A screening of the 1951 holiday classic A Christmas Carol at The Vic Theatre on Saturday, December 15 is more than just holiday cheer for the Victoria Film Festival.
The event is for film fans of all ages and is part of a series of fundraisers for the festival, which took over management of The Vic Theatre in 2011 after it had been closed for three years.
According to Kathy Kay, director of the Victoria Film Festival, taking over the historic, almost-40-year-old theatre was a no-brainer for expanding their film programming and hosting special community events.
“The Vic Theatre seems to have a really strong place in the heart of Victorians, so I see it as a positive for the community,” says Kay.
The Victoria Film Festival is a non-profit society relying on fundraising activities to continue its programming, and its events are not limited to their annual film festival in February. Since taking over The Vic, the festival has hosted a series of quote-along screenings of classics like Pulp Fiction and The Big Lebowski, as well as specialized events like the Free-B Movie Festival.
“We saw it as a way to expand our programming and bring either non-mainstream films in or do special community events,” explains Kay. “We also wanted to have a venue that other local organizations could use to screen films related to their activities.”
The Vic is planned to be a key venue during the annual film festival in February, but in the more immediate future the theatre will be the cheery locale of a classic holiday film.
A Christmas Carol, the age-old tale of the miserable bah-humbugger Scrooge and his lowly employee Bob Cratchit, will be screened on Saturday, December 15. This screening follows a December 7 screening of the Will Ferrell holiday comedy Elf, which saw low attendance.
Festival organizers are hoping for a better turnout for the second holiday film screening. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for kids. All proceeds go towards continued programming for the Victoria Film Festival.
A Christmas Carol
1 pm, Saturday, December 15
The Vic Theatre
thevic.ca