For 20 years, the ReFrame Film Festival has provided Peterborough-Nogojiwanong with the chance to be not only be entertained, moved, and inspired by acclaimed documentary films, but it has done so in a way that is accessible and encourages viewers to think well beyond the screen and into their own communities.
This year’s festival takes place in person in downtown Peterborough from January 25 to 28 and then online across Canada from January 29 to February 4, with the online component featuring a selection of the festival program.
The 20th anniversary of a festival with such significance should only be kicked off in the most monumental of ways. At 7 p.m. on Thursday (January 25), ReFrame Film Festival is hosting their opening night at Showplace Performance Centre in downtown Peterborough with the screening of an award-winning and thought-provoking film, special guest speakers, and performances from local changemakers.
“It’s going to be so gratifying to be in a space with the community and have people experience these films which explore issues that only few have been aware of and privy to for so long,” says ReFrame’s creative director Eryn Lidster. “We’re excited to welcome everyone and share what we’ve experienced over the months of working with the community we care about. There’s a magic that will happen in that theatre.”
The very first film of the festival, exclusive to opening night, is one that sets the stage and introduces the audience to what they can expect from the more than 60 short and feature-length social and environmental justice films that will be screened live and virtually throughout the festival.
Directed by James Burns and Stevie Salas, Boil Alert follows Mohawk activist Layla Staats as she visits First Nations communities in North America to shine a light on the struggle for clean water, while grappling with her own identity along the way. The film takes the statistics — there are currently 29 long-term drinking water advisories in effect in 27 communities across Canada alone — and puts a face, a person, and a story to them, with poignant first-hand accounts from those living in the crisis.
VIDEO: “Boil Alert” trailer
“I was struck by how many of the core issues and styles that are going to be at the festival were presented in the film,” says Lidster. “The hybrid format of the film is stunning. There is a lot of play with sequences, in addition to the footage they’re capturing and the interviews that they’re doing in these different First Nations communities.”
The film, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last September, was produced by Seeing Red 6Nations, an Indigenous-owned media company based on Six Nations of the Grand River about 40 kilometres south of Hamilton. Lidster notes that as an Ontario-based company, Seeing Red 6Nations touches on “ongoing issues” in communities close to Nogojiwanong.
Nearby, there have been several long-term drinking water advisories — for more than a 12-month period — in communities in just the past two decades: from July 2016 to June 2018 at Curve Lake First Nation, from October 2008 to December 2021 in Mississaugas of Scugog First Nation, and from May 2013 to February 2016 in Alderville First Nation.
“One of the most important points we want to make with all the films in the festival, but particularly this one, is that local connection,” says Lidster. “We’re making sure these films don’t exist just in space, but are issues that affect us all year round. We want to instill that education piece and connect viewers to actions that they can take around the energy that’s generated by the film experience.”
To the end, Staats herself will attend ReFrame’s opening night celebrations, joining the team for a Q&A with the audience following the film. An artist, filmmaker, and musician, she uses her platform to advocate for Indigenous rights. She will speak to her experience connecting with First Nations communities and to the ongoing water crisis, as well as perform a song before the audience.
“In addition to Layla being on the front lines of some of these high-conflict spaces, she has done these really personal interviews talking about the personal experience of individuals that are directly affected by these issues,” says Lidster. “It’s going to be really wonderful to hear her speak.”
Joshua Neuman, co-producer of Boil Alert and Senior VP of development at Seeing Red 6Nations, will also be joining the post-screening Q&A. A writer and filmmaker himself (Johnny Physically Lives), Neuman’s speaking engagements have taken him from the United Nations to the Super Bowl.
“We’ll be talking to him about the production of the film from a behind-the-camera perspective,” notes Lidster.
For a local perspective, Curve Lake Elder and artist Alice Olson Williams will be a speaker for ReFrame’s opening night as she has done in years’ past. As well, she will join Trent University’s Dr. Nadine Changfoot on stage at the Market Hall at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 27th to moderate a panel of six filmmakers of Wshkiigmong Dibaajmownan/Curve Lake who will share Anishinaabe knowledge following the screening of their short documentaries.
One of those Wshkiigmong Dibaajmownan/Curve Lake filmmakers is another guest speaker at ReFrame’s opening night: Anishnaabe Kwe spoken word artist, activist, and musician Sarah Lewis. Peterborough’s inaugural poet laureate, Lewis — whose short film The Rez is screening on January 27 — will be performing a poem to welcome guests to the festival.
“If there are guests coming to opening night who want to hear more from filmmakers, it’s an opportunity to hear from local people who are telling stories right here in the community,” says Lidster.
Following the screening of Boil Alert, audience members are invited to connect with one another in Nexicom Studio downstairs at Showplace Performance Centre.
Leading up to the opening night celebrations, ReFrame will be announcing additional guest speakers for other in-person film screenings.
“Guest speakers are what make ReFrame,” says Lidster. “Coming to the theatre to experience the films and joining the virtual theatre with the community is so special and turns it into so much more than just a film screening.”
Opening night not only launches the 20th anniversary of the beloved film festival, but also the most accessible one yet — physically, emotionally, and financially.
For in-person screenings, each of the three venues (Showplace Performance Centre, Market Hall, and the Peterborough Public Library) is wheelchair accessible (except for the Showplace balcony), with ramps and elevator service available. Accessible seating will be reserved in advance and clearly indicated at each venue. All venues are fragrance free. Sensory kits (fidget gadgets, sunglasses, and earplugs) are available to borrow at the reception table at each of the venues.
Most virtual screenings include subtitles, open captions, or closed captions where possible, while each of the livestreams, panels, and Q&As will indicate whether captions, subtitles, or ASL interpretation is available. ReFrame’s Frequently Asked Questions page has resources and guidelines for accessing the virtual theatre through various devices and networks.
ReFrame’s online film guide also supplies content and trigger warnings as well as “tone notes” — such as “inspiring” and “hopeful” — to help guide viewing decisions.
To promote income-based accessibility, ReFrame offers a pay-what-you-can option for all individual film programs, both for in-person and virtual screenings. ReFrame has also distributed 400 free passes and ticket packages through its Community Access Program in partnership with local advocacy groups and service organizations .
“We are trying to have these conversations around very important issues that involve everyone, and everyone should be at the table for those conversations,” says Lidster. “Doing the work of social and environmental justice through the festival is the goal and reducing barriers is so important if we are truly going to do it.”
For those who can afford them, there are three festival pass options available: a $125 all-access hybrid pass for both the in-person and virtual components of the festival, a $100 all-access in-person pass, and a $50 all-access virtual pass (offering a reduced online selection of the same films screened during the in-person component).
Tickets for opening night are not included in the festival passes and must be purchased separately for $25 or pay what you can. Opening night tickets and festival passes are available online at reframefilmfestival.ca. Tickets for all individual in-person screenings, available 20 minutes in advance of each screening, are $15 or pay what you can.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a media sponsor of the 2024 ReFrame Film Festival.
