Blood in the Snow Film Festival (BITS), a unique and imaginative showcase of contemporary Canadian genre films, are pleased to announce the Blood in the Snow Film Festival is back for its 12th exciting edition fully in-person November 20 – 25 at the Isabel Bader Theatre in Toronto presented by Super Channel.
Thrillers play a big part of the lineup this year with the festival feature opener Last County by Barret Mulholland and the World Premiere of Walking Supply from director Derek Barnes.
Other highlights include the highly acclaimed My Animal, from director and long time alumni Jesse Thomas Cook returns with The Hyperborean. Jesse’s last film to premiere at BITS in 2021, Cult Hero went on to be nominated for six Canadian Screen Awards.
Two short films that originally played at BITS before have been finally made into feature films making their Toronto Premiere at Blood in Snow. Robert Cuffley’s sci-fi film Romi and the festival closes with the gonzo tribute to The Last Video Store by the directing team of Cody Kennedy and Tim Rutherford.
Other titles include the indigenous led horror-comedy anthology series Tales from the Rez and the neo-noir mystery thriller Purgatory Jack by the brotherly Brett Butler and Jason Butler. The festival also includes five feature length short film programs including the highly popular comedy horror program Funny Frights and Unusual Sights and the highly regarded Dark Visions program which will be part of the opening night festivities.
“It has been a challenging time since the pandemic but our partnership with Super Channel has helped us weather that storm for the past three years helping us with online screenings in 2020 and hybrid screenings in 2021 and 2022,” said Kelly Michael Stewart, Festival Director and Founder of the Blood in the Snow Film Festival. “Now that we are back fully in-person again for the first time since 2019, I am really glad that we have their continued support along with all of our other sponsors and partners.”
Below is the BITS lineup of features and shorts programs scheduled to screen in-person at the Isabel Bader theatre. All festival features will be preceded by a short film and followed by a Q&A with filmmakers.
Tickets for the Isabel Bader Theatre lineup are on sale now and can be purchased here.
BITS2023 Full screening schedule
Monday November 20th
7pm
Dark Visions (103 mins)
Our opening night of the darkest and creepiest films to play Blood in the Snow.
T-Bone dir. Zachary Bennett (8:00)
Jo and Chris relax in their car, recalling awkward moments they’ve shared as a couple over the years. Chris is reluctantly thrust into reality and the resulting tragedy that will forever change his life.
High End Dying dir. Helen Liu (12:24)
When elite level chef Eloise Vaughn receives a scathing review from famed critic Alistair Brown, she invites him back for a private dinner service aimed at redeeming her name. Alistair accepts, and as the service commences, the pair’s shared history is revealed, as are the extreme lengths Eloise is willing to go to impress him.
Sanguine dir. Robin Careless (11:23)
A first date takes an unexpected turn as Mirabel finds herself captured and experimented on by shady figures who believe she isn’t what she seems.
The Monster Inside My Head dir. Maude Michaud (7:48) Ava’s debilitating hyper-sensitivity to sound is becoming unliveable. Her doctor’s prescription of exposure therapy backfires as she descends into a fit of panic in class and collapses in a park when bombarded by ambient noise.
Solitary dir. Maninder Chana (16:59)
With minutes left before U.S. forces level a Mujahideen camp, a Sikh prisoner trapped in solitary confinement turns to his faith to make a daring escape.
Cold dir. Liz Whitmere (20:00)
Jane likes things to be clean. Jane has just turned 40. Jane died sometime last week.
She’s cold all the time, her skin is grey, and her appetite is non-existent. Something is wrong.
Spaghetti dir. M. H. Murray (15:58)
A queer woman is haunted by the ghost of her recently deceased lover on her final night in their home before it is sold.
Cold Light dir. Rogelio Rodriguez (17:40)
In the middle of the night, a beaten young woman is tied to a chair and about to be buried alive by an old big farmer. Being in the middle of nowhere, she seems to have no escape but to try to talk her way out of there. How did she get to be in that position? Only a miracle could help her.
Get Away dir. Michael Gabriele (15:25)
A group of friends spending the weekend at a remote vacation rental in the desert, play a mysterious VHS tape, and realize that there are too many strange and terrifying coincidences.
6:30 pm – Feature: My Animal dir. Jacqueline Castel (103 mins)
Heather, an outcast teenage goalie, longs to play on the hockey team of her small northern town. She meets and falls in love with newcomer Jonny, an alluring but tormented figure skater. The girls’ relationship blossoms despite Heather’s struggles with her alcoholic mother, her hidden sexual orientation, and a familial curse that transforms her into a feral wolf under the full moon. Heather and Jonny’s secret tryst soon clashes against the conformity of their small community, exposing dangerous truths and igniting a passionate, violent night of personal transformation.
w/ short: Pest dir. Matthew Broughton (6:00)
A woman calls over a pest controller to deal with an infestation in her house, but not of termites…
9:00 – Feature: The Last Video Store dirs. Cody Kennedy, Tim Rutherford (83 mins)
In this love letter to the era of the video store, we follow Nyla who accidentally uncovers a ‘cursed’ V/H/S tape. This film holds the power to connect the real world to a dimension where movie fantasy exists as reality. Nyla and a video store owner unwittingly awaken a long-dormant curse that unleashes a series of classic cinematic villains plucked from the bowels of the B-movies themselves.
w/ short: Saint-Sacrifice dir. Jean-Claude Leblanc (14:30)
He had promised her love and faithfulness until death do them part, but Antoine, the widower, will be willing to lose his soul to be reunited with his wife on the other side.
For full schedule details, visit:
https://www.bloodinthesnow.ca/
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