It began in 1986 as
Local Heroes Film Festival—a smaller, 3-day film festival in March. Over time, the festival grew in size and scope; in 2003, the festival was moved to September, expanded to 9-days, and renamed the Edmonton International Film Festival. Since its creation, EIFF has welcomed veteran and emerging filmmakers, actors, writers, and producers alike, hosting such talent as
Jon Cryer,
Thom Fitzgerald,
Paul Gross,
Werner Herzog,
Norman Jewison,
Naomi Klein,
Jørgen Leth,
Avi Lewis,
Neil Mandt,
Luke Matheny,
Albert Maysles,
Bruce McDonald,
Don McKellar,
Deepa Mehta,
Molly Parker,
Patrick Warburton,
John Waters,
Shea Whigham, among others. For the 2010 festival, organizers planned on 55 feature-length and 100 short films, all shown at the
Empire Theatres in the Edmonton City Centre.
2020 In 2020, the 34th Edmonton International Film Festival consisted of a program of over 130 short films and 30 feature films. That year, given the
COVID-19 pandemic, the EIFF was presented for the first time by subscriber-based
Super Channel. Super Channel broadcast 20 short films and 20 feature films, each feature being shown only once over 10 days. From October 1 to 10, EIFF was also hosted at
Edmonton City Centre's
Landmark Cinemas (at 25% capacity), where 22 short films and all 30 features were projected. In 2020, the two winners of the Grand Jury Award for Short Film were
The Bear and the Beekeeper (live action) and
If Anything Happens I Love You (animated). == References ==