Edmonton International Film Festival: Cinema is for Everyone

Cuban ballet master Alberto Alonso and his wife, rumba dancer and actress Sonia Calero, escaped Cuba in 1993, leaving behind everyone they knew. Alonso and his brother, Fernando Alonso, spoke on the phone often during this period, always ending the call with the promise of “I will see you again.” A promise that seemed an impossibility due to the political climate.

Fast forward to 2007, when Alberto and Fernando are reunited at the Edmonton International Film Festival (EIFF).

Kerrie Long, the festival’s executive director at the time, received a VHS of the documentary Dance Of My Heart, which chronicles Alonso’s story. When the team watched the movie, they were so moved by the brothers’ phone calls and promises to see each other again that they invited the movie and producers to attend the festival. They accepted, and had another request: would the film festival consider inviting both Alberto and Fernando? Alberto couldn’t return to Cuba, but Fernando could travel to Edmonton.

On Dec. 31, 2007, Fernando died of heart complications. Before he passed, he asked the documentary producers to thank the EIFF for giving him the chance to say his final farewell in person.

Not all the stories that show at the festival are as dramatic or touching, but a film festival is the perfect place to go if you’re looking for stories — especially if you’re looking to experience them with other people.

The collective experience

“Younger audiences are embracing the experience of going to movies together,” says Sydney Moule, the festival’s current executive director. “They’re looking for experiences they can’t stream. Filmmaker Q&A’s, post-film conversation and the excitement of seeing a film before everyone else. That’s exactly what a film festival offers.”

And the EIFF does it well — 2026 marks its 40th year, and while filmmaking (and viewing) technology has changed a lot in that time, the EIFF has been showing that the collective experience of celebrating these stories is the way to go. Moule says this year’s festival has two goals: showcasing the volunteers, filmmakers and community members that have allowed for those 40 years of success while also paving the way forward for the next generation of storytellers to take the reins.

“Our job is to make sure that EIFF is a place everyone feels like they can belong, where they can discover something new, experience a new perspective and fall in love with cinema all over again,” Moule says.

The festival itself, which runs from Sept. 24 to Oct. 3, isn’t the only event the organizers have planned. During the festival’s run there will be a two-day conference in partnership with Edmonton Screen for creators in both the movie and video game industries. The 2026 festival also sees the return of 24/One, EIFF’s 24-hour filmmaking challenge. And all summer the festival hosted “Road to 40,” a series of film screenings and events commemorating moments during its history. Among them, Moule says one of the most significant is when it became an Oscar qualifying festival, meaning that films shown at EIFF can be nominated for an Academy Award.

“Those wins certainly helped put Edmonton on the map in such a major way for international filmmakers,” she says.

Welcome to 40

The festival starts its 40th with the opening gala on Sept. 24. That night, Smudge the Blades is showing — a film directed by Cody Lightning and written by Lightning and Samuel Miller about the Treaty 6 Blades, a U-18 girls hockey team that moves from its Edmonton league to play in northern Alberta just as its controversial coach quits, leaving it to the arena’s zamboni driver to pick up the coaching role. For those who can’t make it to the opening gala and that showing, the film will run again on Sept. 29. You can find the full 2026 lineup at the EIFF website.

Edmonton International Film Festival
edmontonfilmfest.com | September 24 – October 3, 2026 | 780.423.0844