The festival above Toronto: Vaughan filmmakers put spotlight on short films
Yorkregion.com
Jan. 20, 2016
By Jonathon Hiltz
A lack of focus in the arts and a desire to see culture play a role in their city’s growth got independent film producers Mark Pagliaroli and Antonio Ienco talking back in 2012.
The Vaughan natives, who have been producing films, commercials and music videos since 2003, launched the Vaughan Film Festival. The fourth annual event, which showcases multi-genre short films from both domestic and international filmmakers, is scheduled for May.
“The VFF had its first launch with only 25 people attending, mostly friends and family. [Our] recent launches now house an attendance in the hundreds and are hosted in major hotspots like the McMichael Art Gallery and Vaughan Mills Mall,” Pagliaroli says.
That first launch, he recalls, was a simple affair held in a multipurpose room at Vaughan City Hall. There was a podium, a few rows of chairs and a display board with the festival’s “one and only sponsor,” Scotiabank. The mayor attended along with friends and family and a few supporters.
Cut to last year’s festival, which Pagliaroli describes as “epic”.
“In our eyes, we hit a milestone going into year three,” he says, adding feedback from last year’s event was unanimous in that everyone felt the festival had grown beyond its grassroots beginnings into an internationally recognized event.
In its three years, the festival has shown a number of films of note.
In its first year, for example, they screened the Oscar-winning short film Curfew, starring Fatima Ptacek, who is known as being the voice of Dora The Explorer, and Apple Of My Eye, a Spanish film that was named the festival’s best short.
“It was a touching film about a man who feels guilty visiting his dying grandmother after so many years and remembers all the wonderful times they had together,” Pagliaroli says.
Last year boasted a bunch of hit short films, including one produced by actress Eva Longoria about a hearing impaired women who struggles to get her life back on track.
“The 2015 festival was our most successful year so far,” he adds “We had our highest attendance, biggest outreach and showcased our best film line-up.”
The festival also hosted a celebrity guest in legendary actor Michael Madsen, who is known for a long list of films, including Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill, Thelma and Louise and Quentin Tarantino’s latest, The Hateful Eight.
The VFF has also grown its list of sponsors to include Roy Foss Woodbridge, Interior Home Improvement, Norak Steel and Facade Academy of the Arts, along with longtime backer Scotiabank, which last year signed a three-year commitment as presenting sponsor.
The festival takes place over the course of four days in different locations with various genres of films and events. International and student film screenings are hosted at Cineplex Colossus in Woodbridge and industry seminars are held at different locations every year.
For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s stunt double gave a talk one year; Colossus was the site for a seminar called the art of mixing; and the School of Makeup Art hosted a special effects event at Vellore Village Community Centre. The VFF Awards gala is hosted at the Paramount Conference venue and includes a red carpet walk, meal and live performances.
The festival also supports arts education by granting scholarships to filmmakers, art students and educational institutions in Vaughan.
The 2016 festival is set for May 16 to 19 and the events team is again planning to make this one bigger than the last.
“We’ve done this enough times to know how to run the event successfully, but we’re always trying to raise the bar in some way, so there’s usually a new challenge we give ourselves,” Pagliaroli says.
The 2016 festival is set for May 16 to 19 and the events team is again planning to make this one bigger than the last.
“We’ve done this enough times to know how to run the event successfully, but we’re always trying to raise the bar in some way, so there’s usually a new challenge we give ourselves,” Pagliaroli says.
While organizers are not yet ready to reveal what the next festival has in store for attendees, details are expected soon-including some big announcements about special guests and films.
Whatever the next festival has in store for the people of York Region and beyond, the fact that Vaughan has an international film event in its bag of cultural goodies is a testament to a city that has come of age.
