The Gimli International Film Festival began in 2001, originally launched as an outgrowth of the town's
Islendingadagurinn festival of
Icelandic Canadian culture. The festival takes place annually on the last weekend of July and has grown to include four indoor venues (three of which are built inside of community churches), industry workshops and events, an annual $10,000 emerging filmmaker pitch competition, a 48 Hour Filmmaking Challenge, and a variety of awards and parties. The festival is also known for its free outdoor beach film screenings, where films are projected on an 11-meter-tall screen erected annually in the waters of
Lake Winnipeg. The festival was founded in part by former Senator
Janis Johnson. Board members have included
Norma Bailey and
CBC's Terry McLeod. The current executive director is Teya Zuzek. During the 2024 Gimli Film Festival, Film Training Manitoba's
Adam Smoluk announced the creation of a special film industry welcoming session held in Winnipeg for Ukrainian refugees hoping to enter Manitoba's film sector. The session would feature five Ukrainian Canadians discussing jobs and career paths within the film industry. The first of its kind session in Canada was in response to the
Russian invasion of Ukraine and a wide collection of refugees coming to Canada. Smoluk announced the session was in partnership with the
Ukrainian Canadian Congress(UCC) and among the panelists there was a representative from
ACTRA and staff from FRANK Digital, a Winnipeg-based video production company. ==References==