This past weekend, I attended the second annual Blood In The Snow Canadian Film Festival: a 3 day showcase of all Canadian content, all horror, all weekend! It was my first time attending and I had a great time, in fact, the festival renewed my faith in this city of mine. Toronto can be cold at times, but at BITS, there were so many great fans and volunteers who were willing to chat about the films and were just as excited as I was to be there. I really liked the venue, the Carlton Cinema, in the heart of downtown Toronto; and even though the theatre was a good size, it had a cozy feel and had great seating. There was also a “vendor’s village” in the lobby where you could find unique horror-themed gifts, and dvds from independent distributors and my favourite rental shop Suspect Video.
The selection of films was pretty diverse. From body horror to killer puppets; shorts and feature-length films alike, there was something for everyone. After the last screening each night, movie-goers and festival organizers headed to local haunt The Marquis of Granby, where they could meet with cast and crew from the featured films for some tasty libations. I was actually able to make the final pub night where I mingled with new friends and chatted with a couple of directors. Did I mention how nice everyone was? This made up for the schmoozing I missed during the Toronto After Dark Festival.
I’ve got lots to report, so over the next few days, I will be posting about my favourite films and ones that got fans talking!
Soulds like a great selection of films..Canadians can be some freaky people. It’s the winter, it makes us do do weird stuff. 🙂
Yes there were some really twisted films! We’re polite but crazy here in the Great White North! 😛