Movie lovers are in for a treat as the first-ever Chatham-Kent International Film Fest makes its way to the area.
The festival is being organized by Robert Bellamy, a Chatham resident who has been the face behind a number of local events including the annual CK Expo, Chatham-Kent's version of ComiCon.
Bellamy said he has a goal of bringing interesting and fun things to the municipality and said a film festival felt like the next logical step.
"I'm hoping Chatham-Kent is a great place to throw this," he said. "I know this city loves to get behind doing events and anything kind of cultural that way. It was literally just an event so that people have something to do, to go out and see films, see people, talk about stuff, kind of generate a buzz in the city"
Although there have been film festivals in the area before, Bellamy said this will be the first of its kind, featuring only independent films from across the globe.
"When I decided to do it, I wanted to do it wide open and bring international films to Chatham. So we called it the Chatham-Kent International Film Festival," he explained. "It's different companies from around the world, I can't even say companies because some of them are just a bunch of people who got together and made a film. So it's very independent from all over the world and I think the selection that we've come up with, people will enjoy."
Bellamy is a self-described film fanatic who got involved with a Chatham-based production company JX3 Media Productions over seven years ago. He eventually bought into the company and created The Movie Madhouse podcast which has produced over 300 episodes.
For its first year, Bellamy is self-financing the festival and said he may actually lose money by putting it on. However, he is hopeful that it will be able to grow in the future with his ultimate goal being to structure it like the CK Expo, where a portion of the money raised goes to local charities.
"Following [this year], probably like the second and the third year is usually when it starts to build up and I'm hoping it can turn into that organization that can help the city as well as brings entertainment," said Bellamy.
From May through September, Bellamy put out an international call for film submissions online through a website that is used to connect filmmakers to film festival organizers. The list of films that were selected will be announced on the Chatham-Kent International Film Festival Facebook page on Tuesday. He promises there will be something for everyone.
"It is all kind of genres and all kind of countries," Bellamy explains. "Just off the top of my head I know we have some chosen from India, from the U.K. There is a fair bit from Canada, there's a couple from the U.S. There's one really spooky one, mostly a lot of dramas and about four or five different comedies. So it is a wide variety of everything."
The Chatham-Kent International Film Fest takes place on October 26 at the Kiwanis Theatre. Movies will be shown in six 'blocks' with each block set to show a feature film and a short film. Tickets cost $5 a block or $20 for a day pass. There will also be an opening gala on October 25 featuring some of the filmmakers as well as a closing gala on October 27, both of which are open to the public.
For more information on dates, times and the lineup or to purchase tickets visit www.cktickets.com, call the Kiwanis Theatre box office at 519.354.8338 or visit the festival's Facebook page.
