Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival
| Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Frequency | 9 Days in September |
| Location(s) | Sudbury, ON |
| Years active | 25 |
| Inaugurated | 1989 |
| Attendance | 32,000+ |
| Website | |
| www.cinefest.com | |
Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival, also known as Cinéfest and Cinéfest Sudbury is an annual film festival in Sudbury, Ontario, held over nine days each September. It is one of the largest film festivals in Canada.
First held in 1989, Cinéfest quickly became a popular destination for Canadian filmmakers. Unlike the larger film festivals in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, Cinéfest offered filmmakers a chance to gain exposure among more typical film audiences in a city with no major venues for screening independent and non-mainstream films. Cinéfest presents an annual programme of over 135 films, both domestic and international, often screened towards English and French language audiences.
Patricia Rozema’s I've Heard the Mermaids Singing was presented in Sudbury in 1988 at a special test-screening. Planned as a onetime event, Sudbury was being used as a test market for alternative Canadian films in small communities. The result surprised everyone, with over 900 people attending the sold out screening. Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival was established a year later in 1989 as the Sudbury Film Festival, and despite some remaining skepticism, local citizens proved that a mining-oriented community could be receptive to repertory film culture, as approximately 9,000 cinema-buffs crowded theatres during the three-day event.
By 1993, Cinéfest evolved into a full-service film organization, with the festival growing to include upwards of 60 films over five days. Cinéfest Sudbury has become recognized as one of Canada’s premiere film festivals. The festival has developed a distinct identity and role within its community and the media arts industry, winning provincial and national acclaim. Cinéfest currently boasts a nine-day repertoire of film programming for local, national and international guests. It is administrated by the non-profit Cultural Industries Ontario North.
Cinéfest Sudbury has a long history of promoting Canadian cinema and supporting the local film industry. One of the organization’s most ambitious projects was the establishment of the Northern Film Circuit (NFC) in 1992. An attempt to build audiences in Northern Ontario for Canadian and international film, the NFC began with only four members. The NFC was eventually used as a model for the Film Circuit, which was developed in partnership with the Toronto International Film Festival and now operates in over 110 communities throughout Ontario.
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