An international film festival is coming to Huntsville at the end of the month.
From July 27 to 30, a 40-foot dome in River Mill Park will screen almost 70 films from Canada and around the globe in the first year of the Three Fires International Film Festival.
Festival Director Melissa Pole says the festival is divided into genres, with workshops and director panels about those films at the end of each screening block.
“It’s incredible talent– we had producers from Paramount Pictures submit their films, local filmmakers that produce for Netflix, other larger distribution networks,” says Pole. “Part of the curation process was making sure it was balanced, making sure we incorporated the local talent, as well as making sure we have something for everybody.”
While there are some bigger films at the festival, including those from the Toronto International Film Festival, Pole says the main focus is independent films.
“These are filmmakers that got their gear together, who created it themselves and sought funding on their own,” says Pole. “There’s less appreciation for independent film, but I think a lot of that is because people don’t necessarily understand the work that goes into it.”
Pole adds the majority of the Canadian films at the festival are Indigenous-made, and there will be both an Indigenous art market and a workshop with an Indigenous storyteller running at the same time as the festival.
“It’s important to have Indigenous folks part of that conversation, because it’s missing in a lot of artistic spaces,” says Pole. “I’ve been an artist in Muskoka for a long time, and Indigenous voices are missing. So this is an intentional effort to partner with the local reserves and make sure they’re involved.”
Alongside the festival, Pole says they’re also looking at partnering with local schools to start up year-round workshops for aspiring local filmmakers.
“As a local girl that grew up in Bracebridge, I didn’t really have access to any film programming, film education in the school system,” says Pole. “We’re looking to get film programming developed in the Muskoka area, so that we can continue to grow the industry here. Nurturing that local talent and anybody that might be interested in getting involved.”
You can view the lineup or purchase tickets at https://3fiff.ca.