The Calgary International Film Festival, held Sept. 26 to Oct. 5, proved its plan to beef up to a 10-day festival was a good one, reporting 38,000 attendees for its fourth edition. Last year, the festival, held over six days, brought in 25,000 film-goers.

The film fans attended on the strength of the fest’s movie crop, and the biggest accolades went Denys Arcand’s Les Invasions barbares. Barbares – one of 20 sold-out screenings at the festival – won the AGF People’s Choice Award. Brazil’s Bus 174 took home the CBC Newsworld Prize for best documentary, and The Corporation by Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott won the National Film Board Award for best Canadian doc.

The next CIFF will be held Sept. 24 to Oct. 3, 2004.

-www.calgaryfilm.com