2023 KFF Wrap Up – The Kamloops Film Society
March 14, 2023
That’s a wrap on the 27th Annual Kamloops Film Festival! From the World Premiere of the Kamloops filmed Outrunners to the food, drink, magic and dance filled Closing Party, KFF 2023 was triumph. We are so thankful to everyone who attended the films, and the pre and post-film events; as well as our Festival Committee, our staff, the KFS Board, and all the amazing volunteers!
The most popular (best attended) film was THE WHALE (which returns for 7 more screenings) and the Audience Choice (as chosen through the audience rating cards) was ELVIS with an average rating of 9.37 / 10. Full results for all the films are below. The total attendance was 5,076, which is less than 200 shy from our all-time record and a 51% increase from 2022!! As well, KFF 2023 set a new sponsorship record in an environment where other events are struggling to meet targets. We are so thankful to our sponsors and supporters for their ongoing commitment to this event.
“It was a tremendously positive festival. It felt so good to have the theatres consistently full, to have patrons gushing about how much they were enjoying the films and events, and to have special guests positively surprised by their experience in Kamloops. We definitely want to build on this return to form and continue growing and evolving the KFF. I am just so pleased and can’t wait for 2024.” – Dušan Magdolen, KFS Executive Director
The Oscar Awards were this past Sunday and the KFF is proud to have played nine of the nominated films, two of which took home the golden statuet. Plus the KFS played many more nominated films throughout the year and we even have a few coming up this spring!
And speaking of awards: The Kamloops Independent Short Shorts (KISS) Film Fest happened on Sunday, March 5 with a turnout of over 150 audience members. One of the best ever!! Keep scrolling to see the winners and have your chance to watch their films.
KFF hits OUTRUNNERS and THE WHALE will be returning to the Paramount Theater for additional screenings for the rest of March.
AUDIENCE FILM RATINGS:
| Elvis | 9.37 |
| Finding Fred Lee | 9.31 |
| Beauty and the Beast (1991) Sing Along | 9.28 |
| Riceboy Sleeps | 9.25 |
| Rosie | 8.95 |
| Empire of Light | 8.88 |
| Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris | 8.85 |
| Call Jane | 8.81 |
| Whale, The | 8.78 |
| Golden Delicious | 8.73 |
| Guitar Lessons | 8.50 |
| Outrunners | 8.41 |
| On Sacred Ground | 8.41 |
| I Like Movies | 8.30 |
| Everything Everywhere All At Once | 8.18 |
| 12 Tasks of Imelda, The | 8.03 |
| End of Sex, The | 7.97 |
| Geographies of Solitude | 7.82 |
| When You Finish Saving the World | 7.77 |
| Banshees of Inisherin | 7.65 |
| No Bears | 7.23 |
| Infinity Pool | 7.04 |
| Triangle of Sadness | 7.02 |
| Corsage | 6.95 |
| EO | 6.13 |
| Aftersun | 6.05 |
| Skinamarink | 5.58 |
All films were rated by attendees on a scale of 1-10.
ACADEMY AWARDS AT KFF
The Academy Awards were aired the other night, and we played a few of the films that won and were nominated for these prestigious awards during the festival.
Everything Everywhere All at Once, played on our closing night, won Best Picture, Best Director(s), Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing.
Earlier in the week, we played THE WHALE, which won an award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and earned Brendan Fraser the Best Actor award.
Other Oscar nominated films that we played included: Banshees of Inisherin with 9 nominations, ELVIS with 8 nominations, Triangle of Sadness with 3 nominations, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris with 1 nomination for Best Costume Design, Empire of Light with 1 nomination for Best Cinematography, Aftersun with 1 nomination for Best Actor, and EO with 1 nomination for Best International Feature.
KISS FILM FEST AWARDS
AMATEUR AWARDS
1st Prize (Shared): “If Anything Happens I Love You” from Izzy Filyk
1st Prize (Shared): “To Say Goodbye” from Axel Hansen
3rd Prize: “Celiac” from Dan Ondang, Andrew Robertson & Adrian Romeo
KAC Youth Prize (Shared): “If Anything Happens I Love You” from Izzy Filyk
KAC Youth Prize (Shared): “To Say Goodbye” from Axel Hansen
Audience Award: “Remake of a Scene from Spider-man 2” from Scott McLeod
PROFESSIONAL AWARDS
1st Prize: “Purpose” from Christo Vutev
2nd Prize: “Alone in the Dark” from Brandon Giddens
3rd Prize: “Sleeping Pills” from Kyle Robertson
Audience Award: “Purpose” from Christo Vutev
MISCELLANEOUS AWARDS
TNFC Prize: “I Am Change” from Reno Anastasio
Jury Prize for Best Artsy Inception: “Spaghetti” from Adrian Romeo
Jury Prize for Best Showcasing of Downtown Kamloops: “Magic, 24 frames per second” from Debleen Majumdar & Ashik George Thomas
TNFC Lottery Draw: “Clean” from Zack Fernstrom
Kamloops Film Society
The Kamloops Film Society is the umbrella organization that operates the Paramount Theatre and runs two main events: The Thursday Film Series and the annual March Kamloops Film Festival, which includes the Kamloops Independent Short Shorts Festival. The KFS has been operating for over 45 years and was officially incorporated under the BC Societies Act on August 17, 1994. In the spring of 2019, The Kelson Group purchased the Paramount Theatre and leased the venue to the KFS. The support of The Kelson Group and Ron Fawcett has made the venture possible as The KFS continues to make the theatre a cultural venue.
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