Wakefield International Film Festival has come a long way
- Ottawa Travel Guide
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- Monday, 28 January 2013 07:43
Those who will be travelling to the Ottawa area between February 10 and March 24 may want to stop by the Wakefield International Film Festival (WIFF), which showcases new documentaries and independent films every Sunday at the Wakefield LaPeche Community Centre at 5:30 p.m.
According to the Ottawa Citizen, this small festival has come a long way in its four years. The first festival took place in the upstairs of a local pub, and it screened some of the best documentaries across the globe - it continues to do so, but on a bigger scale. It went from the small Cafe Molo, which held about 60 people, to an auditorium that seated about 150. The increase in interest has to do with the surge of documentary popularity as well as the enthusiasm from the approximately 10 volunteers who help out each year.
The WIFF artistic director, Robert Rooney, watched 40 different films to decipher which were the best to showcase at this increasingly popular festival. Rooney narrowed it down to seven, including Oscar-nominated "5 Broken Cameras," which takes a personal look at the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. The festival will also feature "Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry," a film that discusses China's famous dissident artist, that picked up a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival last year, the media outlet reports.
The other documentaries that people can enjoy include "The People of the Kattawapiskak River," "The World Before Her," "The Hole Story," "Song of Kauri" and "Rafea: Solar Mama."
There are a few things new to this year's event, including the Best of the Fest Award. This will acknowledge the best of the best at the festival, and anyone who buys a ticket will be able to vote for their favourite. Those who buy a ticket will be able to grade each of the productions on a scale of 1 to 10, and on closing night, the winner will be revealed.
This new award highlights the organization's focus to encourage people to talk about the films they see throughout the festival and hope that the conversation continues outside of the community centre. So, those who are considering to travel to Ontario may want to include this festival in their schedule, as it can be enjoyable for those who are artsy as well as individuals who simply enjoy a well-made film.
