The Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival (BITS), also known as Blood in the Snow, is an annual film festival held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[1] The event was founded in 2012 by film programmer Kelly Micheal Stewart as an offshoot of his then ongoing monthly film series entitled "Fright Nights at the Projection Booth" which were held at the former Projection Booth Cinema (later re-opened in 2019 as the Grand Gerrard[2]) in Toronto.[3][4] It has taken place every year in November since 2012.[5][6] Described as an event that "fills the seasonal gap between Halloween and Christmas,"[4] the festival's programming focuses on Canadian films, horror films, and underground films.[6][7][8]
The forthcoming festival will be held from November 17 through November 22, 2025.[9]
History
2012—2019
The festival began in 2012 as spinoff of the monthly film night hosted and programmed by Kelly Micheal Stewart called "Fright Nights at the Projection Booth," which were held at the former Projection Booth Cinema (later re-opened in 2019 as the Grand Gerrard[2]) in Toronto.[3][4] Running from November 30 to December 2, 2012, the program that year included 6 feature films and 13 shorts, such as Sick: Survive the Night, In The House of Flies, Beyond The Black Rainbow, Devil's Night, Famine, and Blood for Irina.[3][10][11]
The 2013 festival, running from November 29 to December 1, 2013, marked the first year the festival utilized a traditional festival submission layout with the introduction of a full programming team.[12] The lineup featured 7 feature films and 16 shorts films, including Evangeline, Thanatomorphose, Ghostkeepers, Blood Riders: The Devil Rides with Us, Clean Break, Criminal, and Discopath.[12] The 2014 festival ran from November 28 to 30, 2014, and saw the lineup expanded to 8 feature films and 15 short films, including Queen of Blood (starring Skinny Puppy's Nivek Ogre), Ejecta, and Black Mountain Side.[13][14] The 2015 edition of the festival saw the expansion of the Industry Panels but also saw the shrinking down of the vendor village; the lineup included 8 feature films and 15 shorts, running from November 27 to 29, 2015, with screenings of Night Cries, Secret Santa, White Raven, Farhope Tower, The Dark Stranger, Save Yourself, Bite, and Larry Kent's controversial She Who Must Burn, which won best picture at the festival that year.[15][16][17]
From 2017 until 2021, Blood in the Snow was held at the 390-seat Royal Cinema in Toronto
The 2016 festival moved to the Cineplex cinema at Yonge—Dundas Square and was held from November 24 to November 27, with an expanded 9 features and 24 shorts. The festival also launched its first DVD compilation of short films entitled Blood in the Snow presents: Bloody BITS Shorts Compilation. Films hosted included 3 Dead Trick or Treaters,[18]Streamer, [19]Inspiration,[20]Capture Kill Release,[21]The Sublet,[22]24 x 36: A Movie about Movie Posters,[23]Holy Hell,[24]Kidnap Capital,[25] and winner of the best picture at that year's festival, The Unseen.[26][27]
The 2017 edition of the festival saw another venue change as BITS moved to it new home at the Royal Cinema.[28] The move meant the elimination of the traditional midnight show that had been part of the programming since 2012, but saw the festival stay at 4 days in length, running November 23 until November 26, 2017. The move also added another 100 seats in capacity for the festival and attendance numbers continued to grow. Films hosted included Red Spring,[29]Blood Child,[30]Fake Blood,[31][32][33]The Child Remains,[34][35]Buckout Road,[36]Art of Obsession,[37]Kill Order (aka Meza),[38]Darken,[39][40] and the holiday slasherOnce Upon a Time at Christmas.[41]
In 2018, the festival ran from November 22 to November 27.[8] In 2019, the festival ran from November 21 to November 26,[42] with Gruesome Magazine describing the event as "a unique and imaginative showcase of contemporary Canadian horror, genre, and underground cinema..."[43]
2020—present
Since 2022, Blood in the Snow has been held at the 500-seat Isabel Bader Theatre in Toronto
During the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the festival partnered with Super Channel Fuse to hold virtual screenings for its 2020 edition.[44] In 2021, the festival launched a development lab for under-represented filmmakers,[45] and it also ran virtual screenings in tandem with limited in-person screenings at the Royal Cinema as the COVID-19 pandemic continued.[7]
In 2014, the team behind the Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival made an anthology film called Late Night Double Feature. The film premiered at the 2014 New York City Horror Film Festival,[48] and it was later picked up for distribution by Parade Deck Films in North America.[49]Late Night Double Feature won "Best in Horror" at the 2015 Hot Springs International Horror Film Festival, and it received a 3 out of 4 rating from Fangoria.[50]
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