NEW FILM FESTIVAL
Organizer has big plans for Regina event.
It may have taken a couple of years of dreaming and five months of hard work, but in two weeks the Regina International Film Festival and Awards (RIFFA) will be a reality.
No one could be happier than John Thimothy, RIFFA’s chief executive producer, but his dream is not over.
He believes there is nothing standing in the way of RIFFA becoming as widely recognized as the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) or even France’s Cannes Film Festival.
Although a registered nurse by profession, Thimothy admits he has a passion for film and the filmmaking that started as a young child growing up in India. Prior to moving to Saskatchewan, he lived in Ontario and attended TIFF.
Two years ago, he moved to Indian Head and noticed that despite the province’s vibrant film industry, there was nothing to highlight it.
“There are small film festivals here and there, but nothing that showcases an international platform,” said Thimothy. “We have the potential, that’s the main thing. Regina is the capital city of Saskatchewan and with all the amenities that we have (an international film festival) never happened.”
Five months ago, he moved to Regina and decided to get to work on changing that.
Thimothy said with the help of other equally committed individuals the team was able to create RIFFA.
“What we are looking to do with our film festival is to not only support the local talents, but also give a great opportunity for the local public and local filmmakers to get a feel of international flavour,” he said.
Thimothy says RIFFA is a different type of film festival, which he believes will help it stand out locally and internationally.
The goal is to create a fulllength film festival, so that it does not compete with the province’s other short-film festivals.
However due to a lack of funding and time constraints, this year, RIFFA has accepted only short films.
“That is only for this year, so next year onward we will have full-length feature films,” said Thimothy.
RIFFA is also to feature music at the festival, which is something that doesn’t happen at other international film festivals, he said.
Thimothy is also using the film festival to support and advocate for mental health.
As a health-care worker, he knows the statistics when it comes to mental health.
“We want to take out the stigma, which will be hard for us to do because it’s not going to be a right-away process,” he said. “But we will be contributing, a little bit, to the people doing the work.”
Forty per cent of all ticket sales will go to support the Canadian Mental Health Association, Saskatchewan Division.
The two-day event is set to kick off on Oct. 2 at the Conexus Arts Centre with screenings.
Thimothy said the response from the film community has been great, with 780 films submitted from 98 countries. On Oct. 3, 30 films are to compete in 10 film award categories. The winners are to receive a RIFFA bronze statue that was commissioned from a Vancouver-based artist.
A full schedule of events is available online at www. riffa.ca.