The Windsor International Film Festival was created in July 2005 by late businessman Mark Boscariol and Dennis Perlin (then head of Enterprise Windsor). Boscariol had already been working on and off with the idea of hosting a film festival similar to the
Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Boscariol and Perlin quickly assembled a team to help put it in motion, one that consisted of marketing expert Debi Croucher as executive director (a role that now belongs to Vincent Georgie); Kim Spirou for publicity; Lou Tortola of eLiquid Communications; Gordon Orr, CEO of Tourism Windsor Essex Peele Island, and filmmakers Otto Buj and Nick Shields as programmers. Buj helped to secure a partnership with Film Circuit, TIFF's film distribution arm. The Windsor International Film Festival debuted in November 2005, just five months after Boscariol and Perlin's collaboration. Its first screening was
Deepa Mehta's
"Water". The film was back for the festival's 10th year celebration. WIFF is now so popular that it requires three venues to accommodate the number of attendees that keep growing each year.
Goals and Values WIFF is a not-for-profit organization with the intent to celebrate the art of cinema by showcasing Canadian and international film and filmmakers through unique programming, education, and exhibition. WIFF also aims to strengthen and enrich the community while promoting the creative economy.
Notable Guest Appearances Philippe Falardeau, director of
Monsieur Lazhar, in 2011.
Luke Kirby, star of
Take This Waltz, also starring
Michelle Williams,
Seth Rogen, and
Sarah Silverman, and directed by
Sarah Polley, in 2011.
Katie Boland and Jennifer Jonas, star and producer, respectively, of
Gerontophilia in 2014.
Maxime Giroux, director of
Felix and Meira, in 2014. Filmmaker
Norman Jewison, the first recipient of WIFF's Lifetime Achievement Award, in 2014.
Cornelia Principe, producer of the documentary
The World Before Her in 2014. Actress
Lois Smith, the second recipient of WIFF's Lifetime Achievement Award, in 2017.
Steve Young, subject of the documentary
Bathtubs Over Broadway, in 2018. Actress
Shohreh Aghdashloo, first recipient of WIFF's Spotlight Award, in 2019.
Sturla Gunnarsson director of
Final Offer in 2019.
Matt Gallagher, director of
Prey and
Dispatches from a Field Hospital, in 2019 and 2021, respectively.
Joey Klein, director of
Castle in the Ground, in 2019. Joshua Riehl, director of the documentary
The Russian Five, in 2019. Vincent Georgie, WIFF's Executive Director and Chief Programmer explained that WIFF 365 was created because "Our audience has told us for a number of years that they love WIFF and they love the films and they want to see them more often. More and more people have experienced WIFF and fallen in love with the movies and made it an event. When you're having that much fun for a week in November, you start thinking about how can I have some of this fun year round?" WIFF Alley, supported by two major sponsors – CUPE 82K and Ward 3 Councillor Rino Bortolin – occupied a space between the Capitol and Chrysler Theatres (combining Chatham and University Avenue) consisting of murals created by commissioned artists and strung-up lights, where film lovers could connect and socialize. WIFF Village, sponsored by the Tourism Essex Pelee Island, occurred during the second weekend of the festival, closing University Avenue between Pelisster and Victoria to erect a tent as another space for socializing. == Awards ==