Vaughan International Film Festival makes its in-person return this year

Thestar.com
Sept. 26, 2022
Brian Capitao

The Vaughan International Film Festival (VFF) has returned with its Cinema Under the Stars programming.

The festival known for its short film programming will be returning to an in-person event after pivoting to a drive-in format during the pandemic.

On Sept. 23 and 24, residents who missed out on the initial screenings back in June would be able to see the full 2022 lineup.

The move to in-person programming allows for more accessibility. Patrons who could not attend previously due to lack of owning a vehicle had to carpool. This year, thanks to the proximity of the Cinema Under the Stars program to the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre subway station at Assembly Park, patrons who would rather take public transit have an opportunity to attend.

“I founded the festival with a business partner of mine 10 years ago. Over 10 years ago, with the idea of providing opportunities for emerging artists. Ten years later, we made it through a pandemic, and we are super excited to be able to bring people back to an in-person environment,” said Antonio Ienco, co-founder and director of events and sponsorship for VFF.

This year, VFF is also introducing in-person educational seminars, such as a special seminar by sound editor Steven Ticknor, who worked on the last three “Spider-Man” movies. His seminar is scheduled for Sept. 25. On the following weekend, there will be a screening of the best shorts submitted to VFF over the last 10 years.

“We've been doing it over the pandemic through a webinar series, or they've been doing a series of seminars that touch on different aspects of the industry. But obviously being able to do it again in person now, we got excited about doing our first-ever seminar series in person,” said Ienco.

VFF presents an opportunity for emerging young filmmakers to network and make connections. Some of the volunteers were known to dabble themselves.

“It sounded like something that was interesting because of the short films. That's something that has always interested me, being a filmmaker myself, and I thought it to be a good way to get involved in that community,” said Brad Pilon, a volunteer with VFF.

Working as a volunteer as part of the film festival was an eye-opening experience for Pilon, who says he better understands the work now that goes behind organizing a festival and giving emerging filmmakers exposure.

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The festival is collaborating with actors Amy Jo Johnson and Sergio Di Zio for educational seminars. It is known to collaborate with people in the entertainment industry.

“It's really important for artists to gather and be part of who we are and grow as a team,” said Emily Cheung, artistic director of Little Pear Garden Dance Company, this year’s selected charity.

The festival has no association with the Toronto International Film Festival, known as TIFF, but over the years has made a name for itself in the city.

“I can't reiterate the word international enough because our lineup has covered over 60 countries over the last 10 years,” said Ienco. “We're putting (local filmmakers) on that same stage, so to be able to celebrate them all together is something that we're excited about.”