A highly successful 2021 Vintage Film Festival was presented on the weekend of September 24th, 25th & 26th! And this, after having had to cancel the planned 2020 Festival, and in spite of continued pandemic-driven restrictions on indoor activities.
Film fans came from all over Northumberland County, Durham Region and the GTA, and from as far afield as Kingston, Ottawa, Waterloo and London. More than seventy of them enjoyed the luxury of seeing as many movies as they wanted on a weekend pass, while nearly two hundred single tickets were sold (or given free to guests 25 and under).
All of these movie lovers were able to enjoy VFF 2021 thanks to:
- months of planning by the Vintage Film Festival committee
- tremendous support from the Capitol Theatre staff
- a generous grant from the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund
- a carefully prepared and executed COVID-19 Safety Plan, which protected the health of all patrons and volunteers
- many hours of time donated over the weekend by the Capitol's volunteers and by members of the VFF committee, the Marie Dressler Foundation board, and the community
- the cooperation and patience shown by all of our guests as they worked with us to conduct our Festival safely
Heartfelt thanks therefore go out to all of the organizations and individuals cited above – and warm thanks, too, to our Vintage Film Festival patrons, both regulars and first-timers, who came out, in spite of a pandemic, to support and enjoy the 2021 Festival experience that we were able to offer them.
This year's Festival screened a dozen films, each "based on a true story", making up a programme which was enthusiastically praised by our movie watchers. The People's Choice Awards went to Lawrence of Arabia as Favourite Film, and to Spencer Tracy as Favourite Actor for his role in Inherit the Wind.
The theme for our 2022 Vintage Film Festival is "breakout roles". We'll be sharing thirteen films which made one of their cast members a star, or vaulted an actor to a new level of renown. Examples:
- James Dean in East of Eden
- Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet
- Cary Grant in The Awful Truth
- Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl
Watch our website and social media feeds for the announcement of our 2022 dates - or sign up to our mailing list!
Rick Hill, Chair
Vintage Film Festival Committee
Marie Dressler Foundation
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