Sng United Kingdom Sisters With Transistors Lisa Rovner United States Someone Like Me Steve J. Adams, Sean Horlor Canada
World Cinema English title Original title Director(s) Production country Arthur Rambo Laurent Cantet France The Big Hit Un triomphe Emmanuel Courcol France Broken Diamonds Peter Sattler United States Compartment No. 6 Hytti nro 6 Juho Kuosmanen Finland, Estonia, Germany, Russia A Fishy Business in Saint-Pierre et Miquelon Ça tourne à Saint-Pierre et Miquelon Christian Monnier France Ma Belle, My Beauty Marion Hill United States Memory Box Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige France, Lebanon, Canada, Qatar Nowhere Special Uberto Pasolini Italy, France Wife of a Spy スパイの妻, Supai no tsuma Kiyoshi Kurosawa Japan
Cinema Indigenized English title Original title Director(s) Production country Bootlegger Caroline Monnet Canada One of Ours Yasmine Mathurin Canada Portraits from a Fire Trevor Mack Canada Run Woman Run Zoe Leigh Hopkins Canada Wildhood Bretten Hannam Canada Wochiigii lo: End of the Peace Heather Hatch Canada
In Full View: Crisis, Conflict, Conscience English title Original title Director(s) Production country Mass Fran Kranz United States Memoria Apichatpong Weerasethakul Thailand, Colombia, France, Germany, Mexico, China
Stir Crazy Frights and Fantasies English title Original title Director(s) Production country Cyst Tyler Russell United States Friday the 13th Sean S. Cunningham United States Kicking Blood Blaine Thurier Canada Titane Julia Ducournau France
Festival Favourites English title Original title Director(s) Production country Brain Freeze Julien Knafo Canada Drunk Bus John Carlucci, Brandon LaGanke United States El Father Plays Himself Mo Scarpelli Venezuela, United Kingdom, Italy, United States Fanny: The Right to Rock Bobbi Jo Hart Canada Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers Canada Listen Ana Rocha de Sousa Portugal
Shorts English title Original title Director(s) Production country Bad Seeds Mauvaises herbes Claude Cloutier Canada Bleach Mattias Graham Canada Evan's Drum Ossie Michelin Canada Frimas Marianne Farley Canada The Frost Le Froid Natalia Duguay Canada The Hangman at Home Michelle Kranot, Uri Kranot Canada, Denmark, France Into Light Sheona McDonald Canada Itchy the Camel: Rakes Anders Beer, PH Dallair Canada Jeep Boys Alec Pronovost Canada Marked Matthew Avery Berg United States Pipo and Blind Love Pipo et l’amour aveugle Hugo Le Gourrierec France The Lost Seahorse Benjamin Fieschi-Rose Canada The Robbery Nika Belianina Canada Stereotype Nahyun Beak, Dahyun Beak South Korea, United States Talk Trivelle Simpson Canada Then Sings My Soul Susan Rodgers Canada An Uninvited Guest Richard B. Pierre Canada
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