Become a Sponsor

Join our CUFF family – become a sponsor or festival partner! 

The Calgary Underground Film Festival is a registered non-profit society. We love every sponsor and partner that we work with – from cash contributions to in-kind donations, community partnerships, collaborations and everything in between, we can build a unique partnership that works for you. 

What do CUFF partners do?

We receive different levels of support from so many incredible businesses and organizations, for CUFF.Docs Documentary Film Festival in November, the main festival each April, our year-round Off the CUFF film series, and special events. These include: 

• Cash contributions
• Media support and sponsorship
• Donations
• In-kind support that off-sets hard costs from our operating budget, by providing direct support for something we would otherwise be paying for.

Our partners not only provide various levels of financial support, but they help us to get the word out about our events throughout their network, which is a key factor in the continued growth of CUFF. 

What is CUFF? 

The Calgary Underground Film Festival is Calgary's second-largest film and media arts event, and Western Canada's largest genre festival. We have an extremely dedicated audience, filmmaker community, and partners, some of which have been supporting CUFF from the very beginning. 

What do we do for our partners?

• Create affordable, customizable, and flexible sponsor packages.
• Elevate and promote our partners to an amazing, dedicated and supportive audience.
• Work with our partners in various ways outside the main festival dates. 
• Provide unique opportunities for our partners to advertise and market to our audience.

We love working with grassroots businesses, organizations with film lovers, companies who see the benefits of what we do and are interested in sharing our festival with their employees and their stakeholders, and look for businesses that see a mutually beneficial fit in demographics. We aim to work with those that also aim to elevate the cultural landscape in Calgary. We are genuinely proud and excited about every partner we have, and enjoy promoting them, as much as they support us. Without the partners, we wouldn't be able to put on the festival and special events. 

What do cash contributions or in-kind donations go to? 

As a small organization that relies on volunteers, and staff contributing countless hours for the love of the festival, every dollar or in-kind towards an expense in our budget, helps directly. It allows us to:

• Pay artist & screening fees to all filmmakers and creators involved in the festival (illustrators, animators, photographers, filmmakers, musicians etc.)
• Affordable ticket admission 
• Prizes and awards for filmmakers. 
• Invites for more filmmakers and out-of-town guests, such as panellists and media 
• Provide honorariums for staff and volunteers
• Paid advertising to help get the word out
• Printed guides, posters, signage and other marketing materials
• Unique concession items at reasonable prices

To learn more about how to partner with the Calgary Underground Film Festival, please email brenda[at]calgaryundergroundfilm.org. A Sponsorship kit, including demographics of our audience and different partnership levels, is available upon request.

Upcoming Sponsorship Opportunities

21st Calgary Underground Film Festival: April 18-28, 2024
National Canadian Film Day: April 17, 2024 (as part of the Calgary Underground Film Festival celebrations!)
12th CUFF.Docs Documentary Film Festival: November 2024