Following the critical success of our inaugural Bleeding Tree festival in Cranbrook this past August, an expanded three-day film screenings and industry networking event will take place May 2-4 at the Tivoli Theatre and Creston Hotel in Creston. Films screened at Bleeding Tree in August have gone on to win top-tier festivals around the world. And the slate of entries for 2025 is even stronger, underscoring the prime directive of Bleeding Tree: provide for seriously-engaged film going audiences in a seriously rewarding way by screening some of the best short and longer-form dark drama and documentary films in the world. Films submitted by students this year are particularly strong, underscoring the primary focus of this year’s event on new and emerging filmmakers. Presentations and panels featuring experienced industry players will be held over the three days of the festival, providing all attendees with important learning and networking opportunities.

* Niched somewhere between horror and psychological thriller, dark drama films and documentaries selected for Bleeding Tree are more nuanced works, often taking some sort of trauma or tragedy in a depicted or documented person’s life and finding connection, community and resolution therein – including films that find away to find the humour or irony in such darkness – all leaving audiences not just entertained, but ultimately enriched. A 2024 CBC Radio One interview with festival organizer Mark Wolfe can be heard here: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-110-daybreak-south/clip/16086529-a-kootenay-based-filmmaker-takes-behind-scenes-cranbrook