KCFF revives the movie theatre experience

Five things to look forward to at this year’s festival

Ethan Hawke stars in Born to Be Blue
Ethan Hawke stars in Born to Be Blue

Why do we watch movies? We watch them because we get to experience a new walk of life for a few hours or enjoy a piece of art.  We get to lose ourselves, and we get to find ourselves. We get to learn.  

A film festival combines all of these by selecting a series of films with a variety of themes and styles.  This weekend’s Kingston Canadian Film Festival (KCFF) will feature award-winning films along with local films, short films and other entertainment events.  

In 2001, KCFF was founded by Queen’s student Alex Jansen. Sixteen years later, the festival is still going strong and has branched out to cover other mediums than film and appeal to audiences other than film enthusiasts.

Personally, I’m not always a huge fan of movies.  Two hours is often too long to hold my attention on the screen. But I’m excited to see the works created by my fellow Kingstonians and Canadians, so here’s a few specific things that I’m looking forward to at this weekend’s KCFF.  

Student films

This year, the Focus Film Festival challenged Queen’s students to create a film on the chosen theme — numbers — in a mere 72 hours.  

The winning films — Easy as Pi, Tuning In, and Linger — will be screened at the Kingston Canadian Film Festival as part of their Local Shorts Program this weekend.

There is no shortage of young filmmakers in Kingston, and as a fellow student, it’s exciting to see my friends and neighbors up on the big screen.  

Music, interactive gaming and comedy 

Festivals can attract a variety of visitors, especially when they screen a diverse selection of films. But as movies have become more accessible, attendance at festivals has declined.  

“People, myself included, watch movies in different ways now,” KCFF Festival Director Marc Garniss said. “It’s not enough these days [to screen films].”  

To combat this, the festival won’t just be showcasing 23 feature films and over 40 short 

film screenings. It’ll will also be hosting bands (Les Breastfeeders from Montreal), comedians (including Scott Thompson and K. Trevor Wilson), interactive video game exhibitions and workshops. At the festival, they’ll all come together and tie in through the common thread of Canadian cinema. 

Documentaries 

I love documentaries.  I would always rather watch something real and relevant to my life.  This year, KCFF is opening with a documentary called Driving with Selvi — the story of a young Indian bride who escapes the confines of her marriage to become the first female taxi driver in southern India — and will continue to offer documentaries throughout the weekend on a wide range of subjects.  

Hurt, Guantanamo’s Child, and The Messenger are just three of the films playing this weekend that are, might I say, stranger than fiction.  

Networking events 

The weekend will feature networking events for students interested in working in the film industry.  

The “Breaking In” event, which will be held in Goodes Hall on Friday, is an informal opportunity for student to interact one-on-one with the festival guests. The event begins with the guests talking about themselves and what they do. After that, attendees can meander through the room and talk to whomever they please.  

Garniss said the event isn’t specific to film students. Guests include directors, managers and agents along with various cast and crew members from the films.  The event offers a range of people to talk to, and it’s an easy opportunity to approach guests involved in filmmaking.  

Some of the cast and crew for each film will also be available for question and answer sessions after the screenings.  

Kingston’s unconventional theatre venues

Besides a few events at the Isabel Bader Center on King St., the festival occurs mainly on Princess St. with films shown at The Screening Room, The Grand Theatre and City Hall.  

Although going to the movies is no longer a formal event, setting up an impromptu theatre in City Hall and The Grand Theatre is enough to make us get out of bed, put on some real clothes and enjoy a movie in a place we haven’t yet experienced.  

Tickets are $12 for a film, $8 for students and all the workshops are free. Even if festival passes are sold out, rush line tickets are available 20 minutes before each film on a first-come, first-serve basis.  

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