When most people hear ‘Sled Island Festival,’ they think of music. Sled Island features around 200 bands in over 30 venues spread throughout downtown Calgary.
However, before the concerts start, the Sled Island Film Festival shines a light on a medium that is often forgotten in the shuffle. Alongside the hectic and diverse music is the newer Sled Island Film Festival that began last year.
“It was a great addition to the festival,” said Jeanette Burman, film curator and director of Sled Island Film Festival. “It tried to run a couple of films in the past but never anything on a bit larger of a scale.”
Burman said the play list would include Rockumentaries, Sundance nominated films, shorts and many local films.
The festival doesn’t just rely on the more prolific side of indie film. Burman made a concerted effort to include as many local projects as possible in the Sled Island screenings.
“I got in touch with over 18 film festivals here in Calgary and then some media and some groups throughout Alberta,” said Burman, listing the Alberta media Arts Alliance and FAVA metro arts as examples.