Like many in Windsor-Essex, Hackforge is excited for the return of WIFF! This annual celebration of film is a fantastic way to experience new films that explore languages, cultures, themes, and stories that we might not find in commercial theatres or on our regular streaming services.

While perusing this year’s list of screenings, we decided that we needed to see the information in a different way. Sure, show times and film synopses are interesting, but we wanted to know how many countries contributed films, how many different languages we might hear throughout the festival, and what the total runtime of the entire festival is.

So, naturally, we created a database and ran some calculations. Note that this is based only on feature-length film screenings, and does not include the 48-Hour Flickfest or WIFF Local Shorts.

Overall, we found 186 unique titles, spread across 13 genres. Dramas and Documentaries are the most common genres this year, comprising 32.8% and 30.7% of overall screenings, respectively.


Number of Films Per Genre

  • Drama – 61
  • Documentary – 57
  • Comedy – 33
  • Biography – 8
  • Adventure – 5
  • Action – 4
  • Crime – 4
  • Horror – 4
  • Romance – 3
  • Animated – 2
  • Family – 2
  • Thriller – 2
  • Science Fiction – 1

At least 32 countries are represented on-screen this year. Some films didn’t include any country of origin, while others listed multiple.

Based on the number of times each country shows up in the list, France and the USA are the most common contributors, at 46 films each. Canada comes in close behind with 42 domestic inclusions. Following in a far fourth place is the UK with 14.

Just so we’re clear – we don’t like assuming that 36% of films are being shown in English.

Similar to countries, many languages can be represented in a single film, and in some cases language was not listed at all.

In instances where we have first-hand knowledge of the movie (ie The Lord of the Rings trilogy), we added the language ourselves, otherwise we left it blank.

Using this methodology, almost 28% of films being screened at WIFF 2023 include French, and roughly 18% include English. However, if we were to assume that any film that did not list its language will be screening in English, that number climbs to over 54%.

When going to see a film at WIFF, depending on the screening you’ll have 1, 2, or (very rarely) 3 timing options to choose from.

Of the 186 movies being shown, only 3 of them have 3 screenings, while the majority (102), have 2 screenings.

Overall, there are 294 different feature-length film screenings in Downtown Windsor between October 26 and November 5.


These screenings will be happening across three venues and four screens: The Performance Hall at The Armouries (AKA The University of Windsor’s School of Creative Arts); The Chrysler Theatre, located in the St. Clair College Centre for the Arts; and the Pentastar and Kelly Theatres within the Capitol Theatre.

Most of the movies being shown do not have official ratings. This can happen for a few reasons, and under Ontario law, it isn’t a problem. As of 2020, exhibitors are not required to include a film’s rating, but they are required to include information on the film’s content.

Still, WIFF gives rating information when it’s available – which admittedly isn’t often.

Overall, WIFF will be showing 511 hours and 7 minutes – or over 21 days! – of films during the course of this year’s festival.

That number does include the time of movies that will be shown multiple times, so if we want to talk about unique screen time, we’re looking at 327 hours and 44 minutes – or over 13 days – of films.

How much time do you plan to spend watching movies at this year’s Windsor International Film Festival?