Cinéfest launches Visitor Experience Initiative

Cinéfest is about to undergo its largest expansion since it began 23 years ago, according to Tammy Frick, festival director.

Roughly $300,000 in funding will allow the cultural festival to grow through its Visitor Experience Initiative (VEI).

Funding to enhance the VEI has come from the Greater Sudbury Development Corporation (GSDC) and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC). The GSDC announced an investment of $105,000 in the festival.

Frick said the money will be used to help the group meet its objectives, which include enhancing the image of the festival, making it more accessible to guests, promoting ties with other media arts industries and becoming more widely known in the community and beyond.

Frick said, through panel discussions, Cinéfest learned that it's a “modest” festival, considering it is ranked in the top five Canadian film festivals.

To achieve its goals, Frick said the Cinéfest headquarters will be renovated to offer an actual box office and a multi-use space for small screenings and other community events. The new office space will also house the Northern Film Library. Frick said she's excited to see this library — which will house films screened at previous festivals — come to fruition.

“We've had so many people that want access to these films after the fact, and it's really hard to find one location that houses them all,” she said. “We see a lot of growth potential.”

Eventually films will be available online, she said.

Cinéfest will also redevelop its website as part of its plan to better its VIE.

The new site will allow guests to purchase tickets to Cinéfest events online, and be more interactive. Frick said it will also be more user-friendly for those from the film industry.

Two full-time jobs, as well as two part-time jobs, will also be created to achievethese goals.

Frick said, by the time this year's Cinéfest arrives (Sept. 17-25), she hopes about 80 per cent of the improvements will be complete. The renovations, and other major tasks, will be “rolled out” within the next 18 months.

Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci announced $227,910 on behalf of the NOHFC.

“We're going to enhance the opportunity for viewers to take part in this very, very exciting film festival,” he said. “We want more people to come to Sudbury, and we want more people to view the excellence that is this film festival.”

Frick said Cinéfest has been working on the concept of the expansion for the past year and a half.

“Because of its scope, we wanted to make sure that, out of the gate, we were ready to go, with a strong foundation in place,” she said.

For more information about Cinéfest, visit www.cinefest.com or phone 705-688-1234.