The 30th Kamloops Film Festival kicks off this month, featuring a unique film lineup and a student night that will hopefully get more students interested in the cinema.
The Kamloops Film Festival will open tomorrow at the Paramount Theatre. Along with hopes of attracting a wider audience during this 10-day event, the KFS aims to increase student attendance.
From four-time Oscar nominee The Secret Agent to the B.C. made The Painted Life of E.J. Hughes, this year’s festival will feature a wide variety of Canadian, international and independent films.
Festival Programmer Sam Theriault said that, with the ever-changing population of Kamloops and the rise of younger people in the city, the Paramount and the KFS need to continue evolving alongside their audiences.
“I don’t want it to ever become stagnant. I always want us to be planning something new, something fresh,” Theriault said.
“I think anybody can find a movie they want to see at the festival,” he said.
It is expected that Charli XCX’s new film, The Moment, will draw a large younger crowd, but the KFS wants students to take a chance on some of the other films being featured. For example, Meadowlarks is a Canadian Indigenous film about identity and family that everyone can learn from and relate to in their own ways. Outside of North American cinema, multiple foreign films are set to screen.
With TRU bringing in numerous international students each year, Theriault and Festival Producer Ana Monteiro stressed the importance of international cinema and foreign films. These kinds of productions are not just important for students to feel represented and closer to home, but also allow them to learn about other cultures.
This event is furthermore acting as the launch point for the KFS’s new queer film series. The screening of Pillion on Friday, March 13, will be a sort of pre-launch with the official launch of this series coming a few weeks later. This new film series will bring monthly queer cinema to the Paramount.
Something else to look forward to is the student night on Monday, March 9. This night will premiere Mile End Kicks (set to release later this year), a film about a 24-year-old music critic who gets romantically involved with members of an indie rock band when she decides to become their publicist.
“It’s really about growing up and learning who you are when you’re in your early 20s,” said Theriault about Mile End Kicks. “I think it’ll just hit for someone around that age; it’s the perfect movie for students.”
The film will feature a short pre-show music performance starting at 6:30 p.m. by local all-female indie pop three-piece Janky Eyed Jury, included with the purchase of a movie ticket.
“The film does display this very toxic masculinity band, and we decided to go on the complete opposite route and get a female band to showcase some local talent as well,” said Monteiro on what influenced them to have Janky Eyed Jury perform prior to screening Mile End Kicks.
Outside of the student night, the KFS hopes that TRU students will find something they are interested in at the Kamloops Film Festival, whether or not they are avid cinema fans.
A range of events will take place during the festival that encourage attendees to become more involved in the film community. A couple of these activities include the Learn About Film days and the movie trivia night towards the end of the festival.
Additionally, multiple short films will be shown throughout the festival, either alongside larger screenings or during the Kamloops Independent Short Shorts Fest (KISS Fest) on Sunday, March 8. The KISS Fest is a yearly opportunity for local talent to be showcased, with prizes available for entrants.
“When you’re a filmmaker, you start out making shorts before you make feature films. So, it’s also important to have space for those filmmakers,” Monteiro said.
Film lovers or aspiring film lovers also have the chance to expand their movie interests through the streaming platform Mubi, a platform that caters to independent, international and award-winning films instead of blockbusters.
For the 30th Kamloops Film Festival, Mubi has partnered with the Kamloops Film Society to provide a 60-day free trial for students and a 30-day free trial for the general public. These offers are available to all festival attendees. Further details about the offer will be available during the festival.
Three one-year Mubi memberships are also up for grabs during the festival. Giveaways for these memberships will take place at the screenings for La Grazia, Father Mother Sister Brother, and My Father’s Shadow. Student-priced tickets will continue to be offered during the festival. These are available to university and high school students year-round. Student tickets for the festival are $13.33 and can be bought through The Kamloops Film Society website or at The Paramount Theatre. Student ID may be required at the theatre.