When I first thought of the Ottawa International Film Festival (OIFF), I never realized that a lot of the films were actually shot right here in the nation’s capital. I thought that I was going to have to sit through a 90 minute movie where I could only daydream about living in a city like in the setting of such a film. Having only been in Ottawa for a little over a month, I didn’t quite discover all of the charms and quaint buildings the city has to offer.
Shortly into the movie I chose to see, Penthouse North, some of the buildings and streets became increasingly familiar and I spent about five minutes racking my brain, trying to remember where I was when I saw those streets before. Once I realized that the movie was filmed here in Ottawa it became increasingly interesting. One of the villains in the movie closely resembled Ryan Gosling, so that made it a little more enjoyable. What really drew me into the film was how the director chose Ottawa as a substitute for New York City where the movie takes place.
Since Penthouse North was the only movie I had a chance to see I can only assume that the rest of them were that good. Normally I don’t go for thrillers, but this one drew me in from the moment I walked into the theatre.
The film followed a photojournalist who was rendered blind while on a job in the Middle East in a suicide bombing. Her life goes from quiet to full of terror at every turn as criminals show up at her door, searching for something her recently murdered boyfriend had hidden in the house.
Since its beginnings in 2009 as a community film challenge called boxcART, the Ottawa International Film Festival has established a great reputation around the world. Filmmakers from Canada, America and India were chosen to participate in this year’s festival to showcase their independent films, music videos, narrative features, shorts, and documentaries.
From the experience that I had at the festival, I can say that if more people were aware of this event it could be as big of a deal as TIFF. I noticed that not a lot of people knew where the OIFF was or that it was even a thing, and if there was more advertising then more people would go. Ottawa is a breeding ground for talent and all it would take is more public knowledge for the city to take off as a platform for entertainment.
Attending something that shines a light on the talent we have in the capital was an eye-opener to the fact that Canada is rapidly advancing up the entertainment ladder.