This weekend, two local film festivals will be vying for your attention (and your money) with a pair of fundraisers. The Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF), which wrapped up its 10th anniversary this September, and the Show Us Your Shorts Festival, which is heading into its second year, have each recruited a handful of local bands to drum up some support.

CIFF is looking to put the roots back in grassroots with its Merry CIFFmas event — Calgary’s The Collapse, whose country-rock sounds better than ever with (relatively) new vocalist Jenny Kost; Wheat and Water, featuring Remote Kid’s Lara White; and the appropriately named Saskytonk Swing Duo. It’s the first musical fundraiser the fest has organized, and reflects CIFF’s move from traditional marketing to the more direct — and considerably more free — grassroots approach.

“This was a welcomed gesture from a good Samaritan wanting to do their part to support the festival and contribute to its sustainability,” Jacqueline Dupuis, CIFF’s executive director, says of the fundraiser. Sustainability has been an issue for the fest after a rocky two years, mostly because the fest got shortchanged by a local ticketing company. The good news is that, according to Dupuis, the fest has managed to pay down about half of its supplier debt, work out deals with most of the rest of its suppliers and even set attendance records in a number of its programs, and the newfound focus on grassroots support can only help in the long run. Check out Merry CIFFmas at the Palomino on Saturday, December 12.

Show Us Your Shorts has the more rockin’ lineup, thanks to garage-rockers The Ex-Boyfriends and the lo-fi pop of Extra Happy Ghost !!!, but that only makes sense given festival organizer Jeanette Burman’s ties to the Sled Island music fest. This festival fundraiser, which happens on Friday, December 11 at Broken City, will also feature a handful of shorts as well as prizes donated by like-minded supporters throughout the city.

“We’ve got door prizes from Purr, The Rocket, Alberta Theatre Projects, the High Performance Rodeo, CJSW, Sled Island, Theatre Calgary… local businesses in Calgary have been really supportive,” Burman says. “And even other parts of the art community — the theatre community has been really supportive as well. I’m flattered and overwhelmed by the amount of support we’ve had so far this year.”

The back-to-back fundraisers might seem like a David-versus-Goliath scenario, but both Burman and Dupuis say the timing is pure coincidence. When asked which event has the better lineup, both fest heads are appropriately diplomatic.

“Well CIFF, of course,” says Dupuis. “But I will try to make it to both. Support is everything these days.”

“Definitely us,” says Burman. “I don’t know, they have a pretty good lineup. I guess people will have to go to both and choose for themselves.”

As far as other events to support this week, well, there’s a couple. New south-Calgary venue Radio Park Music Room is hosting one of the city’s most misleadingly named bands, the decidedly non-twangy Madcowboys, on Thursday, December 10. Now the folks who’ve foolishly chosen to live in the city’s sprawling suburbs won’t be able to cite the commute as a reason for avoiding Calgary’s punk-rock madness.

And, continuing the fundraising trend, The Marquee Room is hosting All You Need is Love, a night of Beatles covers featuring Woodpigeon, Savk, The Magnetic North, Axis of Conversation, The Doer and The Doddler and Jordan Klassen. Covering the most important group in pop history is always a tricky proposition, but an open mind and a food bank donation is all it’ll take to enjoy this show on Saturday, December 12.