| Opening film | The Queen of My Dreams by Fawzia Mirza |
|---|---|
| Closing film | Flora and Son by John Carney |
| Location | Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Festival date | September 14–21, 2023 |
| Website | atlanticfilmfestival |
The 2023 edition of the Atlantic International Film Festival , the 43rd edition in the event's history, took place from September 14 to 21, 2023 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. [1]
Some screenings at the festival were disrupted by Tropical Storm Lee, but the festival was not cancelled and all affected screenings were rescheduled for another time. [2] Following the conclusion of the official in-person festival, the Atlantic Canadian films from the program were also made available on a dedicated streaming platform for three additional days to help publicize the films in the rest of the region. [2]
| Award | Film | Recipient |
|---|---|---|
| Gordon Parsons Award for Best Atlantic Canadian Feature | The King Tide | Christian Sparkes |
| Best Atlantic Canadian Director | Sweetland | |
| Joan Orenstein & David Renton Award for Outstanding Performance in Acting | Mother's Skin | Briar Ainslie |
| Who's Yer Father? | Susan Kent | |
| Best Atlantic Documentary | Celestial Queer: The Life, Work and Wonder of James MacSwain | Erin Foster, Sue Johnson |
| Best Atlantic Short Documentary | Songs of Unama'ki | Dawn Wells, Jeff Miller |
| Best Atlantic Short Film | Mother's Skin | Leah Johnston |
| Best Atlantic Short Film, Honorable Mention | Father Archie | Todd Fraser |
| Michael Weir Award for Best Atlantic Screenwriting | Sweetland | Christian Sparkes |
| Best Atlantic Cinematographer | Mitata (Grandfather) | Desmond Simon |
| Best Atlantic Editor | The King Tide | Justin Oakey |
| Best Atlantic Original Score | Evelyn | Devon Ross |
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flora and Son | John Carney | United States, Ireland | |
| The Queen of My Dreams | Fawzia Mirza | Canada | |
| Sweetland | Christian Sparkes | Canada | |
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Province |
|---|---|---|---|
| Escape the Usual | Colby Conrad | Nova Scotia | |
| Evelyn | Millefiore Clarkes | Prince Edward Island | |
| Father Archie | Todd Fraser | New Brunswick | |
| The Healing Jar | Andreas Cass | Newfoundland and Labrador | |
| Hebron Relocation | Holly Anderson | Newfoundland and Labrador | |
| Mother's Skin | Leah Johnston | Nova Scotia | |
| Slay | Kevin Hartford | Nova Scotia | |
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Backspot | D. W. Waterson | Canada | |
| Banel & Adama | Banel et Adama | Ramata-Toulaye Sy | France, Senegal, Mali |
| Boca Chica | Gabriella Athena Moses | Dominican Republic | |
| Doubles | Ian Harnarine | Canada | |
| Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person | Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant | Ariane Louis-Seize | Canada |
| I Used to Be Funny | Ally Pankiw | Canada | |
| In Flames | Zarrar Kahn | Canada | |
| Richelieu | Pier-Philippe Chevigny | Canada | |
| Seagrass | Meredith Hama-Brown | Canada | |
| The Settlers | Los Colonos | Felipe Gálvez Haberle | Chile, Argentina, France, Denmark, United Kingdom, Taiwan, Sweden, Germany |
| With Love and a Major Organ | Kim Albright | Canada | |
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deliver Us | Cru Ennis, Lee Roy Kunz | United States | |
| Raging Grace | Paris Zarcilla | United Kingdom | |
| Red Rooms | Les Chambres rouges | Pascal Plante | Canada |
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Grand Seduction | Don McKellar | Canada | |
| John and the Missus | Gordon Pinsent | Canada | |
| Life Classes | William D. MacGillivray | Canada | |
| The Mother and the Whore | La maman et la putain | Jean Eustache | France |
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against the Tide | Sarvnik Kaur | India | |
| Analogue Revolution: How Feminist Media Changed the World | Marusya Bociurkiw | Canada | |
| Celestial Queer: The Life, Work and Wonder of James MacSwain | Sue Johnson, Eryn Foster | Canada | |
| The Elephant 6 Recording Co, | C.B. Stockfleth | United States | |
| I Lost My Mom | J'ai placé ma mère | Denys Desjardins | Canada |
| In the Quiet and the Dark | Nance Ackerman | Canada | |
| Innocence | Guy Davidi | Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Israel | |
| Invisible Beauty | Bethann Hardison, Frédéric Tcheng | United States | |
| Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe | Robert McCallum | Canada | |
| Orlando, My Political Biography | Orlando, ma biographie politique | Paul B. Preciado | France |
| A Quiet Girl | Adrian Wills | Canada | |
| Smoke Sauna Sisterhood | Savvusanna sõsarad | Anna Hints | Estonia, France, Iceland |
| Someone Lives Here | Zack Russell | Canada | |
| Songs of Unama'ki | Dawn Wells, Jeff Miller | Canada | |
| Stolen Time | Helene Klodawsky | Canada | |
| Swan Song | Chelsea McMullan | Canada | |
| Unsyncable | Megan Wennberg | Canada | |
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 Minutes per Kilometre | 6 minutes/km | Catherine Boivin | Canada |
| 27 | Flóra Anna Buda | France, Hungary | |
| 48 Hours | Azadeh Moussavi | Iran | |
| All the Days of May | Tous les jours de mai | Miryam Charles | Canada |
| Aphasia | Aphasie | Marielle Dalpé | Canada |
| Atlantis | Zoé Pelchat | Canada | |
| Blueberries for Iris | Zoe Cleland | Canada | |
| Carnaval | Justine Martin | Canada | |
| Daughter of the Sea | Nicole Gormley, Nancy Kwon | United States | |
| Electra | Daria Kashcheeva | Czech Republic, France, Slovakia | |
| Entrée | Akshay Shirke | Canada | |
| Favourite Only Child | Juliette Poitras | Canada | |
| The Gaze | Stacy Gardner | Canada | |
| Gold and Mud | Conor Dooley | United States | |
| Human Resources | Ressources humaines | Trinidad Plass, Titouan Tillier, Isaac Wenzek | France |
| I Have No Tears and I Must Cry | Luis Fernando Puente | United States | |
| I Promise You Paradise | Paradis | Morad Mostafa | France, Egypt, Qatar |
| In Between | Clara Prévost | Canada | |
| In the Garden of Tulips | Julia Elihu | United States | |
| Joie de vivre | Dada | Canada | |
| Klette | Michael Abay | Belgium | |
| A Love Letter to Léopold L. Foulem | Lettre d’amour à Léopold L. Foulem | Renée Blanchar | Canada |
| Madeleine | Raquel Sancinetti | Canada | |
| Mamita | Luis Molinié | Canada | |
| Mickey | Stevey Hunter | Canada | |
| The Miracle | Nienke Deutz | Belgium | |
| Miserable Miracle | Ryo Orikas | Canada | |
| Miss Campbell: Inuk Teacher | Heather Campbell | Canada | |
| Mitata (Grandfather) | Desmond Simon | Canada | |
| Modern Goose | Karsten Wall | Canada | |
| Nun or Never! | Heta Jäälinoja | Finland | |
| Payback | Jesse Harley | Canada | |
| The Score 97.9 | Violet Shoshana Pask | Canada | |
| Shallots and Garlic | Bawang Merah Bawang Putih | Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto | Canada |
| Signal and Noise | Jess Shane, Katie Matthews | Canada | |
| The Skates | Les Patins | Halima Ouardiri | Canada |
| Starry-Eyed | Emma MacCabe | Canada | |
| Summer 96 | Été 96 | Mathilde Bédouet | France |
| Summer of 2000 | Été 2000 | Virginie Nolin, Laurence Olivier | Canada |
| Things Unheard Of | Ramazan Kilic | Turkey | |
| Thriving: A Dissociated Reverie | Nicole Bazuin | Canada | |
| Two Apples | Bahram Javahery | Canada | |
| The Vacation | Jarreau Carrillo | United States | |
| The Waves | Young Yumi | South Korea | |
| Wolf | Kathleen Dorian | Canada | |