The Yorkton Film Festival is rapidly approaching its 65th anniversary. To celebrate, the festival is both embracing its past and moving towards the future. Celebrations launched over the weekend along with Culture Days.
The local festival was the first in Canada, and the history of the event is going to be the centerpiece for the coming months. Randy Goulden with the festival notes that the event's website will be featuring stories from throughout the festival's history, with more stories added as the year goes on.
"The history of the festival presents a number of stories, and that's what you're going to be learning over the next year. Some of the stories are humorous, some are sad, some witness to an unbelievable determination," Goulden says.
She notes that the current stories include those of RCMP officers trailing the Soviet delegation in the 1950s, along with struggles in keeping the festival alive in a world of changing formats. Kathy Morrell, a retired teacher and freelance writer, has been commissioned to compile the history. Currently, the vignettes have been completed up to the late 1970s, with many more on the way.
When the festival itself takes place in May, there will be many important figures from the festival's past in attendance, and Goulden notes that with the events focused on the history taking place it will be like there are two parallel festivals.
She also notes that there are many more surprises in the next few months as the festival itself approaches.
While the past has made the festival what it is today, it still needs to continue into the future to stay relevant. That has lead to the creation of the new Digital Media award.
The award has been introduced to reflect the changing face of the film industry, and the increasingly varied number of formats used by filmmakers.
The festival itself will take place May 24-27, 2012, and until then the history of the festival and new events will be updated until the festival begins on their site at www.goldensheafawards.com.
