South Western International Film Festival back for its third year in Sarnia
The South Western International Film Festival (SWIFF) is back for a third year of bringing culturally diverse stories to Canada. The not-for-profit festival is led by the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and aims to present a variety of voices and perspectives through films that are not available at multiplex theatres.
The festival is a four-day weekend featuring fifteen films, two nights of concerts, virtual realities, workshops, and more.
The workshops are free for high school students and offer expert training from current filmmakers in Toronto and Vancouver. They include online writing for women, documentary filmmaking, and composing music for film.
The festival will be running from November 2 to 5 and Sarnia will be the host city. An all access pass to the weekend is only $79 and tickets for each performance are also available. The website outlines packages available for the weekend including hotel stays, VIP access, and a four-course meal prepared by Chef Paresh Thakkar.
Ravi Srinivasan is the founder and executive director of SWIFF. He was born and raised in Sarnia Ontario and now lives and works in Toronto.
“I work for the Toronto International Film Festival and the Hot Doc Film Festival. These are both the biggest film festivals in North America for documentaries and feature films. That opportunity has allowed me to start this festival in my home town” said Srinivasan.
With this work experience paired with his Cinema and English Literature degree from Wilfred Laurier University, Srinivasan was able to develop a festival that has been growing year after year.
“We have received an increase in community sponsors, funding, and support from the Ontario Cultural Attraction Fund” added Srinivasan.
On top of this support, the festival has been selling more and more passes each year. The tickets are going fast this year and there is a limited amount of all access passes remaining.
The majority of the performances will take place at the Imperial Theatre in the downtown heart of Sarnia. The virtual reality exhibition can be found at the Judith & Norman ALIX Art Gallery. Admission into the gallery is free and is a great opportunity to take part in Sarnia-Lambton’s first virtual reality exhibit.
Srinivasan said that the virtual reality portion of the festival will include, “Indigenous programming with a virtual reality film that features a tribe called Red and other international films as well.”
There will be a preview of the exhibit on Friday night and it will be open to the public free of charge on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
SWIFF is an event that meets the needs of every demographic. They pride themselves on offering a free program to high school students, a family film, and catering to their core audience of adults ages 25-80. Not only does SWIFF want to provide entertainment for the entire community, they welcome guests from all around the world to enjoy their diverse schedule of events.
One of the ways they are able to attract different target markets is by seeking promotion from a variety of sources. Srinivasan is excited about the increasing support they have received in promoting their event.
“We are also working with the Fanshawe radio station and they are doing promotion for us” said Srinivasan.
Gearing promotion towards college and university students is a great way to attract groups of young people. Srinivasan discussed how this could be a fun weekend away for groups of students. The hotel package offers them a great deal on seeing the performances and having a place to stay.
To find out more about tickets and packages you can visit swiff.ca. Individual tickets to the performances can also be purchased at the Imperial Theatre box office in Sarnia.
The festival is a four-day weekend featuring fifteen films, two nights of concerts, virtual realities, workshops, and more.
The workshops are free for high school students and offer expert training from current filmmakers in Toronto and Vancouver. They include online writing for women, documentary filmmaking, and composing music for film.
The festival will be running from November 2 to 5 and Sarnia will be the host city. An all access pass to the weekend is only $79 and tickets for each performance are also available. The website outlines packages available for the weekend including hotel stays, VIP access, and a four-course meal prepared by Chef Paresh Thakkar.
Ravi Srinivasan is the founder and executive director of SWIFF. He was born and raised in Sarnia Ontario and now lives and works in Toronto.
“I work for the Toronto International Film Festival and the Hot Doc Film Festival. These are both the biggest film festivals in North America for documentaries and feature films. That opportunity has allowed me to start this festival in my home town” said Srinivasan.
With this work experience paired with his Cinema and English Literature degree from Wilfred Laurier University, Srinivasan was able to develop a festival that has been growing year after year.
“We have received an increase in community sponsors, funding, and support from the Ontario Cultural Attraction Fund” added Srinivasan.
On top of this support, the festival has been selling more and more passes each year. The tickets are going fast this year and there is a limited amount of all access passes remaining.
The majority of the performances will take place at the Imperial Theatre in the downtown heart of Sarnia. The virtual reality exhibition can be found at the Judith & Norman ALIX Art Gallery. Admission into the gallery is free and is a great opportunity to take part in Sarnia-Lambton’s first virtual reality exhibit.
Srinivasan said that the virtual reality portion of the festival will include, “Indigenous programming with a virtual reality film that features a tribe called Red and other international films as well.”
There will be a preview of the exhibit on Friday night and it will be open to the public free of charge on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
SWIFF is an event that meets the needs of every demographic. They pride themselves on offering a free program to high school students, a family film, and catering to their core audience of adults ages 25-80. Not only does SWIFF want to provide entertainment for the entire community, they welcome guests from all around the world to enjoy their diverse schedule of events.
One of the ways they are able to attract different target markets is by seeking promotion from a variety of sources. Srinivasan is excited about the increasing support they have received in promoting their event.
“We are also working with the Fanshawe radio station and they are doing promotion for us” said Srinivasan.
Gearing promotion towards college and university students is a great way to attract groups of young people. Srinivasan discussed how this could be a fun weekend away for groups of students. The hotel package offers them a great deal on seeing the performances and having a place to stay.
To find out more about tickets and packages you can visit swiff.ca. Individual tickets to the performances can also be purchased at the Imperial Theatre box office in Sarnia.
