A local film festival has partnered with one of the city’s iconic independent cinemas to bolster the Ottawa film industry and bring attention to Canadian filmmakers.
The seventh annual Ottawa Canadian Film Festival (OCan), hosted at the ByTowne Cinema for the second consecutive year, aims to show local films and connect filmmakers in the Ottawa community.
The festival is open to submissions of any length and genre, showing everything from narratives and shorts to documentaries and full-length feature films, and began as a way to capitalize on the “tremendous wealth of talent and independent filmmakers” both in Ottawa and across Canada, said co-founder Blair Campbell.
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“We thought that there needs to be a way for these films to be seen the way the filmmakers want films to be seen, and for them to have the opportunity to interact with the audience,” said Campbell. “Traditionally, you might sit in the audience at a theatre, but could we create a different environment and bring the community together? That was the genesis behind it.”
These “guiding principles” have brought the festival through seven years of “redefining” and success, and Campbell said the community’s confidence in the festival has grown. While 75 films were submitted in the first year, this year received 230 submissions, which Campbell said “reflects on the reputation of the festival.”
The festival, which runs until Nov. 4, kicked off Thursday night with over 100 attendees, showing eight short films followed by a Q&A with two local filmmakers. One film was a documentary, shot and edited in 2002, following the Rideau Bakery, a community staple just down the road from the ByTowne that closed in 2019.
Screening the festival at the ByTowne was “a dream” come true for Campbell and his co-founder Jith Paul, Campbell said.
“There are not a lot of other theatres like it left. It’s an old-timey theatre, I have great memories of going there, and it’s a real theatre,” said Campbell. “It’s a real theatre with state-of-the-art projection and sound equipment, and I wanted it to have the popcorn, the sticky drinks … it’s part of the magic.”
In a Facebook post, the ByTowne’s owners said the festival “is not just about movies; it’s about celebrating Canadian film culture and supporting our local economy.”
Genevieve Morin, general manager at the ByTowne, said the festival provides an important space for local filmmakers and film enthusiasts alike to come together.
“At the ByTowne, we play so many international films, but it’s also just as important to focus on local films, local filmmakers and local talents to give a different perspective,” said Morin. “It’s something that really helps bring the community together, and the fact that it’s from a local perspective brings a certain kind of interest and energy and pride.”
The festival garners lots of attention and inquiry, Morin added, and is an “exciting” opportunity for the audience to participate and interact with filmmakers.
“When a filmmaker is present, it brings this new level of engagement, and audiences are able to get a better sense of what they’re conveying with their work,” she explained. “There’s this open discussion that maybe wouldn’t happen, and you get it from the person that is creating the medium.”
Hosting OCan is just another way the theatre is able to support the local economy, said Morin, especially since the cinema itself is such an iconic local landmark.
“It’s been great to work with organizers like this, and from a business perspective, of course we’re always looking to collaborate with local artists and vendors as much as possible,” she said. “We’re excited about it on our end because we always want to emphasize local with both the products we sell and artists we work with.”
In the festival’s mission to support the country’s independent filmmakers and cinemas, OCan pays screening fees for each film and ensures that ticket sales go back to the theatre. But the festival also creates the space for filmmakers and others in the industry to meet, connect, gather and network, said Campbell.
“Commercial films are made here all the time, and there’s a lot of that kind of filmmaking, but not usually local filmmakers. But independent filmmakers are generally starting out and just getting their feet wet,” explained Campbell.
“You have to have an idea, have the money, get a crew together, market it, all these challenges for any filmmaker. Ottawa isn’t unique in that way, but we thought, ‘If I was a filmmaker, where would I be able to distribute it locally?’
“Independent filmmakers from all over the country participate, but we want to create an environment for them to meet after, network, collaborate, support the ByTowne, and it encourages them all to continue with this positive feedback loop.”
