International Film Festival of Ottawa

IFFO’s closing night featured one of the most eclectic, challenging and moving works of the whole festival.

Taking a brief interlude from screening brand-new international films, IFFO turned its attention to an important piece of Canadian cinema history near the end of the festival’s run – a 4K restoration of the early queer film by David Secter, Winter Kept us Warm (1965).

The Ottawa Art Gallery screened Rêver en néon and Café des cauchemars on March 21, 2025 as part of the International Film Festival of Ottawa, which ended on March 23.

Something must be in the water in Naples—the single Italian city has a long history of young filmmakers coming out of the gate with fully formed artistic sensibilities and remarkably refined work. This phenomenon can be traced from old masters like Vittorio De Sica to contemporary artists like Paolo Sorrentino and Mario Martone.

Borrowing the central conceit from the Italian classic Bicycle Thieves, Lebanese filmmaker Mira Shaib creates an eclectic and endearing tribute to her home city of Beirut in her feature debut, Arzé.

To A Land Unknown, Palestinian filmmaker Mahdi Fleifel’s first narrative feature, could at first be mistaken for another of the documentaries for which he is known. The film’s grittiness and uncompromising, in-your-face realism, not to mention the story’s parallels with Fleifel’s life, could so easily be reality that it takes a moment to realize it is not.

Grand Tour is one of the highest-profile films playing at IFFO this year thanks to the notable names involved. The Portuguese filmmaker Miguel Gomes has been a mainstay on the festival circuit since his 2012 breakout hit, Tabu.

The International Film Festival of Ottawa (IFFO) brings the world’s best cinema to Canada’s Capital. The Festival’s fifth edition takes place in downtown Ottawa from March 12 to 23, at the theatres in the Ottawa Art Gallery and Bytowne Cinema.

The International Film Festival of Ottawa (IFFO) starts this Wednesday, March 13th, with Atom Egoyan’s Seven Veils at the Ottawa Art Gallery. IFFO 2024 runs from March 13–24 and includes 25 feature films from 26 countries and 21 Canadian short films. We spoke with IFFO Executive Director Tom McSorley to learn more. 

The International Film Festival of Ottawa (IFFO) is proud to celebrate its third edition with an entirely in-person experience.

The International Film Festival of Ottawa (IFFO) launches its in-person festival March 9, 2022, providing cinephiles and Ottawa locals with the opportunity to experience an eclectic mix of 50+ globally recognized shorts and features.

This week in the Future of Ottawa, we are shining a light on film. Read on for Tom McSorley’s take on the present and future of film festivals. Tom McSorley is the Executive Director of the Canadian Film Institute and teaches film studies at Carleton University.

It’s take two for IFFO, the International Film Festival of Ottawa, which could not launch as planned in March 2020.

Winter Jazz Fest has been postponed until further notice and the Undercurrents Festival has pushed its dates to March.

IFFO was set to launch this past March when the pandemic hit. While the inaugural event is postponed until 2021, its film industry programming and discussion panels are moving online.