For four Wednesday nights in August, the Mary Irwin Theatre became a gathering place for stories about our region, our environment, our culture and the people who call this place home. 

The second annual Reel Okanagan film series brought audiences together at the Rotary Centre for the Arts for four compelling Canadian films, each with a connection to our region through its story, setting or filmmakers. 

And people showed up! Across the four screenings, 376 tickets were sold, making this year’s Reel Okanagan another great reminder that there’s an appetite in our community for independent film - and for the conversations that happen after the credits roll. 

The series kicked off on August 5 with Sink or Swim, following endurance athlete Nick Pelletier’s extraordinary attempt to swim the entire length of Okanagan Lake. Nick joined us after the screening to talk about what it takes to prepare for a challenge of that scale, the perseverance required to keep going and his connection to the lake at the centre of the story. 

On August 12, Call of the Forest: The Forgotten Wisdom of Trees invited us to look at the natural world through the eyes of renowned scientist and author Diana Beresford-Kroeger. Its exploration of the relationship between forests, human health and the future of our planet felt especially relevant during another Okanagan summer shaped by wildfire concerns. 

The series continued August 19 with Haida Modern, an intimate portrait of acclaimed Haida artist Robert Davidson. Following the film, Robert and his daughter, educator and author Sara Florence Davidson, joined us remotely for a fascinating conversation about art, language, cultural resurgence and passing knowledge from one generation to the next. 

We wrapped things up on August 26 with Roslyn Frantz: LIVE, celebrating the remarkable life and career of pianist Roslyn Frantz - including her return to the stage at 92 years old. Producer Sandy Hoekstra and Roslyn’s son, Damon Gregory, joined us after the screening for a personal and thoughtful Q&A about Roslyn, her music and the story behind the film.

More Than Four Nights at the Movies 

One of our favourite things about Reel Okanagan is that the experience doesn’t end when the film does. 

Having filmmakers, artists and special guests join us throughout the series gave audiences the chance to ask questions, hear the stories behind the stories and connect directly with the people whose work they had just experienced on screen. 

That was always part of the idea behind Reel Okanagan: bring people together through great Canadian film, then make some room for conversation. 

This year, our audiences also turned that sense of community into something tangible. 

Throughout August, Reel Okanagan guests donated more than 300 pounds of food, along with cash donations, to the Central Okanagan Food Bank to support people in our community facing food insecurity and the impacts of wildfires. Rather than waiting until the end of the series, donations were delivered throughout the month so they could get where they were needed right away. 

That’s a lot of film, a lot of conversation - and a whole lot of food! 

A huge thank you to the filmmakers and special guests who shared their work and their time with us, our RCA staff and volunteers who helped make each evening happen, and everyone who bought a ticket, joined a conversation or brought a donation for the Food Bank. 

We’re also grateful to our community outreach partner, the Okanagan Society of Independent Filmmaking (OSIF), for helping us celebrate independent film and connect audiences with the talented filmmakers working in our region. 

Reel Okanagan was made possible with support from the Government of Canada, the Province of British Columbia and the City of Kelowna. 

And finally, thank you to everyone who spent a Wednesday night (or four!) with us this August. We loved seeing the Mary Irwin Theatre filled with people coming together to watch, listen, ask questions and connect.