Despite our fervent hopes, it doesn’t look like we’ll be back in cinemas by November, so we’ve made the decision to take our festival virtual for 2020. We’re not the first festival to make this decision, and that’s good news for several reasons.
First of all, we’ve been fortunate to be working with a trusted partner. Our ticket vendor for the past two festivals, Eventive, was among the first tech companies to build a robust, secure, and user-friendly solution to presenting festivals online. Since April, they have helped dozens of festivals go virtual. Their track record is excellent, and they are adding refinements all the time. We’re confident that, with their help, we can provide an excellent experience for audiences and filmmakers this November.
Second of all, going virtual presents certain advantages for us. We can geo-fence the films so that anyone in Canada can access our festival, allowing us to reach a much wider audience than ever before. And we are extending our dates, so you’ll have much more time to enjoy our programming. This year’s festival dates will be November 13-22. That’s TEN days to watch all the great Canadian and international short films that we’re putting together.
We’ll have more news soon about how and when passes and tickets will be on sale, and we’re ready to start announcing a few titles too. Thanks for coming along on this crazy 2020 ride with us!