Buffet Infinity CUFF 2026 interview

Cade and Kit headed into a special Calgary Underground Film Festival episode with Buffet Infinity, the surreal horror-comedy feature from director Simon Glassman that has quickly become one of the most talked-about Canadian indie genre films on the festival circuit. In this CUFF special, they sit down with producer Mike Peterson and actor Ahmed Ahmed to break down the bizarre, hilarious, and unexpectedly emotional journey behind the making of the film. The conversation quickly makes it clear that Buffet Infinity is not an easy movie to explain — and that’s exactly why audiences are connecting with it. The film unfolds through a series of increasingly strange local television commercials that slowly begin to intertwine into something darker and more unsettling. What starts as nostalgic late-night cable television humor eventually transforms into cosmic horror layered with satire, absurd comedy, and existential dread.Ahmed Ahmed shares one of the funniest stories from the production. Originally told he would only appear in a seven-second cameo, he ended up filming for nearly two years as his role slowly expanded into one of the film’s standout recurring characters. Many of his overnight shoots were fueled by pizza bribes from Simon Glassman, who continued rewriting and expanding the project as the story evolved. Ahmed jokes that nobody involved truly understood the full movie while filming — including the cast themselves.Producer Mike Peterson explains how Buffet Infinity became a true indie production assembled almost entirely outside the traditional system. The film was built using comedians, local performers, friends, real businesses, and practical locations throughout Edmonton. Peterson praises Glassman’s discipline as both a director and editor, emphasizing how much of the film’s comedy depends on precision timing and understanding genre tropes deeply enough to completely subvert them.Cade and Kit spend much of the episode discussing how strongly the movie taps into a very specific nostalgia: flipping through random television channels late at night and stumbling across strange local commercials and infomercials that slowly start to feel surreal. Interestingly, Peterson notes that younger audiences connect to the film differently, comparing its pacing and structure more to modern TikTok and Instagram reels than old cable television.The group also discusses the film’s growing international success following its breakout premiere at Fantasia Festival, where it won both jury and audience awards. Since then, Buffet Infinity has continued traveling through major genre festivals around the world while building a strong cult following.By the end of the interview, Cade and Kit are completely sold on Buffet Infinity not just as a film, but as an experience — chaotic, creative, hilarious, unsettling, and impossible to fully categorize.Sponsored by CapitalTalent.ca🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2kaH2BpUcEouX5LWCUQ7ed?si=ff1e2b355c5944e1🍏 Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cade-and-kit/id1771553610📸 Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://instagram.com/[email protected]