Hamilton Film Festival
The Hamilton Film Festival, sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Hamilton International Film Festival, is a Canadian film festival, staged annually in Hamilton, Ontario.[1] The festival stages an annual program of independent feature and short films, with a particular but not exclusive focus on films with direct production connections to the city.[2]
The festival was launched in 2004 by the city's Staircase Theatre,[3] following the theatre's participation the previous year in the Travelling Film Festival, an event which toured a program of Canadian films to a variety of locations across the country.[4] A second event was then staged in 2005.[5] Due to organizational issues at the Staircase Theatre, however, it then went on hiatus for the next two years until returning in 2008,[6] and has been presented annually since then.
In 2014, due to the festival's growing size it began adding screening venues in addition to the Staircase, including The Zoetic and the Factory Media Centre.[7] In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the festival added some drive-in and online screenings, and imposed social distancing restrictions on theatrical screenings for audience safety, but was able to proceed with these precautions.[2]
Current venues include the Staircase, Ancaster Memorial Arts Centre, Playhouse Cinema and the Westdale,[8] as well as short film programs being broadcast on Cable 14, the city's cable television community channel.[9]
The event is a qualifying festival for the Canadian Screen Awards.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ Daniel Nolan, "The 19th annual Hamilton Film Festival has 130 movies for film fans this year". Hamilton Spectator, October 18, 2024.
- ^ a b Christine Rankin, "How Hamilton's film industry is 'bouncing back' despite COVID-19". CBC Hamilton, November 14, 2020.
- ^ Doug Foley, "Hamilton Film Festival ready for action". Hamilton Spectator, March 18, 2004.
- ^ "Made for Canada; Film festival hopes to put the spotlight on home-grown movies". Hamilton Spectator, March 18, 2003.
- ^ "A mix of flicks at Hamilton Film Festival". Hamilton Spectator, February 24, 2005.
- ^ "Film festival back with local focus". Hamilton Spectator, October 31, 2008.
- ^ Amy Kenny, "The little film festival that could: Submissions have grown, venues have multiplied". Hamilton Spectator, November 1, 2024.
- ^ "19th annual Hamilton Film Festival kicks off". CHCH-DT, October 19, 2024.
- ^ Jody Aberdeen, "Hamilton Film Festival set to light up screens". Hamilton City Magazine, October 9, 2024.
- ^ "2024 Canadian Screen Awards: Eligible Festivals & Online Platforms". Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, 2023.