The Windsor International Film Festival (WIFF) has selected the 10 films eligible for its Canadian film award as it more than doubles the cash prize.

The WIFF Prize in Canadian Film will have a $25,000 cash prize for the director of the winning feature, a significant increase from the previous $10,000 cash prize when the award was established in 2019. The winner will be announced at an awards brunch on Oct. 30 during the festival, which runs from Oct. 27 to Nov. 6. All 10 films will screen during WIFF.

The nominees include Jason Loftus’ Mandarin-language animated documentary Eternal Spring (Lofty Sky Pictures), which is Canada’s 2023 Oscar pick for Best International Feature Film, and several recent winners at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). They include Anthony Shim’s Riceboy Sleeps (Lonesome Heroes Productions), Luis De Filippis’ Something You Said Last Night (JA Productions, Cinédokké) and Nisha Pahuja’s To Kill a Tiger (National Film Board of Canada, Notice Pictures).

Rounding out the 10 nominated films are Clement Virgo’s Brother (Conquering Lion Pictures, Hawkeye Pictures); Charlotte Le Bon’s Falcon Lake (Cinefrance Studios, Metafilms, Onzecinq); Chandler Levack’s I Like Movies (VHS Forever); Maxime Giroux’s Norbourg (Les Films du Boulevard); Carly Stone’s North of Normal (JoBro Productions, Independent Edge Films, Undisputed Pictures); and Lindsay MacKay’s The Swearing Jar (Monkeys & Parrots, Farpoint Films, Middle Child Films).

The winning film will be selected by “a jury of industry professionals,” according to a news release, with the jury members to be unveiled at a later date. Nominations were announced on Saturday (Sept. 17) during TIFF.

This will mark the second time the award has been handed out since its 2019 establishment. The inaugural winner was Kuessipan (Max Films), directed by Myriam Verreault.

Vincent Georgie, executive director and chief programmer at WIFF, said the festival plans to “grow this prize every year as a sign of our commitment to the Canadian film industry,” in a statement.

Image courtesy of Lofty Sky Pictures