My brush with the IFFO
The 4th edition of the International Film Festival of Ottawa took place between March 13 and 24, 2024 in venues across downtown Ottawa, such as the Ottawa Art Gallery and the Bytowne and Mayfair cinemas. It showcased contemporary Canadian and international cinema from prestigious film festivals across the world, namely the Cannes Film Festival.
There were many excellent benefits to the festival for audience members. I had an easy time navigating through the festival’s webpage and purchasing tickets. When a friend of mine accidentally booked two tickets instead of one and contacted the organizers about it, she was promptly refunded.
The festival offered a wide breadth of genres, so there was something of interest for everyone. Plots ranged from a coming-of-age story in Mongolia (winner of the IFFO Feature Film Audience Award) to a controversial portrait of Italian society to a woman’s survival in the Sahel region of Northern Africa. Full-length features were accompanied by short films lasting as little as 3 minutes, giving lesser known filmmakers a chance to shine.
A few films were presented in partnership with their country’s embassy, such was the case for the Embassies of Italy and Spain.
I only got a chance to attend a single screening, which was Close Your Eyes (Cerrar los ojos in Spanish), a 2023 Spanish film presented in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain. The screening was preceded by a brief opening from the IFFO’s executive producer, Tom McSorely, followed by a statement from a representative from the Spanish Embassy. McSorely revealed that the film’s director, Víctor Erice, had returned to make this movie after a 31-year absence from filmmaking. Now 83 years old, Erice is best known for his feature fiction film The Spirit of the Beehive (1973) which many regard as one of the greatest Spanish films ever made.
The film was clearly the product of an experienced hand; the skillful lighting helped to convey the ambiance of certain scenes – warmer or colder tones, and the shadows cast on the actors’ faces – and the picturesque filming locations were complemented by artistic shots. My personal favourite was a slow push through the white linen hanging outside an isolated French manor, fluttering gently in the breeze.
That being said, the story was convoluted and dragged on for an excruciating 2 hours and 49 minutes. The experience was a bit like Inception because we were observing characters watching a movie they made. It was punctuated by uncomfortably long, static shots on the actor’s faces. I was disquieted by a particularly disturbing scene, where a character coughed violently into a handkerchief, before dunking it in a vase of water and wiping another character’s face with it – mere moments before collapsing to the floor and dying. Even if I were to give you context, it’s just as distressing as it sounds.
Especially on the tail end of the film, the use of the fade out to black was overused – it had me on the edge of my seat, for all the wrong reasons.
Coupled with my experience of the Ottawa Canadian Film Festival, I have found that film festivals can be a hit or miss. They often present movies that are less mainstream, and upon viewing, it’s easy to understand why they aren’t as well known – they may touch on more obscure and sometimes uncomfortable and controversial subjects, or stories that only appeal to a very specific group of people. However, it’s a chance to draw attention to certain issues, and a learning opportunity for the viewer. It can also sometimes mean that you get a chance to speak directly with people involved in the film’s production who attend the screenings, which I have always found to be a unique and exciting opportunity.
These films may not be like your classic Hollywood blockbuster, but perhaps that’s for the better – they are a reminder of the constantly expanding definition of cinema. You can be the judge.
