Forest City Film Festival wraps with $60K prize, eyes on future growth

Article content

A London filmmaker has won the richest film pitch award in the country.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

Forest City Film Festival wraps with $60K prize, eyes on future growth Back to video

The seventh annual Forest City Film Festival’s $60,000 pitch prize was won by Banting Secondary School graduate Faran Moradi for his proposal to film Cry Wolf in London next year.

The film festival ended Sunday with an awards gala and the streaming festival now is underway until Saturday. For more information visit the website fcff.ca.

Festival founder and executive director Dorothy Downs said crowds this year were disappointing, giving the festival team reason to consider the path forward for next year.

“We had the best films we’re every had at the festival and everyone who saw them raved about them and the exceptional range of films and the fantastic question-and-answer sessions with the directors, but the numbers were down,” said Downs.

“We’re not sure why and we’re going to be doing a lot of debriefing and focus groups to find out why, but I suspect it could be the construction downtown, which it like a maze, and the homelessness problem and safety. We did have a couple of unpleasant experiences and people were put off. Films that sold out wherever they’ve played sold poorly here.”

Winners at the seventh annual Forest City Film Festival include:

• Feature film: Ashgrove, by director Jeremy Lalonde, the story of a troubled couple who go to their rural farmhouse for a weekend to reconnect when they realize their ability “to save their marriage will determine the fate of mankind. Filed in the Kitchener-Waterloo region.
• Feature documentary: Long Rider, director Sean Cisterna’s film about a man on an epic horseback journey.
• Short film: Tenth Generation, Londoner Matthew Downs’ film about a 17-year-old unwed mother who decides to keep her baby but the church-run maternity home has other plans.
• Short documentary: Cod Story, by Noa Roginski, which explores the long-term impact of overexploitation of natural resources through the case of the Newfoundland and Labrador cod moratorium of 1992.
• Animated film: The Star Mill by Port Dover’s Daniel Blake, which tells the story of a boy and his pet owlbear learning to “appreciate being in the present, while running a windmill that powers the stars at night.”
• Screen play: Chameleon by Pat Brown
• Music video: Hurt So Bad, by Bella Rosa, directed by Paula Vergara.

Faran Moradi could not be reached for comment for his Project Pitch prize, which is awarded to the “most original and compelling film” 50 per cent of which can be shot in London. Moradi received a cash prize of $30,000, along with a variety of in-kind services such as scoring, rentals and marketing valued at $30,000.

Downs said attendance this year, compared to 2019, when crowds could last gather, was down about 40 per cent, but she’s convinced the film festival is wanted and needed in London.

“I know what we’re doing is good and it may not be popular yet, but it’s good,” said Downs. “The quality of the work that is happening in London is because of this film festival. The response from people who did attend was over the moon. Some said it was the richest cinematic experience of their life.”

jbelanger@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/JoeBatLFPress