Long-standing Ontario film festival set to hit Mississauga for first time ever

At a time when Canadians have never been more invested in their past, present and future, a film festival that showcases and celebrates homegrown art is entering its 12th year with a timely theme: Where Local Hearts Meet Global Stories.

The festival will also, for the first time ever, host a day of screenings in Mississauga. 

The Oakville Festivals of Film and Art might not be as well known as the world-famous TIFF, but it’s been steadily growing since its 2013 inception and is bringing features, documentaries and short films to its annual Oakville Film Festival–the town’s only independent film festival. 

“We started out at one venue: the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts in 2014 and we’ve expanded,” OFFA co-founder Wendy Donnan tells YourCityWithIN.com. 

“Now, we’ve done the 5 Drive-In, outdoor screening events and we’ll be in Mississauga on June 22 for a full day.” 

The Oakville Film Festival, founded by Donnan and fellow Oakville residents Judah Hernandez and Stephanie Colebrook, runs for seven days every June and features not only films but also singers, performers, painters, and dancers. The festival, which showcases dozens of films to local, national and international audiences, also features a juried award competition and audience choice awards.

The festival invites filmmakers to submit projects using Film Freeway and it screens movies at multiple locations, namely Film.ca Cinemas on Speers Road, The Five Drive In and the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts. This year, the festival will run from June 18 to June 25. 

Reflecting on more than a decade of OFFA, Donnan says the organization doesn’t just host the summer festival, but works to bring film and culture to the forefront year-round. 

“At the drive-in, we did an event for National Indigenous People’s Day where we had Indigenous food tasting and craft tables, Indigenous dancers, a live Q&A, lacrosse lessons and beach volleyball,” she says. 

“We started out in the early years being about film, but film is not just about film, it’s about culture.”

Donnan says OFFA adapts to the changing world as necessary, from pivoting to virtual events (which it still hosts) during the pandemic to hosting a performance and fundraiser for Ukraine in 2022 that featured Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk. 

“We’ve grown a lot. We started with eight or nine films and we’ve expanded to upwards of 100 films during the festival and an annual screening series,” she says.

“We have 65 community partners and sponsors at all different levels. One thing I’ve found is that it’s more about supporting other community partners instead of competing. We’re about community, not stepping on people’s toes.” 

Recently, OFFA celebrated National Canadian Film Day with a sold-out screening of The Grand Seduction, a 2013 Don McKellar film starring Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin), Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights) and Liane Balaban (Rookie Blue, Saving Hope). While the festival has always been proud of showcasing Canadian talent and content, the uptick in patriotism, a byproduct of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and repeated threats to make Canada the 51st state, makes this year’s festival even more significant. 

“We’re always a festival that has about 70 per cent Canadian content, but we are also doing a special pass called The Canadian,” Donnan says. 

“It’s going to include our Canadian films, so for people feeling really patriotic, it’ll be about checking out Canadian films. We’re always a big supporter of local film and local filmmakers. Sheridan College [students make] a lot of submissions to the festival, as well as alumni from Humber and colleges all over. We have a really great number of Canadian short films on display this year.”

An outdoor screening in 2024 – photo from OFFA’s official Facebook page

While the film list is being finalized, Donnan says it’s safe to say that upwards of 100 films will likely grace screens this year. She also says audiences can expect some family-friendly screenings, including one of the new live-action version of How to Train Your Dragon (directed by Sheridan alumnus Dean DeBlois). 

As for the Mississauga screenings, Donnan says the decision to show films in the city came after realizing that a lot of OFFA’s audience comes from other GTA municipalities–especially ones that do not/no longer have their own film festivals. 

“A lot of people come to the festival from Burlington and Mississauga, so we thought, ‘why don’t we try doing this?’” 

As for which celebrities have appeared at OFFA screenings over the years, Donnan says the events have welcomed notable actors and directors, including Graham Greene, Rob Reiner and  Tim McInnerny (Notting Hill). 

The festival also gives film lovers something to look forward to between TIFF dates, while also differentiating itself from the Toronto-based festival by incorporating more cultural elements.  

“We incorporate performance in our galas–composers, singers, etc. All galas have Q&As and they follow the films and performances,” she says. 

Donnan also says the festival has been steadily recovering from the blow COVID landed on in-person events and that it’s more important than ever at a time when more people are opting to stay home rather than enjoy movies in theatres. 

“It’s important that we bring young people back to the theatre. There used to be 45 to 90-day theatrical viewing periods and now it can be just two weeks, so people think, ‘why pay $15 when I can watch at home?’ But it’s actually cheaper to go to the theatre because online rentals are so expensive,” she says. 

The festival, which shows a variety of genres from around the world, also works to boost Oakville’s profile by inviting audiences to spend more time in the town checking out shops, restaurants and hotels. 

“We work with Holiday Inn and we have a special room rate with them and work with local hotels and restaurants,” Donnan says.

As for what the future holds, Donnan says OFFA could expand to even more cities.

“We’re looking at Burlington and we’ll have to see where things go. Right now, we’re looking to see what we can do to expand the festival and get younger people involved,” she says. 

Ultimately, OFFA invites people to not just “buy Canadian,” but support more homegrown industries. 

“People are so quick to say they’ll shop Canadian, but it needs to apply to culture. We need to support our Canadian artists the way we support Canadian retailers. We make culture and it’s very distinctive from what you see in the U.S. We have our own style of filmmaking. We have a lot of talent here.” 

For more info, click here.