Overview: Mississauga Independent Film Festival 2009

The gentlemen to the left are Matt and Jeff Campagna founders of the family affair that is the Mississauga Independent Film Festival . The two brothers are working on their second year of the festival that promises to be bigger and better than last year while maintaining its commitment to being all-Canadian and indie/digital friendly.  The reason I support this festival is because it addresses the core issues and adversities facing independent filmmakers in Canada and it does so DIRECTLY.  The festival was founded in 2007 and has come a very long way in such a short time.  Essentially the mandate of the festival was created by two guys who know the pain of indie filmmakers because they are indie filmmakers.  It’s about time that someone put together a festival that was by the people for the people all around.  The Campagna brothers prove you don’t have to compromise identity in order to stage a successful event worthy of commercial and underground coverage alike.  What MIFF proves is that sticking to who you are and persevering your unique sense of self is exactly what is needed to mould culture in the 21st century.  

This year’s festival will include five features and endless shorts–all of which I am very happy to be covering.   To get a feel for the festival you can check out the schedule at their website www.miff.ca.  There is everything from comedies, dramas, animations, horror, and the list goes on and on.  The quality of work is incredible and really foretells of what could emerge from the Canadian market if talent were to be fostered proactively.  At the website you’ll get information about what’s in store in terms of all the workshops offered by the Campagna brothers.  For all indie filmmakers current and potential the website outlines workshops that address a balance of technical, practical, and theoretical aspects of filmmaking today with the foci being: music videos, making your first feature, and working with RED cameras ( link). 

As if that weren’t enough the festival has a super cool venue for all the film showings at Cinestarz in Mississauga.  The Galas will be at The Art Gallery Of Mississauga and the after parties are at the West 50 Pourhouse.  Overall the package and experience afforded by this festival meets the social, economic, and cultural needs of both indie filmmakers and the public at large.  This is a highly efficient boutique operation that by definition and conception will most certainly service and satisfy all those in attendance.  The Festival kicks off July 8th and wraps up on the 12th.  I’ll be delivering event details, reviews, and interviews from the festival in the weeks to come so be sure to watch out for them and most importantly be sure to support MIFF 2009.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 at 4:21 pm and is filed under MIFF 2009. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.