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
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
Amish youth experience a rite of passage called Rumspringa. It’s not what you might think
The idea of “Rumspringa” has a specific spot in the American imagination. A rite of passage for young people in some Amish communities, Rumspringa is seen by most outsiders as a wild time away from strict Amish rules, when teenagers can experiment with the modern vices of the world.
Djokovic needs medical attention after getting knocked on the head by a water bottle at Italian Open
Novak Djokovic needed medical attention after apparently getting knocked on the head by a water bottle after a win at the Italian Open on Friday.