Ottawa Canadian Film Festival

The Ottawa Canadian Film Festival (OCanFilmFest)[1] is an Ottawa-based, cultural, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to promote Canadian films and filmmakers.

Ottawa Canadian Film Festival
OCanFilmFest Logo
LocationOttawa, Canada
Founded2015
No. of films18 (2020)
LanguageEnglish and French
Websitehttps://www.ocanfilmfest.ca/

Background

The festival was co-founded by Ottawa filmmakers Jith Paul, Ed Kucerak and Blair Campbell in 2015.[2]

The festival was an extension of the Treepot Film Festival [3] which hosted a series of 10 curated screenings at independent cinemas and public parks in the Ottawa area between 2011 and 2014. OCanFilmFest collaborated with established festivals like the One World Film Festival on screenings at the National Art Gallery and St. Paul's University and partnered with the Ottawa Champions baseball team on short film screenings between innings at games from 2015 to 2017.

Publicly attended film festival annual screenings began in 2017. The festival moved to Arts Court in Ottawa in 2018.

The documentary short film Secret War[4] kicked off a new series of short film screenings called "OCanFilmFest Presents" which take place in addition to annual festival screenings.

The 2019[5][6] edition took place on November 1 and 2 at the Arts Court Theatre in Ottawa.

In addition to annual screenings, a series of streamed short film screenings 'Shorts at Home' was launched in May 2020.[7][8]

In 2020, the annual festival moved online to Vimeo's On Demand Platform as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Held over three weekends in November, the festival featured online Q&A panels with the filmmakers, in addition to films.

Highlights

2017 Festival Films

Feature Films:

  • RAW* (feature film) – Ottawa Premiere - Director: David I. Strasser (Vancouver, BC)
  • Broken Mile (feature film) – Ottawa Premiere - Director: Justin McConnell (Toronto, ON)
  • Heroes Manufactured (feature film) – Ottawa Premiere - Director: Yaron Betan (Toronto, ON)
  • Sisyphus Rides (feature film) – Ottawa Premiere - Directors: Lisa Lightbourn Lay & Tim Alberts (Limehouse, ON)

Short Films:

  • Hue Quilted Windowpane – Ottawa Premiere - Director: Lasha Mowchun (Winnipeg, MB)
  • Honestly Charlotte – Canadian Premiere - Director: Sarah Hedar (Vancouver, BC)
  • Milo – Ottawa Premiere - Director: Jeremie Azencot (Montreal, QC)
  • The Talk – World Premiere - Director: Tyler Boyco (Peterborough, ON)
  • Poison in the Water – Ottawa Premiere - Director: Romeo Candido (Toronto, ON)
  • Andre the Anti-Giant – Ottawa Premiere - Director: Kim Saltarski (Toronto, ON)

2018 Festival Films

Feature Films:

  • Pur Laine (feature film) - Director: Alexander Cruz (Ottawa, ON) - WORLD PREMIERE[9]
  • The True North Project (feature film) - Director: Emil Agopian (Calgary, AB)

Short Films:

  • the art of the morning - Director: Nathan Hauch (Ottawa, ON)[10]
  • Harevan - Director: Marilou Caravecchia-Pelletier (Montreal, QC)
  • Russian Gangster - Director: Maissa Houri (Ottawa, ON)[11]
  • As It Was - Director: Blake Garbe (Toronto, ON)
  • It Could Be You - Director: Cody Westman (St. John’s, NL)
  • Away Home - Director: Jana Stackhouse (Toronto, ON)
  • Super Bingo - Director: Matthew J. Blecha (Vancouver, BC)
  • What We Owe - Director: Bryce Mercier (Oakville, ON)
  • Intercept - Director: Kirk Knapp (Ottawa, ON)
  • End of the Night - Director: Tavit Melikian (Montreal, QC)
  • Angels - Director: Taylor Olson (Halifax, NS)

2019 Festival Films

Feature Films:

  • The Mayor of Comedy: A Canadian Stand-Up Story – Director: Matt Kelly (Toronto, ON) - WORLD PREMIERE
  • Nose to Tail – Director: Jesse Zigelstein (Toronto, ON)
  • Trouble In The Garden – Director: Roz Owen (Toronto, ON)

Short Films:

  • Baba Yaga – Directors: Nicole Sitanski and Cheryl Taam (Vancouver, BC)
  • Dog Bite – Director: Luvia Petersen (Vancouver, BC)
  • Fragile Dream – Director: Isabelle Hayeur (Rawdon, QC)
  • Girl in the Hallway – Director: Valerie Barnhart (Ottawa, ON)
  • Life Via Rail – Director: Jonny Micay (Toronto, ON)
  • May Flowers – Director: Marianna Phung (Toronto, ON)
  • Newborn – Director: Ray Savaya (Toronto, ON)
  • The Order of Things to Come – Director: Tavit Melikian (Montreal, QC)
  • Overgrowth – Director: Christian Belisle (Ottawa, ON)
  • Rise n’ Shine – Director: Silver Kim (West Vancouver, BC)
  • The Still Life of Annika Myers – Director: Matthew Blecha (Victoria, BC) - WINNER, Audience Favourite

2020 Shorts at Home

In addition to annual screenings, a series of streamed short film screenings 'Shorts at Home' was launched in May 2020.[7] The series is intended to prepare OCanFilmFest for online and hybrid physical/virtual screenings in 2020 and beyond.[8]

2020 Festival Films

OCanFilmFest will move to an online event in 2020 out of an abundance of caution due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fans can rent specific films for 24-hour streaming periods during the three weekends starting on November 6, 2020.

Feature Films:

  • Project Cold Days (Ottawa, ON) Director: Stephen R. Coleman
  • The Great Disconnect (Ottawa, ON) Director: Tamer Soliman
  • The Manhattan Project (Etobicoke, ON) Director: Matthew Campanile

Short Films:

  • Advances (Burlington, ON) Director: Tyler J. Seguin
  • and also, for youth (Harrowsmith, ON) Director: Eamon Hillis - WINNER, Audience Favourite
  • Guardians of the Grasslands (Bashaw, AB) Directors: Sarah Wray, Ben Wilson
  • I Hope They Remember My Name (Toronto, ON) Director: Patrick Weiers
  • Inhale (Strathroy, ON) Director: Brian Chambers
  • Miracle, Baby (Toronto, ON) Director: C. Hudson Hwang
  • Not Your Average Bear (Vancouver, BC) Director: Cliff Skelton
  • Saint-Tite (Montreal, QC) Directors: Florence Pelletier, Élizabeth Marcoux-Bélair
  • Social Mediation (Toronto, ON) Director: Matt Pittroff
  • StreetSauce! Public Art in Waterloo Region? (Kichener, ON) Directors: Paul Campsall, Tom Knowlton
  • Tessellate (Vancouver, BC) Director: Rob Jacobsen
  • The Date (Halifax, NS) Director: Taylor Olson
  • Vessel (Toronto, ON) Director: Ethan Godel
  • WESTBOUND / EASTBOUND (Etobicoke, ON) Director: Rohan Bader
  • World Of The Fluffs (Vancouver, BC) Director: Chaisi Glover

References
  1. "Ottawa Canadian Film Festival Official Website". OCanFilmFest. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  2. "Ottawa Indie Fest highlights Canadian film". aquarteryoung. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  3. "Treepot Film Festival". treepotmedia. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  4. "The Secret War To Be Showcased At Upcoming Festival". cmfmag. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  5. Fabre, Caroline (10 November 2019). "Un Festival de Films à Ottawa? Prime Numéro Trois". www.larotonde.ca. La Rotende. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  6. Brackenbury, Meaghan. "Ottawa Canadian Film Festival". cusjc.ca/midweek/. Carelton Journalism. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  7. García, Alejandra. "Ottawa Canadian Film Festival launches Shorts at Home on May 15th". apt613.ca. Apartment 613. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  8. El-Rayes, Wafa. "Film festival moves online to adapt to COVID-19". charlatan.ca. Carleton University. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  9. "Award-winning Filipino actress stars in latest domestic drama from Canada". News in Entertainment. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  10. "Interview with Nathan Hauch about his upcoming film in the Ottawa Canadian Film Festival and working as a disabled artist". CKCU. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  11. "Role reversal: What it's like to be a Muslim woman acting in Ottawa". CBC. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
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