Chilliwack Independent Film Festival donating 50% of proceeds to B.C. flood relief
The Chilliwack Independent Film Festival will begin this week, nearly two months after it was originally scheduled to take place.
Organizers delayed the event due to the impact of the devastating floods that struck the Fraser Valley in mid-November.
The flooding directly affected some of the festival's volunteers, and it also cut off Chilliwack from both Metro Vancouver and the Interior, which made it all the more impossible for the event to continue, according to festival director Taras Groves.
"We're essentially a destination festival," Groves told CTV News. "Fifty per cent of all our tickets are usually from outside of Chilliwack."
He said he was personally lucky to avoid damage from the flooding.
"Water came right up to our doors," Groves said. "It was definitely a surreal and scary experience."
The in-person portion of the festival begins on Friday, Jan. 14. Over three days, organizers will screen 40 films in 10 screening blocks at the Cottonwood Cinema in Chilliwack. Attendance is limited to 50 per cent of capacity because of B.C.'s current COVID-19 rules.
After the in-person screenings, a virtual festival will run from Jan. 17 to 30, allowing those with tickets to watch all of the festival's offerings online from the comfort of their homes.
Half of the proceeds from all tickets - in-person and virtual - will be donated to flood relief efforts.
Groves said there was no question for organizers that donating proceeds was the right thing to do.
"I think it puts things in perspective, you know?" he said of the flooding.
"It's a stressful thing, being a nonprofit ourselves and trying to run a film festival. It's all 100 per cent done by volunteers. We volunteer our time. But then something like the flooding happens and it really just kind of grounds you. It makes you want to try and give back to the community after they've tried to support us so much."
Ticket sales are typically one of the primary sources of income for the festival, but Groves said he's not concerned about the reduced revenue this year.
"We'll cope," he said. "It's not about making money. It's about providing the platform for artists to have their stories heard and obviously bringing stories and filmmakers to Chilliwack."
More information on the Chilliwack Independent Film Festival can be found on its website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.