Kingston Canadian Film Festival

Kingston Canadian Film Festival

2009 KingCanFilmFest Poster
Opening film	One Week
Closing film	Real Time
Location	Kingston, Ontario  Canada
Founded	2001
Film titles	Babine C'est pas moi, je le jure! Examined Life Fifty Dead Men Walking Heaven on Earth Maman est chez le coiffeur One Week Real Time RiP!: A Remix Manifesto River Toronto Stories Vampiro: Angel, Devil, Hero Who is KK Downey?
Language	English French
Website	http://www.kingcanfilmfest.com

The Kingston Canadian Film Festival is an annual celebration of the best in Canadian cinema held in Kingston, Ontario. It is the largest stand-alone showcase of feature films from across Canada.^[1]

History

The Kingston Canadian Film Festival was launched in 2001 by Alex Jansen, who was then studying film at Queen's University.^[2] It was a three-day event held at the Screening Room Movie Theater, a two screen repertory cinema which Jansen was managing at the time.^[3] The Festival was launched with assistance from Moving Pictures: Canadian Films on Tour^[4] (who were replaced by the Toronto International Film Festival Group in 2003).^[5] In 2002 the Festival added a second, larger venue on the Queen's University campus, increased the number of screenings substantially and added a fourth day to the event, then becoming the largest stand-alone showcase of feature films from across Canada.^[6] In 2003 the Festival launched its ongoing "Local Filmmaking Initiative" (LFI), a multi-tiered program focused towards nurturing the local film making community, through the City of Kingston's Healthy Community Fund.^[7] In 2004 the Festival added a fourth venue by temporarily re-opening the Princess Court Cinema. In 2005 Alison Migneault became Co-Director of the Kingston Canadian Film Festival. The Festival moved its main venue to the Empire Theatre and added a fifth day to the event. In 2006 Migneault became full Director of the Kingston Canadian Film Festival and Jansen moved into a consulting position. The Festival launched a new French Community Outreach program aimed towards Kingston's sizeable French-speaking population. In 2007 the Kingston Canadian Film Festival launched its first-ever retrospective series, surrounding the 50th anniversary of film making by acclaimed Canadian Director Allan King.^[8] The Kingston Canadian Film Festival is held annually in early March and is a registered not-for-profit organization.^[9]

Programs

Local Filmmaking Initiative

The LFI includes numerous internships in partnership with the Queen's University Department of Film Studies, an annual seminar, various workshops, and one-on-one mentoring sessions between attending industry professionals and area filmmakers. The Festival also continues to present one locally produced short film before each feature.^[10]

French Community Outreach Program

This program consists entirely of non-subtitled French language films. These films would otherwise be unavailable to local audiences.^[11]

One-on-One Sessions

This program offers local filmmakers the opportunity to meet industry professionals one-on-one. These meetings are an hour long each. The local filmmaker is matched with an industry guest who is most able to be of assistance to them.^[12]

References