The Whistler Film Festival (WFF) has unveiled part of its lineup for 2024, naming the 12 films eligible for its annual Borsos Competition.

The Borsos Competition, now in its 21st year, is comprised of six awards including Best Canadian Feature Film.

The films in competition include the world premiere of the Madison Thomas-produced Lucky Strikes (pictured). Written and directed by Darcy Waite (Don’t Even) the comedy follows two Indigenous bowlers teaming up in a high-stakes competition in order to save their bowling alley.

Also set to have its world premiere is Please, After You (Vortex Media), directed by Playback’s 2021 10 to Watch pick Rob Michaels. The film, written by Amir Kahnamouee, tells the story of a young immigrant in Canada whose life is upturned by the arrival of his cousin.

Other films in competition include Melanie Oates’ Sweet Angel Baby (Relatable Films); Darkest Miriam (Younger Daughter Films, Low End, Through The Lens Entertainment), directed by Naomi Jaye; Aberdeen (Farpoint Films, Back to Space Productions) written and directed by Eva Thomas and Ryan Cooper; and Hunting Matthew Nichols (Dropshock Pictures), directed by Markian Tarasiuk.

The list also includes The Birds Who Fear Death (Dim Light Pictures), directed by Sanjay Patel; the Playback 2024 10 to Watch pick Emmanuel Kabongo-produced Sway, directed by Charles Hamilton and Zachary Ramelan; Really Happy Someday (Spindle Films), directed by Playback’s 2022 10 to Watch alum J Stevens; and Kryptic (Goodbye Productions) from Kourtney Roy.

Rounding out the list is Who Do I Belong To (Instinct Bleu, Midi la Nuit, Tanit Films), written and directed by Meryam Joobeur; and Phoenixes (Les Films Rôdeurs), written and directed by Jonathan Beaulieu-Cyr.

The jury for the Borsos Competition include actors Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black) and Tantoo Cardinal (Killers of the Flower Moon), along with actor and director Cory Bowles (Trailer Park Boys).

The full lineup for WFF will be released on Nov. 5, with the festival taking place from Dec. 4 to 8.

Photo by Gabriel Levesque; image courtesy of WFF