Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Belleville Downtown Docfest is forging ahead with its 10th anniversary and offering dozens of options for film buffs to check out this year.
The 10th annual event is being held virtually, starting on March 5 and will run for 10 days, while showcasing 56 documentary films to viewers across Ontario.
Because of restrictions on gatherings, Docfest viewers will be able to stream the films through an online platform and either watch them on their computers, or cast them to their TV using various apps.
While the pandemic has significantly changed how the festival will operate this year, most moviegoers have adjusted to having to stream movies online and Festival Chair Holly Dewar tells Quinte News there are actually some benefits to being able to watch from home.
“Normally we’re just over a weekend, but this time we’re over 10 days. We’re releasing the films througout that period, five or six films each day. People have three days to open the films and then they have 24 hours to finish watching it. So people will be able to watch a lot more films than they would have been able to in our traditional in-person format.”
She says with this being the festival’s 10th anniversary, they “went all out” when it came to which films they chose to show.
“We always try to get films that are going to speak to our community. But this year too, we were looking for films that were going to be inspiring and uplifting. I think we’ve really done that.”
Those include some 2020 releases, a selection of potential Oscar nominees and others, with categories including environment, sports, politics, and local documentaries as well, some of which are produced by students at Loyalist College.
Dewar says this year’s event features a great selection of music documentaries as well.
“Some of my favourites are ‘Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice’, ‘Meeting the Beatles in India’, that’s our gala film. There’s also a great one called ‘After So Many Days’, we’ve got a film called ‘Billie’ which is a great jazz film about Billie Holiday, so just some wonderful options there for people to choose from.”
You can click here to see a full listing of this year’s films.
(Photo: Submitted / Belleville Downtown Docfest)
One of the highlights of the annual Docfest is the gala event, which this year will feature a screening of “Meeting the Beatles in India”, by two-time Canadian Emmy award winner Paul Saltzman.
The gala also includes a musical performance from Belleville’s own Mark Rashotte and Andy Forgie.
Dewar says it was important to be able to make the gala event a part of this year’s festivities and the virtual aspect of the festival will actually give viewers more flexibility.
“They’ll be able to watch it on the night of, where we would normally have our gala kickoff. But they’ll also be able to watch it following that, if they can’t make it that night. It’s a real deal because people get to see both the gala film and the music with one ticket, so that’s pretty special.”
Ticket packages range from $12 for a single ticket, up to $100 for an all-access pass and you can click here for more information on all of the ticket options and packages that are available.
Dewar says people are already buying their passes and going into the online platform, to schedule which movies they’d like to watch.
More information on the 2021 Belleville Downtown Docfest can be found by clicking here.
