TheAtlantic International Film Festival is a major internationalfilm festival held annually inHalifax,Nova Scotia,Canada since 1980. AIFF is the largest Canadian film festival east of Montreal, regularly premiering the region's top films of the year, while bringing the best films of the fall festival circuit toAtlantic Canada.
In 2017, the festival rebranded itself as theFIN Atlantic International Film Festival, with the FIN blending a dual reference to a fish'sfins due to Halifax's connection to the ocean fisheries, and the conclusion of a film.[1] In 2023, the festival dropped the "FIN", and returned to its previous branding as the Atlantic International Film Festival.[2]
AIFF holds multiple events throughout the year. The Atlantic International Film Festival is an 8-day event, screening films from Canada and around the world, and showcasing Atlantic Canadian films and artists. During the first three days of the Festival, AIFF simultaneously runs AIFF Partners, an international co-production and co-financing market focusing on narrative feature film and series, which brings together producers and industry decision-makers from Canada and around the world. In the spring, AIFF holds AIFF Kids (formerlyViewfinders: Atlantic Film Festival for Youth), a touring event designed to engage, entertain, and educate young people. AIFF Outdoor (formerlyOutdoor Film Experience) is AIFF's outdoor summer film series held in various locations across the Halifax Regional Municipality.
Although the festival screens films from across Canada and internationally, its principal awards program is reserved specifically for films from the Atlantic Canada region. It also does not generally bill most of its screenings as "galas", as many larger film festivals do; apart from the opening and closing films, the only other screenings to be billed as galas are the "Atlantic Canadian Gala", highlighting a film made within the region, and the "Reel Coast Shorts" gala, highlighting short films by Atlantic Canadian directors.
The 2005 festival experienced a 24 per cent attendance increase from the previous year with 29,400 in overall attendance, including 28 sold-out screenings and events.[3] In 2007 attendance was up 18 per cent over 2006, with a record-setting 33,500 people taking part in the 27th annual event.[4]
AIFF Partners (formerly known as "Strategic Partners" and "FIN Partners") is an annual international film co-production market, held inHalifax,Nova Scotia,Canada. The event has been held annually since its inception in 1998, and is held simultaneously with the first three days of the Atlantic Film Festival. The 28th edition of the event will take place on September 10-13, 2025.[15]
Every year, the AIFF Partners organizers accept a robust and curated roster of delegates from around the world, in a bid to provide a 'one-stop shop' for film and TV producers and early-stage projects. Similar in format to International Film Festival Rotterdam's Cinemart, the European Film Market's co-production forum, and Independent Film Week's No Borders, AIFF Partners is Canada's premiere film and television co-production event. While the event attracts a strong core attendance from Canada, the US and the UK, it also focuses on an annual group of spotlight countries.
