Original Isn't Easy
2009 Competition Other Festival Awards
mav-er-ick [mav-er-ik, mav-rik] - noun
a person who thinks independently, a lone dissenter, a non-conformist or rebel
The Mavericks program celebrates independence of spirit, thought, and execution in filmmaking. At CIFF, we want to champion those who forge new ground in cinema and create personal, signature films outside of the normal parameters of narrative storytelling. These dissenters are often recognized for challenging traditional boundaries of technology, business models, structures of style, as well as normative or narrow societal views. What they redefine in cinema today often becomes the standard of tomorrow.
Early pioneering filmmakers such as Orson Welles and Jean Luc Godard paved the way for celebrated mavericks of our time to personally express themselves in movies and develop a filmmaking oeuvre all their own. Modern-day directors such as Michael Haneke, Wes Anderson, and Jia Zhang Kia create films that have an individually recognizable approach to making movies, reflecting a visionary aesthetic universe. Their originality is remarkable and trailblazing. They are the mavericks of contemporary cinema and we, as the audience, cannot wait to see what they release next.
We endorse and identify with those who have done things the hard way. “Original isn’t easy” is not only the message for the Maverick series, but our own internal mantra as a Canadian destination film festival fighting to institutionalize our own position and voice. CIFF will showcase the difficult art of auteur filmmaking – maintaining creative integrity, defending independent vision – and honour the maverick approach necessary to forge new cinematic ground.
We have raised the bar on this ideology by supporting it in competition, with a substantial cash prize awarded to emerging visionaries who are in the early years of their filmmaking careers. The criteria for this award will focus on voice and style, and seeks to reward directors who exemplify confident, distinct expression and have a streak of the rebellious in their work. In 2009, Chris Chong Chan Fui's KARAOKE won $25,000 from American Express. Head juror Geoff Pevere writes: "For its ingenuity, freshness of vision, and creative command of cinematic language; for the vitality of its expression and the rewards it offers viewers who rise to its challenges; and for embodying the spirit of fearless originality and trailblazing optimism that defines the essence of the maverick spirit, the jury is proud to present the inaugural 2009 Maverick Award to Karaoke, a film by Chris Chong Chan Fui".
Mavericks is a competitive body of ten international films, featuring emerging directors, to be juried by visiting cinematic celebrities and rewarded with a sizeable cash prize. The films will be screened over the ten days of the festival, with each of the ten Maverick filmmakers attending their own individual screenings, culminating in an awards banquet on Saturday, October 2nd.
The Mavericks campaign aims to be the defining identifier for CIFF, distinguishing us from other film festivals, making us internationally distinct, and simultaneously connecting us to our cultural history and roots as a region. Calgary shows future promise as an international hub for economic and cultural relevancy, inspired by Alberta’s rich frontier heritage, past prairie challenges and its present glory as the Heart of the New West. CIFF will celebrate and pay tribute to the seminal role of the maverick attitude in the advancement of both our city and the greater motion picture industry.
