Klondike Institute of Arts and Culture’s annual Dawson City International Short Film Festival takes place this year from March 28 to 31
It’s a milestone year for the Klondike Institute of Arts and Culture (KIAC)’s Dawson City International Short Film Festival. This year, the festival celebrates its 25th anniversary, and since it always takes place over Easter weekend, it’s earlier this year than it typically is.
“It’s earlier this year, so the date is quite important,” said KIAC film festival producer, Dan Sokolowski. “That sometimes catches people by surprise, so we’re trying to get the word out that it’s earlier than usual.”
This year, over 400 films were submitted for consideration for the festival, so Sokolowski and his selection committee have been hard at work watching each film and deciding what is right for the film festival audiences, as well as planning workshops to happen during the weekend.
“There’s a lot of interest in analogue filmmaking up here in Dawson,” said Sokolowski. “Once again at the festival, we’re going to have workshops that cover both ends of the cinematic gamut, with some analog filmmaking workshops as well as some digital filmmaking workshops.”
Sokolowski isn’t exactly sure why analog filmmaking is such a popular phenomenon in Dawson City but is happy to offer a supply for the demand. KIAC has the necessary equipment to run these workshops where prospective filmmakers can learn to shoot with Super 8 and other technologies.
“I think because we can process it ourselves, it takes away that mystique of having to send it out and waiting and waiting and then getting it back,” he explained. “This way, it’s almost as immediate as digital, where you can shoot it, then go into the dark room and see right away what the image is.
“There’s that immediacy that wasn’t in film before that we can offer, and it’s also very tactile and hands-on. You load the camera with your own fingers, you get to touch the film, you hand-process it in buckets—so there’s a touchy-feely process that goes along with it and I think people appreciate it—whereas, admittedly, digital has many good qualities, it’s still a very ‘cold’ medium.
“It’s a different way of thinking and almost a new way of filmmaking.”
As far as the selection process for the festival screenings go, Sokolowski said that KIAC’s selection committee is focused on presenting a variety of films that show diversity in style and content.
“We show a bit of everything at the film fest,” he said. “The selection committee looks at a film to see its message, content, how well it’s portrayed and if it’s an engaging piece of work. Sometimes you get something that maybe isn’t technically as high quality as other things, but the content is relevant, so we look at a wide variety of things we want to see and [that] we think the community might want to see on the screen.”
Sokolowski admitted that celebrating 25 years of the film fest makes him feel a little old, because he attended the first-ever Dawson City International Short Film Festival, where one of his own films was screened. At the time, he lived in Ontario and knew nothing of the Yukon’s lure to outsiders.
“It’s [been] a lot of years, and it’s a testament to the community and the support that’s been given to not only the film fest but to KIAC—which is also in its 25th year—that we’re still here and we’re moving ahead,” he said. “It’s really touching, in a way.”
This year’s Dawson City International Short Film Festival takes place March 28–31. To learn more and to see the festival programming, visit dawsonfilmfest.com
