The magic of cinema is coming alive in the city.
Stratford Film Festival is hosting film screenings Friday to Sunday.
Megan Smith-Harris, Stratford Film Festival executive director, explained that Cool Shorts for the Holidays are “adult friendly” short film screenings that will appeal to a wide range of tastes.
“It’s comedy, drama, documentary, dance, and animation, shorts from all around the world… There’s a little something for everybody.”
Smith-Harris highlighted special Q&As at the Friday night screenings.
One of the short films, The Understudy, will have two audience Q&As with the film’s director, producer and two of its actors, including Tom Rooney, at the Dec. 20 screenings, following the 6 p.m. screening and beginning the 8 p.m. screening.
“It’s a great opportunity to get behind the scenes of a film and understand what goes on in making it, and it was shot all in Stratford,” said Smith-Harris.
And being a contributing member of the community is something that is important to the organization.
“If we’re becoming a member of this community, we want to become a part of the fabric and we want to make films accessible to everyone,” said Smith-Harris.
A community outreach screening of It’s A Wonderful Life airs Saturday at 8 p.m, with proceeds to The Emily Murphy Centre, Shelterlink Youth Services and Stratford House of Blessing.
Organizers ask for physical donations for each of the service groups. A wish list for what these services are in need of can be found on the Stratford Film Festival website.
The cost is pay-what-you-can for the screenings, which run at at 4 p.m., 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Reservations are encouraged to secure seats for each screening and can be made on their website.
