About CUFF

For 20 years, the Calgary Underground Film Festival has been dedicated to elevating Calgary’s cultural landscape with the best in international independent cinema. We’re now Western Canada’s premiere genre festival, and one of Calgary’s most anticipated events for film fans. Recently, CUFF was named one of the Best Horror Festivals in the World, 2022 by Dread Central, and one of the World’s 50 Best Genre Festivals and one of 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee in 2021 by MovieMaker Magazine. CUFF continues to attract audiences with its programming of films that engage audiences and defy convention. 

Founded in 2003, CUFF is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to programming films that defy convention. Through the screening of contemporary works in various categories that include: feature, documentary, animation and shorts – we bring Albertans a unique roster of films rarely seen in North American theatres.

We actively look to showcase titles in all genres, from horror, sci-fi and fantasy to comedies, thrillers and music-related films. In addition to finding great films, we are committed to introducing you to the people behind the lens, by showcasing local and international indie filmmakers. We are proud to contribute to Calgary's thriving arts community and are thrilled to bring innovative and challenging selections to all film enthusiasts.

CUFF now runs two festivals. The 20th Anniversary Edition of the main festival will take place from April 20-30, 2023. Expanded to 11 days, the 2023 festival will be our largest festival to date! The 11th CUFF.Docs Documentary Film Festival will take place in November 2023; we also host a year-round Off the CUFF series, and special events throughout the year.

After two years of online festivals, in November 2021 and April 2022 CUFF hosted successful hybrid festivals, with films showing both at Globe Cinema and streaming online across Alberta. The 10th CUFF.Docs 2022 was our first fully in-cinema festival since the pandemic, and saw an increase in attendance of 24% over the 2021 hybrid festival. CUFF will continue to monitor industry trends and public health and safety regulations, but are optimistically planning to continue with in-cinema only festivals moving forward.

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a festival in the know

CUFF elevates Calgary's cultural landscape with the best in local and international independent cinema. We challenge and entertain our audiences with boundary-breaking films, compelling artist showcases and engaging events.