From scrappy Alberta-based productions to indie genre flicks, big-name documentaries, and eccentric event programming, the 2025 Calgary Underground Film Festival is championing everything and offering something for everyone.
“Our goal is to always try to put together the best possible festival we can,” says Brenda Lieberman, festival director of CUFF. “Whether it’s a rom-com or documentary, we like to fit it all in.”
CUFF is recognized as Western Canada’s premier genre film festival. Their mission is to raise the status of Calgary’s cultural footprint while also bringing in offbeat unconventional films from around the world. This year’s festival is screening solely out of the city’s beloved Globe Cinema and has expanded to 11 days — the largest festival to date. “We’re just doing what we still do and what we love to do,” says Lieberman.
Alberta is a hub for the weird and talented: a not-so-commercial centre with many skilled creatives, we lean into outsidership and go against the grain. This is a massive advantage for CUFF as they continue platforming local projects.
“I just think [CUFF is] doing an exceptional job, and they’re responsible, in part, for some of the growth that’s happening,” says director and producer Mike Peterson. “I have a theory that there’s this horror movement here, and it’s been going on for the last five-plus years, and it’s still building … In hindsight, I think people are going to look at Alberta as having its own sort of horror voice.”
Peterson’s film, Shadow of God, is a standout Calgary-made contribution to the fest. It centres around a priest who returns home to rural Alberta after performing an exorcism that goes wrong. He finds himself faced with demons of his past as he encounters an unexpected family member with a very different kind of supernatural possession. Getting inventive with its genre conventions, the film is a thrilling romp with beyond-surface-level theming that’ll be perfect to see with a lively cinema audience.
“It’s not particularly pushing the envelope in the way some horror movies do,” says Peterson. “The intention isn’t to be offensive; it’s really to be provocative.”
For those less inclined to horror who still want to support locals, This Too Shall Pass is another noteworthy CUFF selection. This one is directed by Rob Grant, whose previous film, Harpoon, won CUFF’s 2019 Audience Award. Set in the ‘80s, the film follows Mormon high schooler Simon as he and his quirky friends break bad and take a doomed trip across the border as their last hurrah. Both an homage and a critique of John Hughes’ coming-of-age comedies, This Too Shall Pass delivers on that nostalgic feeling of youth while infusing it with a bit of modern edge.
“It’s a movie that exists in a world where the characters are aware of John Hughes movies and are trying to recreate the idealistic road trip movie for themselves with disastrous results,” says Grant. “The fact that [Hughes] treats his teenage ensemble as adults with adult problems — I just hope people connect with that.”
CUFF serves as a great launching pad for filmmakers based here. On top of its 48-Hour Movie Making Challenge, the festival also makes room in its programming for burgeoning local short projects. Fledgling Calgary-bred director Zach Green is excited for his short movie, Cancer Szn, to screen at the festival. He feels it has raised him as an aspiring filmmaker. He describes the short as a queer body-swap psycho-drama, and it will be shown as part of the “That Someone Special” shorts package on April 20.
“It’s going to be exciting when all the crew gets to see the film for the first time … it’s gonna feel like my wedding day, just like a clear sign of growth,” says Green. “This is a film that I’ve put so much energy and thought and years of practice into, so it’s gonna be a milestone for my personal filmmaking journey.”
While international outlets such as Dread Central and MovieMaker Magazine have regarded it as a top festival, CUFF still maintains an all-too-Albertan grassroots vibe in its heart, even in its 22nd run. So get out there and see some homegrown films this year! Calgary’s film scene is thriving, but it doesn’t exist without butts in seats.
The 2025 Calgary Underground Film Festival runs from April 17 to 27.
