The 2023 Windsor International Film Festival was a grand 11-day celebration of Canadian film. The titles may not have been as exciting as those last year yet some very strong Canadian films.
The chase for the 2023 WIFF Prize in Canadian Film shifted to more French-speaking Canadian films than in 2022.
We are repeating a split of English, French, and Documentaries at the bottom of this page. No Spanish-speaking Canadian films on the 2023 list. The WIFF Prize in Canadian Film nominees are at the bottom of the page. No documentaries were on the WIFF Prize in Canadian Film list in 2023.
Once again, the WIFF Prize in Canadian Film entries were shown in a 2-day period early in the festival. Thanks to luck and timing, your humble narrator was able to see all 10 films in the category. The wait for To Kill A Tiger (from 2022) will be longer.
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person wins 2023 WIFF Prize in Canadian film
The judges made a bold choice in selecting the 2023 WIFF Prize in Canadian film winner. This may be the Canadian film I think about the most, which makes the choice wonderful in my book.
Pleased to see that Backspot and Fitting In lived up to the expectations. I could watch Pascale Bussières all day long and she was outstanding in Frontières | Frontiers. Had my doubts on Seven Veils yet Atom Egoyan shows he still knows how to make great films. Simple comme Sylvain | The Nature of Love was more thoughtful than I expected. Monia Chokri has a good eye for relationships in her films.
Documentaries can be hit and miss yet there were some strong ones: Someone Lives Here; Tautuktavuk (What We See); Twice Colonized; and Without Precedent: The Supreme Life Of Rosalie Abella.
We know Solo won Best Canadian Film at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. Our review goes into more detail: while the drag queens scenes are very pretty, Sophie Dupuis struggles with dialogue and logistical issues. What Dupuis calls a "love story" is just intense gaslighting.
2023 Windsor International Film Festival preview
We're so pleased to announce that the winner of the 2023 LiUNA People's Choice Award is Irena's Vow, directed by Louise Archambault!
— WIFF (@WindsorFilmFest) November 5, 2023
Join us for the free community screening tonight at the Capitol Theatre to celebrate this incredible film! pic.twitter.com/FzBlXRPtW5
Irena's Vow won the People's Choice Award. Sophie Nélisse (Windsor-born) was outstanding in the film. Les Hommes de ma mère | My Mother's Men took second runner-up for the award. Days 2-3 are intense with the WIFF Prize in Canadian film nominees. The fact that they did so well in an audience-voted competition speaks volumes to the quality of the nominees.
Louise Archambault also won the People’s Choice Award in 2013 for Gabrielle.
The 2023 festival didn't have Canadian films that we had seen before. The Mr. Dressup documentary was shown before the festival in Windsor. We hope to catch up with that one.
2023 TIFF wrapup
2022 WIFF Canadian films in review
CanadianCrossing.com film reviews
CanadianCrossing.com film coverage
We hope to have future reviews for I'm Just Here For The Riot, Lac-Megantic: This Is Not An Accident (Episodes 1-4), and Satan Wants You. The Perfect Story and Valley of Exile are Canadian films in name only.
299 Queen Street West was the closing night film. We hope to have a future review.
Adaptation, Attila, The Beast (co-production), Coco Farm, Depraved Mind, The Man Who Stole Einstein's Brain, and Suze fell through the cracks.
Due to time constraints, we couldn't stay for some of the Q&As from directors from the WIFF Prize in Canadian film category. I saw Atom Egoyan but didn't get a chance to ask a question.
I briefly waved to Maxime Giroux, who was there in 2022 for Norbourg. Turns out Giroux was one of the judges for the 2023 WIFF Prize in Canadian film.
We were not comped for the 2023 festival pass unlike the 2022 festival pass. Disclosure is paramount.
photos credit: me
Twitter capture: @WindsorFilmFest
Overview English French Documentaries
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