Photo of BITS2023 poster art of a skull dripped in blood on the bank of snow covered stream.

ISABEL BADER THEATRE LINEUP

Films will screen at The Isabel Bader Theatre (93 Charles St W, Toronto, ON M5S 2C7) with Q&A to follow.

After-parties will take place following each screening at the Tranzac Club (292 Brunswick Ave, Toronto, ON M5S 2M7) starting from 9:30 pm to close.

For the schedule of our industry events please go to: deadly exposure(To be announced early Nov)

Purchase Pass

Award Nominations

Program Booklet

Lineup Quick View 🧠

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20th

7:00 pm
DARK VISIONS Total program 103 mins
Our opening night feature length program of the darkest and creepiest films to play Blood in the Snow!

T-BONE (Dir. Zachary Bennett) 8 mins
Jo and Chris relax in their car, recalling awkward moments they've shared as a couple over the years. Chris is reluctantly thrust into reality and the resulting tragedy that will forever change his life.

HIGH END DYING (Dirs. Helen Liu) 12:24 mins
When elite level chef Eloise Vaughn receives a scathing review from famed critic Alistair Brown, she invites him back for a private dinner service aimed at redeeming her name. Alistair accepts, and as the service commences, the pair's shared history is revealed, as are the extreme lengths Eloise is willing to go to impress him.

SANGUINE (Dir. Robin Careless) 11:23 mins
A first date takes an unexpected turn as Mirabel finds herself captured and experimented on by shady figures who believe she isn't what she seems.

THE MONSTER INSIDE MY HEAD (Dir. Maude Michaud) 7:48 mins
A woman is tormented by a menacing creature who tries to take control of her body.

I CAN'T GO ON (Dir. Brenna Goodwin-McCabe) 12:13 mins
An alienated young woman discovers a body in her apartment elevator, left to fester under the heels of her unconcerned neighbours.

TWIG AND TWINE (Dir. Paradox Delilah) 15:00 mins
A camping trip between three friends takes a dark turn when it is discovered one of them isn't there for relaxation, but to resurrect her missing brother who vanished there fifteen years ago.

WAKE UP FRANK (Dir. Jesse Padveen) 9:45 mins
A young car wash attendant discovers his cantankerous old boss' secret.

WATER MOCCASIN (Dir. Shelby Adams) 5:10 mins
A group of teenagers visit a so-called haunted island, only to find more than they bargained for.

BLINK (Dirs. Julie Bruns, Steven Kammerer) 4:30 mins
A 1940s housewife struggles with the Sisyphean task of a violent marriage.

OREST LEERE AND HIS MARVELOUS, MYSTERIOUS, MALICIOUS EMPATHY MACHINE poster

OREST LEERE AND HIS MARVELOUS, MYSTERIOUS, MALICIOUS EMPATHY MACHINE (Dir. Jeff Smith) 10 mins
A dark fairy tale about a man who has isolated himself from the world in his gothic tower. He has created an "Empathy Machine" that allows him to steal memories from his victims, because Orest has none of his own.

ALONE (Dir. AJ Bate) 8:19 mins
A woman stumbles upon a severely injured stranger, the woman realizes she might be the only one that can save the stranger.

9:30 pm
LAST COUNTY (Dir. Barret Mulholland) 82 mins
An alcoholic woman with a marriage on the rocks finds an unlikely ally in a wounded drug mule when the two of them are forced to defend her home from a violent siege of corrupt small town cops.

Opening with the short film:
GREED & GORE (Dir. Adam Kirkey) 15 mins
Five criminals pick the wrong safe house to lay low after robbing a bank.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21st

7:00 pm
EMERGING SCREAMS Total program 98 mins
A feature length collection of short films from brilliant first-time directors and the most promising student filmmakers in Canadian horror.

STAY ALONE (Dir. Lukas Wojcicki) 8:14 mins
A horror movie fanatic's day takes an unexpected turn and he must now deal with a real life horrific situation of his own that makes him fight between his humanity or his survival.

CORDELIA! (Dir. Melissa Jones) 11:34 mins
A troubled young girl finds playing with fire to be an effective coping mechanism. But when problems at home and school become too hard to bear, she realizes she can use that fire to protect herself.

SISTERHOOD (Dir. Heather Woolridge) 10:30 mins
Kathy, a recent sorority pledge, struggles to fit in due to her grief over the passing of her sister Alice.

THE MIDDLE OF THE GARAGE (Dir. Lisa Bolduc) 13:00 mins
The mysterious arrival of a huge trunk in the garage of Pierre's house turns his life upside down. At 55, with time passing too slowly and dreams gone, loneliness suddenly seems less burdensome. The strange appearance of the object became Pierre's only obsession, and the discovery of its contents, a new goal in life.

HOT LOCAL SINGLES ARE IN YOUR AREA poster

HOT LOCAL SINGLES ARE IN YOUR AREA (Dir. Peter Sreckovic) 9:10 mins
A reclusive PhD Student, Alex, becomes infected with a computer virus during the course of her research into Brain Computer Interface.

LES MONSTRES (MONSTERS) (Dir. Frank Tremblay) 15:00 mins
For as long as 8-year-old Jimmy can remember, his overprotective mother has kept him safe inside their barricaded home, away from the monsters roaming outside. But Jimmy gets increasingly inquisitive, desperate to see what's out there — despite the danger.

THE HAUNTING OF A GHOST (Dir. Portia Lyn) 16:20 mins
Walter can’t wait for the Johnsons to move into their new house, his personal haunting ground, but when the family move in with their very own demon in tow, Walter is in for one hell of a scare-off.

ZIP (Dir. Ava Maria Safai) 15:40 mins
On her 16th birthday, singer-songwriter Melody awakens with a zipper sewn to her mouth. A story about the voiceless, who must fight to be heard.

9:30 pm (These films are presented with Open Captioning and ASL Interpreter)
PURGATORY JACK (Dirs. Brett Butler, Jason Butler) 101 mins Trailer
Purgatory Jack is a neo-noir mystery thriller set in the afterlife, a dangerous landscape that’s run by a bloodthirsty, limb-collecting gang and populated with outlaws and outcasts. Former musician turned grizzled private detective, Jack Marlin, has a new case and it’s helping new arrival Viv Vacious, a punk pop star who overdosed, stay safe as she races against time to find her mother who committed suicide twenty years earlier. While navigating the treacherous terrain of hell's waiting room, these two musicians from clashing eras unlock a murderous conspiracy and discover why blood is more than a drug in Purgatory.

Opening with the short film:
PERENNIALS (Dir. Grant Earl MacIntosh) 5:30 mins
An old woman searches for a priceless item. An intruder arrives. What will they find together?

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22nd

7:00 pm
BITS & BYTES Total program 100 mins
A special feature-length program of some of the best genre web series, music video and proof of concept films.

THE HEART OF RAVENSCRAG (Dir. Dale Hildebrand) 2:00 mins, proof of concept
Castle Ravenscrag held off an enemy siege for over 40 days, only to discover that the greatest enemy… may be the enemy within.

OLD CHAIN (Dir. Emanuel Foucault) 5:00 mins, music video
A girl and her dark shadow live peacefully within an enchanted landscape, until mysterious entities disrupt their harmony.

NIGHT DRIVES: THE SILENCE OF THE LIBRARY poster

NIGHT DRIVES: THE SILENCE OF THE LIBRARY (Dir. Jono Hunter) 3:22 mins, web series
Alex and Marianna's date night gets bogged down with movie trivia.

OLD FLAMES (Dir. FUGITIVES) 4:37 mins, music video
A haunting portrayal of a recovering addict learning to live with her demons.

HELLBOUND TAXI (Dir. Brendan Fell) 11:20 mins, proof of concept
Bounty hunter Steve is forced to come out of retirement when his former employers come calling, asking him to track down and dispose of a dangerous fugitive: a demon in human form, recently escaped from Hell.

BRAWLSTARS: WHERE THE WILD THINGS WERE poster

BRAWLSTARS: WHERE THE WILD THINGS WERE (Dir. John White) 16:08 mins, web series
The BrawlStars interview Big Sean, one of Durham’s most notorious bouncers, about his wildest night on the job. Re-imagined as an 80’s, spine-tingling horror, a cavalcade of creepy characters teach Sean to never judge a book by its cover.

RED IRON ROAD: IN THE HEAT (Dir. Sam Chou) 17:23 mins, animated web series
When a bruised and battered man claiming to be Santa Clause is arrested for the murder of a child, the interrogating officers uncover a story more bizarre and horrific than expected. A violent Christmas rivalry between the forces of good and evil where the outcome hinges on a promise made decades ago.

SPACE DISCO (Dir. Walter Sawan) 4:17 mins, music video
When dystopian Earth is being attacked by a giant monster from outer space, Thrillhouse, a three-faced beast from the underworld, is humanity's only hope for survival.

SAFRON (Dir. Vanessa Magic) 7:56 mins, proof of concept
Armed with an unquenchable thirst for vengeance, a relentless mother embarks on a blood-soaked mission to annihilate the vampire horde responsible for abducting her daughter.

RED IRON ROAD: LORD (Dir. Aljosha Kilmov, Hirofumi Nakada) 14:09 mins, animated web series
The brutal Lord of a band of renegades sets out on a robber raid across the desert inhabited by nomadic mutant tribes and monstrous beasts in the post-apocalyptic world.

TIGER BY THE TAIL (Dir. Sharai Rewels) 15:35 mins, proof of concept
Boss babes of the 1979 big city disco scene, Cadence and Rex accidentally flood their NYC strip club with a batch of bad drugs. The ensuing murder and chaos forces the duo into hiding at Snake Charmers, a country bar in West Virginia that offers a fresh start.

9:30 pm
WALKING SUPPLY (Dir. Derek Barnes) 90 mins Trailer
After escaping a Russian labor camp, three men must overcome the treacherous wilderness and each other, as their journey home turns into a brutal fight for survival.

Opening with the short film:
NO MORE TIME (Dir. Peter Szabo) 8:00 mins
An aging, troubled man sneaks away from his caregiver and wanders the streets of Barcelona driven to solve a mystery he can only describe with the words, "No more time."

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23rd

7:00 pm
FUNNY FRIGHTS & UNUSUAL SIGHTS Total program 87 mins
A feature length collection of Canadian shorts premieres, covering a bit of unusual, the surreal, and the lighter side of horror!

THE SUCKAMOTO SALES INCIDENT (Dir. Jeff Robinso) 11:53 mins
Based on True Events -- Vacuum salesman collides in an off-beat comedy with a squirt of violence.

SPIRITT (Dirs. Kelly Roulette) 11:26 mins
On the way to meeting his Maker, Motorcycle Guy confronts his biggest regret while forcing his gatekeeper to face up to his own.

HEAP (Dir. Kyle Marchen) 12:13 mins
A dark comedy thriller about a woman crushed by the housing crisis, who is forced to lead a sinister double life after discovering a "utopian" society in the building next door.

THE DEVIL'S NOTE (Dir. Riley Campbell) 7:20 mins
When a band of rock and roll buskers uncovers a forbidden and mysterious musical note, "the Devil's Note", they find more than just a new sound for their band.

HELLMARK (Dir. Jessica Lauren Doucet) 12:07 mins
Despite what Hallmark tells you, throwing your entire life away for the love of a stranger doesn’t always result in a happy ending. Madeline learns this the hard way when her romance ends in horror. Abducted by a crowd of happy cultists and put to work in a Christmas village factory, she’s forced to confront the artificiality of her past and face the terrifying question of: “what now?”

SLIP (Dir. Sonya Chwyl, Anik Desmarais-Spencer) 10:40 mins
After she is evicted from her basement suite apartment, Laura struggles to find a place to live - until she stumbles onto a horrifying opportunity that may just work to her advantage.

THE GOOD WORD (Dir. Constance Hilton) 5:00 mins
A young mother repeatedly rebuffs two Mormon missionaries.

THE DAM (BARRAGE) (Dir. Rémi Fréchette) 19:00 mins
In 1964, during the construction of an electric dam, a macabre discovery caused a serious incident. Thinking that the worksite's communication cut was caused by a broken telephone line, Raymond and Fleurian were sent to the site to repair it. They will be the first to find out what really happened with the workers

SEED (Dir. Jacob Weldon) 15:45 mins
Michelle, who is notorious for missing red flags, hooks up with seemingly normal and chill Zack.

9:30 pm (These films are presented with Open Captioning and ASL Interpreter)
ROMI (Dir. Robert Cuffley) Toronto Premiere, 90 mins Trailer
Forced to hide out at a state of the art smart home, a young woman on the run is terrorized by ROMI, its sinister digital assistant.

Opening with the short film:
IVAN (Dir. Damien Fannon) 11:48 mins
Juliette's life takes a turn for the worse when she is possessed by an AI device.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 24th

6:30 pm
TALES FROM THE REZ (Dir. Trevor Solway) 93 mins Trailer
Tales From The Rez is a six-part horror-comedy anthology. Tales from the Rez adapts popular Blackfoot traditional tales and twisted indigenous urban legends to the screen.

Opening with the short film:
CLOUD STRIKER (Dir. A.W. Hopkins) 16:13 mins
Elijah Cloud Striker was stolen. His father rides for weeks, visiting every residential school within hundreds of miles to find him. In the morning the Chief finds the right school, what he walks in on is more than any father can endure. Revenge is the only course of action.

9:00 pm
THE HYPERBOREAN (Dir. Jesse Thomas Cook) 95 mins Trailer
A whiskey magnate summons his contentious family to sample his legacy product: casks of Scotch aged 170 years, recovered from a ghost ship in the Canadian Arctic.

Opening with the short film:
CONQUEST (Dir. Kate Kroll) 6:00 mins
When an incompetent intergalactic conqueror crash lands at a comic convention, he must find a way to subdue the locals or face the wrath of his merciless counterparts.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25TH

4:00 pm
MOURNFUL MEDIUMS Total program 102 mins
Not too short, not too long! A shorts film program of the best in Canadian medium-length genre films.

WHITE NOISE (Dir. Tamara Scherbak) 16:54 mins
Ava's debilitating hyper-sensitivity to sound is becoming unlivable. Her doctor’s prescription of exposure therapy backfires as she descends into a fit of panic in class and collapses in a park when bombarded by ambient noise.

SOLITARY (Dir. Maninder Chana) 16:59 mins
With minutes left before U.S. forces level a Mujahideen camp, a Sikh prisoner trapped in solitary confinement turns to his faith to make a daring escape.

COLD (Dir. Liz Whitmere) 20 mins
Jane likes things to be clean. Jane has just turned 40. Jane died sometime last week. She’s cold all the time, her skin is grey, and her appetite is nonexistent. Something is wrong.

SPAGHETTI (Dir. M. H. Murray) 15:58 mins
A queer woman is haunted by the ghost of her recently deceased lover on her final night in their home before it is sold.

COLD LIGHT (Dir. Rogelio Rodriguez) 17:40 mins
In the middle of the night, a beaten young woman is tied to a chair and about to be buried alive by an old big farmer. Being in the middle of nowhere, she seems to have no escape but to try to talk her way out of there. How did she get to be in that position? Only a miracle could help her.

GET AWAY (Dir. Michael Gabriele) 15:25 mins
A group of friends spending the weekend at a remote vacation rental in the desert, play a mysterious VHS tape, and realize that there are too many strange and terrifying coincidences.

6:30 pm
MY ANIMAL (Dir. Jacqueline Castel) 103 mins Trailer
Heather, an outcast teenage goalie, longs to play on the hockey team of her small northern town. She meets and falls in love with newcomer Jonny, an alluring but tormented figure skater. The girls’ relationship blossoms despite Heather’s struggles with her alcoholic mother, her hidden sexual orientation, and a familial curse that transforms her into a feral wolf under the full moon. Heather and Jonny’s secret tryst soon clashes against the conformity of their small community, exposing dangerous truths and igniting a passionate, violent night of personal transformation.

Opening with the short film:
PEST (Dir. Matthew Broughton) 6 mins
A woman calls over a pest controller to deal with an infestation in her house, but not of termites...

9:00 pm
THE LAST VIDEO STORE (Dirs. Cody Kennedy, Tim Rutherford) 83 mins
In this love letter to the era of the video store, we follow Nyla who accidentally uncovers a ‘cursed’ V/H/S tape. This film holds the power to connect the real world to a dimension where movie fantasy exists as reality. Nyla and a video store owner unwittingly awaken a long-dormant curse that unleashes a series of classic cinematic villains plucked from the bowels of the B-movies themselves.

THE GOOD WORD (Dir. Constance Hilton) 5:00 mins
A young mother repeatedly rebuffs two Mormon missionaries.

Opening with the short film:
SAINT-SACRIFICE (Dir. Jean-Claude Leblanc) 14:30 mins
He had promised her love and faithfulness until death do them part, but Antoine, the widower, will be willing to lose his soul to be reunited with his wife on the other side.

For the schedule of our industry events please go to: deadly exposure

NEWS

Horror Development Lab applications are now closed

BITS 2023 HORROR DEVELOPMENT LAB

We are thrilled to announce the incredible filmmakers that were selected to participate in the 2023 Horror Development Lab!

Lu Asfaha & Fonna Seidu
Sonya Chwyl & Anik Desmarais-Spencer
Jaden Curtis & Mariah Owen
Rylan Friday
Brenna Goodwin-McCabe
Constance Hilton & Tricia Black
Jessica Landry
Samantha MacAdam
Maude Michaud
Ava Maria Safai & Nicco Graham
Heyishi Zhang

The BITS Horror Lab is a development program focused on facilitating business and production opportunities for genre (horror, sci-fi, action, thriller) scripted projects and short films by traditionally underrepresented BIPOC, women, and LGBTQ+ Canadian filmmakers and content creators.

2023 Dev Lab Attendees

BITS RADIO

Check out the BITS Radio podcast hosted by Robert Belamy - Interviews with BITS Alumni film makers throughout the festival.

Listen

BITS Horror Development Lab Announced:
Nov 18-23, 2021

2023 LINE UP ANNOUNCED

Thrillers play a big part of the lineup this year with the festival feature opener Last County by Barret Mulholland and the World Premiere of Walking Supply from director Derek Barnes.

Other highlights include the highly acclaimed My Animal, from director Jacqueline Castel which recently won the Silver Audience Award for Best Canadian Feature at Fantasia and long time alumni Jesse Thomas Cook returns with The Hyperborean. Jesse’s last film to premiere at BITS in 2021, Cult Hero went on to be nominated for six Canadian Screen Awards.

Two short films that originally played at BITS have been made into feature films making their Toronto Premiere at Blood in Snow: Robert Cuffley’s sci-fi film Romi and the festival closes with the gonzo tribute to The Last Video Store by the directing team of Cody Kennedy and Tim Rutherford.

Other titles include the indigenous led horror-comedy anthology series Tales from the Rez directed by Trevor Solway and the neo-noir mystery thriller Purgatory Jack by the brotherly Brett Butler and Jason Butler. The festival also includes five feature length short film programs including the highly popular comedy horror program Funny Frights and Unusual Sights and the highly regarded Dark Visions program which will be part of the opening night festivities.

TICKETS

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PASSES ON SALE

Our full Deadly Exposure passes are 100% SOLD OUT.

BUT have no fear...we have added a new PANEL PASS that will get you into all the industry panels (Nov 24) and our Producer Masterclass (Nov 25) along with the cocktail receptions each day. Only $40. These are limited as well and will sell out.

We also still have our FESTIVAL PASS that will get you into every screening and after party for $96 (price goes up soon to $116)
and our SHORT FILM PASS that gets you into all six short film programs for only $60.

PASSES

Photo of Filmmaker Alumni and Staff, six women smiling on the festival red carpet

BITS 2023 RECRUITMENT

Do you have what it takes to join the Blood in the Snow crew? We are always looking for a variety of different skills. We want to hear from you! Please fill out the following form to tell us a little more about yourself.

Apply

ABOUT

The Blood in the Snow Film Festival is a unique and imaginative showcase of contemporary Canadian horror, genre and underground cinema that exists to challenge social boundaries, explore artistic taboos and support and exhibit independent Canadian genre media artists. BITS takes place in Toronto, Ontario and brings together audiences, media coverage, community partnerships and the filmmaking industry to exhibit and celebrate Canadian genre film. BITS began in 2012 and was registered as a not-for-profit in 2015.

OUR TEAM OUR SPONSORS

Photograph of Festival Director Kelly Michael Stewart on stage at the theatre announcing a screening

TESTIMONIALS

"This is an amazing festival! It was such an honor to have my short 'Lunachicks' screen here alongside some really talented filmmakers! The communication and effort put into making this a great festival is very evident and it was one of the most fun festivals I've been to. I felt very welcomed and there was really great audience turnout and engagement. I recommend submitting to this 100% even if you feel your film is only borderline 'genre'."

Jess Joy

(Director of LUNACHICKS, BITS 2021)

"BITS is the best. Aside from screening the coolest genre films, their Deadly Exposure conference allowed me to meet, learn, and network with dozens of industry decision makers, potential distributors, and fellow filmmakers. I couldn't give this festival enough praise. I look forward to being able to submit another film!"

Trey Anderson

(Director PERFORMANCE ANXIETY, BITS 2021)

"My short screened in 35 festivals and this was one of the tops! I was also selected for their inaugural Horror Development Lab and connected with filmmakers and key industry players which will help get my creature feature made and give my career a boost. Highly recommend!"

Richard B. Pierre

(Director of AN UNINVITED GUEST, BITS 2021)

"What a great all around festival filled with great films, great panels, great networking and amazing sharing of love of film!"

Avi Federgreen

(Distributor/President at Indiecan Entertainment Inc.)

"Bits was by far one of our favorite festivals. Not only did we get to see our film in a theater with a live audience, we were also selected to take part in the Directors Lab and Deadly Exposure event. This experience was so unreal and has helped put us on the path to continue expanding our short into a feature. Thank you guys so much. We hope to take part again with our future projects."

Lovina Yavari

(Director of RED STRING OF FATE, BITS 2021)

2023 Film Festival + Deadly Exposure