Sudbury Living - Fall 2008 - (Page 54)

Cinéfest t urns City StorieS The film festival was successful from the beginning. BY HEATHER CAMPBELL sented personal gifts, handmade bracelets with Gordon Pinsent said he would be fine to walk around downtown and find a nice significance to autism, to the producer and director. It is these moments that make Cinéfest breakfast spot. He said he didn’t want to bother me. He planned to meet Sarah a unique festival. Film festivals are really film conferences. Polley and her husband later in the afFilmmakers—that includes actors, directors, ternoon as they were driving up from Toronto taking the opportunity to enjoy the producers, distributors—have an opportunity to showcase new films, get audience reaction, fall colours. make deals, and promote films. I have been a part of the Cinéfest SudWe tend to hear more about the bigger fesbury team for the past several festivals. My polley and pinsent witH Campbell in 2006. tivals because of the status of celebrities who role is to arrange travel and hotel accomattend, such as the Cannes, Sundance, and modations for industry guests, and generToronto. There are about 240 film festivals in ally be their host while in Sudbury. We Ontario but the two largest are Toronto and Sudbury. want guests to experience our northern hospitality and to have a Cinéfest is celebrating 20 years in 2008 and we are bringing good feeling from interacting with the audience. We want them some special guests who have contributed over the years to creatto also tell others in the industry about our unique festival. ing a successful festival. It’s not all parties and films though. We encourage audiences The first festival was held in 1989. A daring group received a to share their thoughts and feelings about the films with visiting small pot of Ontario Film Development Corporation funding, as filmmakers, as well as to take the opportunity to learn more about well as mentorship from the Toronto International Film festival, to filmmaking. test-run a showing of films over two days. Key people were George We can have close to 20 guests throughout the festival, many Lund as board chair, general manager at MCTV at the time, and different personalities. However I have a favourite. Gordon PinCarolyn Fouriezos who helped secure initial funding. sent is a gracious man with many great stories from his lengthy Lund recalls, “Sudbury was removed from the arts. However, career in Canadian television and films. they embraced it and I had a good feeling it would be successful.” In 2006 Pinsent and Polley brought their film, Away From Her, Cinéfest is now a nine-day conference that young filmmakers to Cinéfest and took seats among the audience to watch it. Polley strive to get their films on the schedule. and Pinsent were dressed comfortably and enjoyed their conversaThe success of Cinéfest wasn’t just a fluke. There has always tions with the audience. Polley made quick friends with a group of been a sound business strategy and top-notch staff (no bias here) students majoring in English who were close to her own age and brought them back to the private party, something she wouldn’t in which a stable and progressive organization was established. To reinforce that stability there have only been three festival direcbe able to do at the Toronto festival because of all the security. Sudbury has been able to create an ambiance of comfort and tors, Cam Haynes, Tammy Frick, Jason Beaudry, and Frick again. “It’s about relationships,” says Haynes from his office in Tofriendship where filmmakers and audiences come together to share their appreciation of movies. ronto. Haynes, the first festival director, became known for his When Laszlo Barna, one of Canada’s top television producers tenacity for getting good film and the best support. Looking back, he recalls the festival just took off. “We told and the producer of Shake Hands With The Devil, attended the funders it would take about three years to establish, but it was in screening in 2007, he was amazed at the number people who came hyper growth from year one.” to watch his film in “a small blue collar mining town.” Lund who watches from the side lines now, is impressed with His film about Gen. Romeo Dallaire’s experience in Rwanda brought out several young military officers who were able to talk the success and believes the latest board of directors hasn’t been afraid to experiment. “They are adventurous, risk-taking and agwith Barna and share with him how they felt about the film and gressive.” its true story. At the gala reception for Snowcake, the opening film in 2006 HeatHer Campbell is a freelanCe writer and CommuniCations speCialist festival which was shot in Wawa, several audience members prewHo Co-ordinates guest serviCes for Cinéfest. submissions to City stories may be sent to vgilHula@laurentianmedia.Com. 20 54 Sudbury Living Fall 2008 sudburylivingmagazine.ca http://sudburylivingmagazine.ca

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sudbury Living - Fall 2008

Sudbury Living - Fall 2008
Contents
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On the Town
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Sudbury Living - Fall 2008

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