Strong crowds are expected for the 15th annual Vancouver Island Short Film Festival, happening Feb 7 & 8, 2020 at VIU's Malaspina Theatre in Nanaimo. (VISFF)

By Ian Holmes

Lights, camera, action

Renowned Nanaimo based film festival sees surge in interest

Dec 14, 2019 | 3:34 AM

NANAIMO — This is no fringe festival.

25 short films were selected out of a record 227 submissions made to the Vancouver Island Short Film Festival (VISFF) happening Feb. 7 and 8, 2020 at VIU’s Malaspina Theatre.

Nanaimo’s Raymond Knight is among three Vancouver Island based producers from around the world to make the cut.

VISFF director Karla Duarte said writing, production and performance quality are key entry barometers

“What that means of us is that the narrative is good and also that there’s representation from cross sections of communities and cultures, that’s how we narrow it down as well,” Duarte said.

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At the request of participant feedback, the allowable length of the entries was boosted to 15-minutes, up from the previous 12-minute limit.

Duarte told NanaimoNewsNOW their ability to be nimble and cater to the needs of filmmakers near and far makes the VISFF a popular event.

“We’re approachable and we provide networking activities throughout the festival for local film makers and visitors,” Duarte said. “That helps us as well put the film festival as one of the top rated.”

The 15^th annual VISFF will see two screenings of each entry as opposed to three to accomodate the increased number of films.

“Our audience survey indicated people wanted to see more films.”

Duarte said the VISFF is ranked in the top 100 of more than 8,000 festivals on the influential website filmfreeway.com.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com
On Twitter: @reporterholmes

—with files from Alex Rawnsley and Spencer Sterritt