Lots of ways to get the giggles at funny-film fest

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This article was published 25/02/2020 (2044 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Canadian International Comedy Film Festival is in its eighth year. If that seems an implausible run for a fairly obscure film fest, you should know it was previously known as Shärt International Comedy Film Festival, named after the factually dubious local funding entity the “Shärt Foundation.” (According to the fest’s website, the foundation turned off the “financial taps” in its fifth year, prompting the name change.)

In any case, it’s back and bigger than ever, thanks to the Winnipeg Film Group, which has partnered with festival co-founders and co-directors Andrew Wall and David Rabsch to expand what was once a one-day comedy binge into a four-day jamboree of yuks, with the first three days operating out of Cinematheque, and the fourth day headquartered at the Park Theatre.

“Since Canada is a world leader in comedy and given the long tradition of cutting-edge independent filmmaking in Winnipeg, much of it with a decidedly skewed sense of humour, WFG partnering with CICFF is a marriage made in the knee-slapping, side-splitting-heaven that is Winnipeg,” says WFG executive director Greg Klymkiw.

With his input, the Free Press offers five entertainment options to check out at the fest:

1. Local Filmmakers Make Good (Laughs), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

The fest kicks off with a 90-minute celebration of short films from local talent, including Boy Toys by Trevor Kristjanson, Found Mattresses by Lorne (The Milkman Cometh) Bailey, Beauty by John Barnard, The New Wallpaper by Andreas Goldfuss, Imitations by Milos Mitrovic and Fabien Velasco, and Will the Real Dave Barber Please Stand Up by WFG Cinematheque senior programmer Dave Barber.

“These filmmakers are truly local heroes and genuine stars in the independent Winnipeg filmmaking scene and every single one of these films were huge hits at previous editions of CICFF,” says Klymkiw.

2. The Twentieth Century, Wednesday, 9 p.m.

Former Winnipegger Matthew Rankin’s feature debut, probably the best Canadian film released last year, is a delightful, deranged biopic of how William Lyon Mackenzie King became prime minister. Though shot in Montreal, it does feature a side trip to Winnipeg, depicted as a garbage-strewn hellhole largely populated by debased boot fetishists (where Rankin’s version of King feels right at home).

A more local feature option screens Thursday at 9 p.m.: Tapeworm, by Milos Mitrovic and Fabian Velasco, a “darkly comic gem featuring an all-star local cast,” exploring “the lives of losers and misfits who intersect in bleak Winnipeg.” It got a four-star review from Free Press critic Frances Koncan.

3. Best of the Fest, Friday, 7 p.m.

A special seven-year retrospective of CICFF comedy classic favourites and award winners offers up a 96-minute array of international laugh-riot short hits, including: The Holdup (Canada) by Struan Sutherland; Awful Lot of Money (Sweden) by Jonatan Skald; Love at First Boop (U.S.) by Ryan Convery; Opening Night (U.S.) by Ryan Glista; Corn Cob Hands (U.S.) by Max Lollar; Ladylike (Australia) by Tel Benjamin; Mr. Richard Francis (Canada) by Tom Hackett; Jim’s a Pineapple (Australia) by Blake Fraser; and Church (U.S.) by Stephen Bodossian.

4. Dark, Edgy & Out-There Comedy, Friday, 9 p.m.

Ninety minutes of all-new intense, dark, fun and risqué comedy shorts deserves a content warning for some of the titles alone, including: Toxic Sperm Warrior (U.S.) by Bryon E. Carson; Zombielust (U.S.) by William Stribling; and The Blow Job (U.K.) by Lewis Reynolds; as well as Killing for Spark (Canada) by Michael Sangalang; The Plunge (U.K.) by Simon Ryninks; Flush (U.S.) by Marie Ward; and “the acclaimed necrophile rom-com” Love Stinks (U.S.) by Leanna Adams.

5. CICFF gala reception, screenings and awards, Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Park Theatre

The fest wraps up with a party event hosted by comedian Big Daddy Tazz and featuring an opening standup set by local legend Al Simmons. Cheap Winnipeggers have an added incentive: Anyone who attends the Cinematheque screenings can hold onto their tickets and gain free admission to the gala.

The entire schedule is online at www.cicff.ca/schedule-list. Tickets are $10 for each screening.

randall.king@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @FreepKing