Programming

LIFT co-presents “Shorts Programme 1” at Toronto Arab Film Thursday 27 May 2021, 18:00 to 20:00 Mutts (Clebs) by Halima Ouardiri LIFT co-presents Shorts Programme 1 at 2021 Toronto Arab Film Programme: “Sukar” by Illias El Faris “Mutts (Clebs)” by Halima Ouardiri “Foam (Ecume)” by Omar Elhamy “Jardins Paradise” by Yza Nouiga “And The Night Will Carry Us” by Koudhai Amine

LIFT co-presents “poetics of distance” at Images Festival Monday 24 May 2021, 20:00 to 21:30 Letter From Your Far-Off Country by Suneil Sanzgiri LIFT co-presents poetics of distance at 2021 Images Festival Programme: “Nini, What Time Is It There?” by Sabrina Ruobing Zhao “And on a Different Note” by Mohammad Shawky Hassan “History of Light” by Grau “Letter From Your Far-Off Country” by Suneil Sanzgiri

LIFT, imagineNATIVE and Harbour Collective present “imagineNATIVE x LIFT Originals” Thursday 22 April 2021, 14:00 to 17:00 Menaptwi by Natasha Naveau THE LIAISON OF INDEPENDENT FILMMAKERS OF TORONTO (LIFT), THE IMAGINENATIVE FILM + MEDIA ARTS FESTIVAL AND THE HARBOUR COLLECTIVE PRESENT imagineNATIVE X LIFT ORIGINALS Toronto, April 8, 2021—The Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT), imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival and the Harbour Collective are pro”… more

LIFT co-presents “DIS/Able: Dismantling Ableist Filmmaking…a DIY Extravaganza!” at CFMDC’s “The Breadth of” Symposium Saturday 3 April 2021 – Friday 23 April 2021 The Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) is pleased to co-present “DIS/Able: Dismantling Ableist Filmmaking…a DIY Extravaganza!” as part of CFMDC’s “The Breadth of” symposium This program, curated by Jaene Castrillon, includes a screening and 3 DIY lectures over the month of April on cfmdc.tv.⁠ This screening and DIY lectures showc”… more

LIFT co-presents “Dope is Death” at the Toronto Black Film Festival Wednesday 10 February 2021 – Thursday 21 January 2021 Dope is Death by Mia Donova LIFT co-presents Dope is Death at the 2021 Toronto Black Film Festival Programme: Dope is Death is the story of how Dr. Mutulu Shakur, stepfather of Tupac Shakur, along with fellow Black Panthers and the Young Lords, combined community health with radical politics to create the first acupuncture detoxification program in”… more

LIFT co-presents “Discomfort Zone” at Reel Asian Thursday 12 November 2020 – Thursday 19 November 2020 Lola’s Wake by Tricia Hagoriles   LIFT co-presents Discomfort Zone at 2020 Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival From the mundane to the spectacular, our characters in these five films pave their own paths as some take matters into their own hands, while others come across new points of understanding and acceptance. Programme: “Away,”… more

LIFT co-presents “Of Differences, Lineages, and Belongings” at aluCine Correspondencia / Correspondence by Valentina Alvarado Mato LIFT co-presents Of Differences, Lineages, and Belongings  at 2020 aluCine Latin Film + Media Arts Festival A correlation of feminist forces that are constantly structured and restructured. An incessant becoming (transformation). Video, celluloid and performance become resilient matter, sh”… more

LIFT co-presents “Shorts Programme 1” at the Toronto Arab Film Saturday 25 July 2020, 16:00 to 19:00 We Were There by Rodrigue Hammal LIFT co-presents Shorts Programme 1 at Toronto Arab Film 2020 Programme: “In Uncle Salem Country” by Slim Belhiba “The Old Kalbelouz” by Imène Ayadi “So Dear, So Lovely” by Diana Allen “Abdullah and Leilah” by Ashtar AL Khirsan “We Were There” by Rodrigue Hammal “The Sparrow” by Nasri Hajaj

LIFT and imagineNATIVE 2020 Mentorship Announcement Tuesday 16 June 2020 – 2020 LIFT and imagineNATIVE Mentorship Winner Tim Myles Toronto, June 16, 2020—The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival and the Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) are pleased to announce that Toronto-based artist Tim Myles is the recipient of the 16th annual LIFT/imagineNATIVE Mentorship. Tim is a Mi’kmaq artist originally from”… more

LIFT co-presents “Judy Versus Capitalism” at Hot Docs Thursday 28 May 2020 – LIFT co-presents Judy Versus Capitalism at the 2020 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival Judy Versus Capitalism Dir. Mike Hoolboom Available to stream May 28 to June 6, 2020 Judy Rebick has always lent her voice to those who need to be heard. Since the 1970s, she’s been a vocal advocate for a more progressive Canada. A second-wave f”… more

LIFT Supported Call for Submissions: PIX FILM Studio Immersion Program 2020 Saturday 9 May 2020 – LIFT SUPPORTED CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS PIX FILM STUDIO IMMERSION PROGRAM 2020 TORONTO, May 9, 2020—The PIX FILM Collective is now accepting applications for the next 2020 Studio Immersion Program. This will expand upon the theme of Hybrid Models of Filmmaking. We are seeking applications from International and Canadian artists to re-think, research an”… more

LIFT announces the 2020 BAICC Resident – Valentina Alvarado Matos Monday 3 February 2020 – Saturday 29 February 2020 LIFT ANNOUNCES 2020 BAICC RESIDENT VALENTINA ALVARADO MATOS Toronto, February 12, 2020—The Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) is pleased to welcome Venezuelan filmmaker Valentina Alvarado Matos as the current resident in the third edition of the BAICC Residencias Artísticas Internacionales de Creacion Cinematográfica, a collaborati”… more

LIFT co-presents “Bageroo Thirteen! Volume 3” program at the 8 Fest Sunday 26 January 2020 – Study of Color and Gesture by Tetsuya Maruyama LIFT co-presents Bageroo Thirteen! Volume 3 at the 8 Fest 2020 This is a fun one! Our programming team had a really great time assembling this spooky program filled with the most curious works! Programme: “The Big Country [Nothing But] Flowers” by Tess Eliott “Clouds” by Jeffrey Mann “A Really Bad Film”… more

EXTENDED // Call for Applicants: LIFT and imagineNATIVE 16th annual Mentorship Program LIFT and imagineNATIVE 16th ANNUAL MENTORSHIP PROGRAM: CALL FOR APPLICANTS Extended Deadline: Monday, January 20, 2020 Toronto, December 17, 2019—Are you an Indigenous filmmaker with a great idea for a 5-minute 16mm short? Celebrating 16 years of supporting independent Indigenous film, the LIFT/imagineNATIVE Mentorship program welcomes you to explo”… more

Fall 2019 Studio Immersion Program – Artist Talk: Andrew Lennox Friday 20 December 2019, 19:00 to 21:00 FALL 2019 STUDIO IMMERSION PROGRAM ARTIST TALK: ANDREW LENNOX As an artist in the PIX FILM/LIFT Studio Immersion Program, Andrew Lennox has worked in a new project using archival images (government/public domain sources) of the development of West Toronto, over the last 100+ years, as its source material. In addition, he is photographing and using”… more

Artist Talk with Visiting Artist Milja Viita Wednesday 11 December 2019, 19:00 to 21:00 35mm still from “Department of Film Pathology” (work in progress) by Milja Viita  The Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT)is pleased to present an Artist Talk with Visiting Artist Milja Viita Milja Viita in person On Wednesday December 11 at 7:00pm at LIFT (1137 Dupont Street), Milja Viita will present an artist talk of her work and”… more

LIFT co-presents “Our Dance of Revolution” at Regent Park Film Festival Friday 22 November 2019 –   Our Dance of Revolution by Phillip Pike LIFT co-presents “Our Dance of Revolution” at the 2019 Regent Park Film Festival Our Dance of Revolution tells the story of how Black queer folks in Toronto faced every adversity, from invisibility to police brutality, and over a four-decade span rose up to become a vibrant, triple-snap-fierce community.

LIFT co-presents “Lada Kamenski” at European Union Film Festival Wednesday 20 November 2019 – Lada Kamenski by Sara Hribar, Marko Šantić  LIFT co-presents “Lada Kamenski” at the 2019 European Union Film Festival Frano, a young director, is preparing his debut feature. In order to cast the star of the film, he invites three actresses to an informal reading rehearsal in his apartment. Once they realise they are competing for the same role, th”… more

LIFT co-presents “Irene’s Ghost” at Rendezvous with Madness Saturday 19 October 2019 – Irene’s Ghost by Iain Cunningham LIFT co-presents “Irene’s Ghost” at the 2019 Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival Irene’s Ghost is a stunning 6-years-in-the-making documentary that follows a son’s search to find out about the mother he never knew. Cunningham breaks the silence and tracks down his mother’s friends and family to rebuild a picture o”… more

LIFT announces Finnish Visiting Artist Milja Viita Tuesday 1 October 2019 – LIFT ANNOUNCES FINNISH VISITING ARTIST MILJA VIITA Toronto, October 16, 2019—The Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) is pleased to announce that Milja Viita has joined us from Helsinki as a visiting artist from October 1 to December 20, 2019 as the inaugural resident in a residency program for alumni of the Academy of Fine Arts of t”… more