Three Canadian films will be making their world premieres at the Whistler Film Festival (WFF).

WFF announced the first Canadian titles in its 2023 lineup on Wednesday (Oct 4.), with five films from B.C.-based directors.

The films making their world premiere include Zoe.mp4 (Broken Mirror Films, Bright Idea Pictures, Boyko Media), by director Jeremy Lutter, who has also written and produced the film alongside Jesse Boyko and Ryan Bright. Rob Neilson is the executive producer on the film (pictured), which centres on a woman whose life and plans are turned upside down after she’s abducted by a suburban single mom, who is also an altruistic serial killer.

Directed by Bruce Sweeney, She Talks to Strangers (Carkner Films) is a dark comedy about a “divorce that ends up in manslaughter,” starring Camille Sullivan, Gabrielle Rose and Jeff Gladstone. The film is produced by Jeff Gladstone, Alexandra Froggatt, Tracy Major, Rafi Spivak, and Dave Pelletier.

Also making its world premiere is the true crime doc Altona (Foreshadow Films, Langer Films), which is written and directed by The Affolter Brothers (Heath, Thomas, Jon, Nathan), who are also producers alongside Craig Langdon. Langdon is also the film’s executive producer. Altona centres on the survivor of a brutal attack and his journey to forgive the perpetrators. The doc tells the story through a mix of animation and eyewitness accounts.

Rounding out the list of titles announced are Jake Thomas’ feature doc Adaptation and Kim Albright’s With Love and a Major Organ.

Adaptation (1984 Pictures, Bunk 11 Pictures, Riley Lake Productions, Serendipity) is written and directed by Thomas and tells the story of a group of para-athletes as they compete in B.C.’s Summer Race Series, which is the the “world’s first downhill mountain bike race to include an adaptive mountain bike category.” Adaptation is produced by Thomas, Michael Baker and Niall Pinder, while Brendan McNeill, Ari Taub and Patrick White are executive producers. The film will be making its Western Canada premiere.

The magic realism comedy With Love and a Major Organ is directed by Albright and based on a play by Julia Lederer, who also wrote the screenplay. The film is produced by Madeleine Davis, while Violator Films’ Lori Lozinski and Women In the Director’s Chair co-creator Dr. Carol Whiteman are executive producers. With Love and a Major Organ is set in a world where “everyone’s heart is an object” and centres on a woman who gives hers to a man she’s fallen for. The film will be making its British Columbia premiere.

Three of the five titles will be eligible for WFF’s Borsos Competition for Best Canadian Feature, which comes with a $15,000 cash prize sponsored by the Directors Guild of Canada, B.C. District Council, and a $20,000 production prize sponsored by Company 3, according to a news release.

The 23rd edition of the Whistler Film Festival + Content Summit will run from Nov. 29 to Dec. 3, with the festival moving to select online screenings available across Canada from Dec. 4 to Dec 17.

Photo courtesy of Jeremy Lutter