The Calgary Underground Film Festival (CUFF) has just released its CUFF.Docs 2020 Documentary Film Festival lineup. Highlights include Alex Winter’s documentary bio-pic Zappa and Jean-Danie Desroches’ wrestling doc, The Last Villains, Mad Dog & the Butcher.

The eighth edition of CUFF.Docs will be a hybrid festival taking place online and at Globe Cinema from November 25^th to December 1^st. This year’s event includes 18 features and two short packages available through 13 in-cinema screenings as well as online screening options.

Festival Director and Lead Programmer Brenda Lieberman had this to say, “With so many great films to choose from this year, we thought the hybrid model was a great opportunity for us to expand the festival.” Lieberman also added, “We could have kept going – the diversity of films, and stories were endless, but we have selected a great variety of gems for doc fans.”

The documentaries playing online will be available for anyone in Alberta to stream on-demand during the weeklong festival. Screenings at Globe Cinema will take place between November 25 and 29 will follow Alberta Health Services guidelines, as well as additional Rules & Regulations set by CUFF and Globe Cinema.

CUFF.Docs 2020 Program Highlights include:

• The festival will open on Wednesday, November 25 with an in-cinema presentation of ZAPPA about the music icon Frank Zappa. This film only shows in-cinema, and will not be available to stream.

• A documentary about Calgary’s deeply troubled police department, NO VISIBLE TRAUMA (Co-Directors Marc Serpa Francoeur & Robinder Uppal), which reveals the devastating consequences of unchecked police violence in our city.

• SPIDERMABLE – A REAL LIFE SUPERHERO STORY (Director Kelly Wolfert) is the heartbreaking and inspirational story of a five-year-old Edmonton girl with cancer who went viral when she lived out her dream of fighting crime with her hero Spider-Man. This film only shows in-cinema, and will not be available to stream.

• THE LAST VILLAINS, MAD DOG & THE BUTCHER (Director Jean-Daniel Desroches) is a documentary about the famed Canadian Vachon wrestling family featuring the last living member of the dynasty: Paul “The Butcher” Vachon.

• A short film package curated by Calgary’s GIRAF Animation Festival, including the Alberta short film IN THE SHADOW OF THE PINES (Director Anne Koizumi). The local animation festival streams online from Nov 19-29.

The other films selected for CUFF.Docs 2020 are:

CLAPBOARD JUNGLE Director Justin McConnell

CURED Director Patrick Sammon and Bennett Singer

THE DILEMMA OF DESIRE Director Maria Finitzo

ENEMIES OF THE STATE Director Sonia Kennebeck

FLINT: WHO CAN YOU TRUST? Director Anthony Baxter

FOR MADMEN ONLY: THE STORIES OF DEL CLOSE Director Heather Ross

HE DREAMS OF GIANTS Director Keith Fulton

INSERT COIN Director Joshua Tsui

LOVEMOBIL Director Elke Margarete Lehrenkrauss

MORGANA Director Josie Hess

PRAYER FOR A LOST MITTEN Director Jean-François Lesage

STALKING CHERNOBYL – EXPLORATION AFTER APOCALYPSE Director Iara Lee

TINY TIM: KING FOR A DAY Director Johan Von Sydow

TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES Director Hannah Jayanti

Documentary Shorts Package feat. 10 short films

7 shorts playing before features

For more information about CUFF.Docs 2020 lineup click here.

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