Belleville Downtown DocFest is back for a 12th year with the opening weekend gala on Friday March 3rd. Jodi Cooper and Holly Dewar presented the 2023 festival information during the Belleville City Council meeting on Monday. Photo Courtesy of Belleville City Hall on YouTube.
BELLEVILLE – Belleville Downtown DocFest is back this year with a hybrid of virtual and in-person events.
DocFest is a non-profit documentary film festival going into its 12th year. The festival not only features films from around the world, but a number of local films are also included.
The festival also strives to promote filmmaking in the Quinte Region, said Jodi Cooper, festival coordinator for DocFest.
“As part of our festival we really aim to promote awareness and understanding of global and local issues,” she said in her presentation to council.
Due to the pandemic, DocFest has been done fully virtually the last two years. In 2022 the event garnered a record total of 10,000 in the audience, with the virtual viewing giving more people across Ontario the chance to be included.
During the opening weekend gala, DocFest will feature a documentary about The ASD Band, who will also be present at the in-person event. Photo Courtesy of Belleville City Hall on YouTube.
The 2023 events will kick off with the in-person opening weekend gala at the Empire Theatre in Belleville on Friday March 3rd. During this opening weekend, it will showcase a film titled, Okay! The ASD Band Film. The film is a musical documentary about The ASD Band, whose four members are all on the autism spectrum.
“We are very very excited about having the band come to Belleville, and they’re going to be playing after the film finishes,” said Holly Dewar, the festival board chair.
Following the opening night, films will be shown in-person all day on Saturday and Sunday at the Empire Theatre, Pinnacle Playhouse, and the Belleville Public Library John M. Parrot Art Gallery. After the in-person screenings from the weekend, films will be shown the whole of the following week online.
Before the full DocFest can begin, the 10th Annual Film and TV Production Student Film Competition partnered with Loyalist College will be hosted next Wednesday. It will feature eight to 10 student films that are judged by local filmmakers and the top 4 will be shown during the official festival the following week.
Tickets are on sale for the 10 day festival, providing options for both a virtual or in-person attendance. Anyone interested in attending can purchase tickets from the Downtown Belleville DocFest website.
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