CFMDC is a not-for-profit artist-run centre that advocates for and prioritizes in its programming and circulation non-commercial independent, artist-made work on film and video, including works from historically underrepresented communities.

CFMDC advocates for a holistic understanding of product ion, circulation and exhibition that prioritizes artist rights, accessibility and the creation of new audiences through education and direct engagement. As part of this mission we support the circulation of artist made film and video, do programming, commission group exhibitions, offer workshops, and educational training, as well as provide affordable access to exhibition space in Toronto. We have one of the most important collections of artist-made moving image on film in Canada that includes 16mm, 35mm and (s)8mm films and we work to bring these films to audiences in Toronto through programming at our venue, CineCycle.

CFMDC was established in 1967. One of the first artist-run centres in the country, hence the “Canadian” in its name. CFMDC was one of the sole exhibitors of experimental films in Toronto and it also supported the circulation and exhibition of the films in its collection. Over the decades our focus and mission have changed to better reflect the work that we do and our role in the Toronto arts ecosystem. From the beginning, CFMDC programmed screenings of experimental films from across Canada and internationally out of locations in Toronto and it continues to operate a venue in Toronto, programming a season of activities for public audiences.

Artists should be paid for their work.
Art drives change, challenges conventions, and transforms lives.
Advocate for critical space outside the mainstream for artists’ works.
Advocate for voices rooted in community that disrupt dominant discourse.
Explore opportunities to build community, encourage dialogue and reach new audiences.

Territory + Solidarity

An art organization does not exist in isolation, but is intricately connected to the world it inhabits.

CFMDC acknowledges the l continued colonization of Turtle Island and strives to work in solidarity with local and global anti-colonial struggles supporting Land Back movements as a material form of sovereignty.

As a member of the Independent Media Arts Alliance we affirm and are guided by their Basis of Unity.

1967

founding

Founding meeting of CFMDC (Then CFDC) takes place at filmmaker/playwright and first Executive Director Robert Fothergill’s apartment with David Cronenberg, Jim Plaxton, and Lorne Michaels.

1968

Robert Fothergill meets Kirwan Cox at a screening series (featuring the premieres of Michael Snow’s Wavelengths and Ivan Reitman’s first short Orientation) organized by Cox at McGill, where they discuss the possibility of a national distribution outfit that could be supported by arts funding agencies.