FIN Atlantic International Film Festival sign (Image: FIN Facebook)
The FIN Atlantic International Film Festival is bringing this year’s selection of films online where people can watch from the comfort of their own couch on platform FIN Stream.
Executive Director Wayne Carter said the organization realized at the beginning of June they needed to decide how to deliver the best event possible, even if meant doing things differently and creating an entirely new format.
“I’m sitting here now in the middle of August, and I’m quite confident that we’ve made the right decision,” said Carter.
FIN Stream, available exclusively throughout Atlantic Canada, is not replacing the film festival which normally includes receptions, mixers and a film market where producers and financiers could meet and talk business, but serves as a platform dedicated to creating exposure for Atlantic Canadian screen content.
FIN Atlantic International Film Festival logo (Image: FIN Facebook)
“Our mandate is to champion content that’s made by Atlantic Canadian filmmakers, telling Atlantic Canadian stories, and then we’ll broaden that out with hopefully some of the brightest Canadian features in short films, and then some of the best international stuff that we’ve been able to secure,” he said.
Carter also shared FIN Stream will become a permanent fixture of the festival, complementing film screenings in 2021 and beyond.
“From our perspective we’re very fortunate the medium our festival celebrates is one that can go online,” he said. “It’s not the same experience, but it certainly still allows us to expose the content and make it available.”
Although the program is about a third of its normal scope of films, live and pre-recorded panel discussions and Q&As will serve as additional content experiences alongside FIN Stream’s films. The opportunity for filmmakers and organizations to interact with audiences via technology opened the organization up to new ways of thinking and how to manage and deliver professional content.
“We did notice sort of a shift in thinking from having our original conversations with some producers and distributors in May when we said we were looking at potentially going to be exclusively online, and the opinions and thoughts have really changed over the course of the summer,” he said.
FIN Atlantic International Film Festival’s offices (Image: FIN Facebook)
Carter adds he thinks the film industry has started to realize online streaming is going to become more commonplace going forward.
FIN Stream could open more avenues to increase awareness and access to Atlantic Canadian films. In January, the festival started the Atlantic Cinematheque (also known as FIN Fridays) where on the last Friday of each month they screen a film made by an Atlantic Canadian director at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
The partnership was put on hold due to COVID-19 but with FIN Stream’s launch it will most likely be shifted online and be able to champion Atlantic Canadian content through the year.
The media launch of FIN Stream will also be a first for the festival. “We’re really trying to reach all Atlantic Canadians this year, so why not have it broadcast for everybody so anybody can watch our launch this year and hopefully maybe get excited about the program,” explained Carter. “The key for me is to keep the organization viable and sustainable and going for the winter so that we can get through the winter and get into spring of 2021 and start planning for our 2021 events.”
The FIN Stream Program Launch will be live-streamed Wednesday at 11 AM on its website and live across FIN’s social media accounts, including Facebook.
