TORONTO—On the last weekend of every month, WILDsound Film Festival puts on a festival of short films at the National Film Board of Canada.
The films featured are anywhere from 30 seconds to 30 minutes in length. Entries come from all around the world, and five to six films are picked each month by a committee.
Now in its third year of operation, WILDsound Film Festival was born out of a desire to provide filmmakers with more audience feedback for their films.
At the end of every screening a moderator leads the audience in a discussion to provide valuable feedback to the filmmaker.
Founder and director Matthew Toffolo says WILDsound festival is the only one that engages the audience in this manner, providing a unique experience for film lovers and filmmakers alike.
The idea for the festival occurred to him after taking part in the Connecticut Film Festival back in 2006.
“I was kind of disillusioned by the festival experience so while driving back I thought, why don’t we do the same thing that we do with the reading series, but for a film festival, where we get the audience as the main character and the audience provides feedback from what they saw,” he said.
“People were asking me about the films, but I was more interested in what the audience thought of the film, and this is especially true for a short-film maker.”
This month’s festival, which runs this Saturday from 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., features five short films and four screenplays.
The films featured this month include “Intercambio,” a 15-minute drama from Spain; “The Birthday Circle,” a 6-minute comedy from the U.K.; “Abra Cadaver,” an 11-minute horror/comedy from Canada; “Discovering Deaf Worlds,” a 33-minute documentary from India; and “Johnny’s Leaving,” an 8-minute drama from the U.S.
Tickets are free but attendees are asked to RSVP to guarantee a seat. The venue accommodates about 120 people.
To reserve seats, submit a movie for next month’s festival. And to find out more information, you can visit the festival’s website at www.wildsound.ca.
