It was a return to form this month for the Victoria Film Festival, which wrapped its 30th anniversary Sunday with one of the more successful editions in recent memory, according to organizers.
“I really feel like we are back where we were before COVID,” said festival director Kathy Kay. “Our 2020 numbers were probably the highest ever, and it feels we’re back to that. It’s back to normal.”
The event, which opened Feb. 2, scored an impressive 35 sell-outs during its 10-day run this year, the most of any Victoria Film Festival to date, according to Kay. The festival was also notable for its starry roster of guests, which included two-time Academy Award nominee Atom Egoyan, Emmy Award winner Eric McCormack, and Tony Award winner Don McKellar.
“Eric and Atom and Don were just amazing, everyone was just so delightful and happpy to be here,” Kay said. “They were generous with their time, and that adds a lot to the festival.”
Several of the 104 films screened at the four major venues became instant audience favourites, including Robot Dreams. The animated film about the friendship between a dog and a robot does not contain any verbal dialogue but has been a resounding success on the film festival circuit, including an appearance at the 2023 Cannnes Film Festival.
Robot Dreams is competing for best animated feature at the upcoming Academy Awards, which will be held March 10.
“The audience loved it, the festival programmers loved it, and staff loved it,” Kay said. “It was charming — and these days we could use more of that in this world.”
Robot Dreams’s winning streak continued Monday, when it was named best feature at the Victoria Film Festival. Other winners include Egoyan’s Seven Veils, which took home the award for best Canadian feature, and Hey Viktor!, which netted best Canadian first feature.
Wilding (best documentary), Keepers of the Land (best short), Ru (cultural currents award), and 500 Days In The Wild (audience favorite feature) were among the other winners at the festival.
