5th annual Canadian Sport Film Festival

Sport film fest celebrates Canada’s game and an infamous moment in Canadian sport history
When: June 7-8, 2013 • TIFF Bell Lightbox

Opening and Closing Night films announced!

·         Friday, June 7, 7pm, TIFF Bell Lightbox, Cinema 4: Lace Bite
·         Saturday, June 8, 9:30pm, TIFF Bell Lightbox, Cinema 4: 9.79*

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: (Toronto, May 16) – “We’re bookending our festival this year with films that chronicle profound and painful relationships with sport in Canada.” That’s Executive Director Russell Field summing up the Opening and Closing Night films screening at the fifth annual Canadian Sports Film Festival, running from Friday, June 7 and Saturday, June 8 at TIFF Bell Lightbox.

The opening night film, “Lace Bite” (Friday, June 7, 7pm, TIFF Bell Lightbox, Cinema 4), profiles 40 remarkable women who gather to attempt to play the longest continuous hockey game ever played – by women or men – a game that has to last over 10 days to set the record! Through an exhausting effort, they discover something about their own limits while raising money and awareness for cystic fibrosis.

Closing night revisits one of the most controversial moments in the history of Canadian sport: Ben Johnson’s blazing victory in the men’s 100-metre final at the 1988 Seoul Olympics in 9.79 seconds, which was tainted one day later by a positive test for steroids. The feature documentary “9.79*” (Saturday, June 8, 9:30pm, TIFF Bell Lightbox, Cinema 4) questions whether Johnson was a scapegoat or the tip of a performance-enhancement iceberg? Director Daniel Gordon examines these questions by, for the first time, sitting down with all eight men who ran this infamous race.

The full CSFF 2013 schedule will be released Tuesday, May 21st. Tickets go on sale the following day.

Opening night film:
Friday, June 7, 7pm, TIFF Bell Lightbox, Cinema 4
Lace Bite (documentary, Canada, 2012, 63 minutes)
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyfBgoXuOtQ

Closing night film:
Saturday, June 8, 9:30pm, TIFF Bell Lightbox, Cinema 4
9.79* (documentary, UK, 2012, 92 minutes)
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Yw1YiI4ZuM

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For access to online screeners of these films and more information, contact:

Russell Field, Executive Director, Canadian Sport Film Festival
[email protected]
204-797-7217