By RICHELLE CHARKOT
It’s the saddest time of year, the longest possible time before another Calgary Underground Film Festival! This year, CUFF team saw a 25% increase in audience attendance over last year, which, in and of itself, was a record-breaking year. 15,511 attendees enjoyed 11-days of horror, sci-fi, lo-fi DIY, music and more, increasing overall attendance by a whopping 85% since the festival expanded to 11 days in 2023. RUE MORGUE has the distinct honour of sharing the audience and jury award recipients for this year’s fest.
“THE FOX”
The Fox by Dario Russo takes the Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature. The film follows landowner Nick, who discovers his fiancée is cheating on him. One night, a fox makes him an offer he can’t refuse: If he throws his fiancée into a hole, his situation will magically fix itself. The jury called the film “a work of remarkable tonal confidence, committing fully to its offbeat, absurd, and deadpan world without ever losing control.” Honourable mention goes to Bagworm (one of our favourites this year!). Bagworm follows Carroll, a bitter and miserable hammer salesman who steps on a rusty nail and has to contend with a world that grows more violent by the second. “The film leans into psychological tension through its radical aesthetic and darkly uncomfortable humour, creating an experience that is both provocative and open to interpretation,” the jury says.
“BAGWORM”
CUFF ’26’s Best Documentary Feature is The History of Concrete, of which the jury says, “[Filmmaker] John Wilson finds a deeply humanist perspective on gentrification and industry.” Mockbuster gets honourable mention. In the words of the jury, the film “provides a front row seat to the thrill, heartbreak, and unbelievable frustration of trying to make an ambitious project on a modest (or perhaps insane) budget/timeline.”
“HALFWAY HAUNTED”
The Jury Award for Best Canadian Short goes to Halfway Haunted by director Sam Rudykoff. This short is the story of a tenant who joins forces with a ghost to stop a real estate developer. Honourable mention goes to Laura Buchanan‘s Itty Bitty Betty, which follows a woman who finds comfort, isolated with her miniature figurines – one of which is her boyfriend.
This year’s Audience Award go to Tracy and Martina: Goin’ Out West, directed by Brendan Lyle, in which two best friends travel to Alberta to open for a band but find themselves quickly without any money. The audience choice for Best Documentary Feature is Kings of Venice, about following the strange world of paddle tennis courts in Venice Beach, California.
“PIMPLE”
The Audience Award for Best Canadian Short goes to David Feehan’s Finger Guns, following a man full of righteous indignation after he is told he’s no longer allowed to do finger guns in the office, and Fernando Alle’s truly stunning (and stomach churning) tale of a boy and his blemish, Pimple, takes audience honours for Best International Short.
