On Friday, local MPP Todd Smith met with the Belleville Downtown DocFest team to announce a $10,400 Capital grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to help address a community need and increase the capacity of the festival. By supporting the acquisition of equipment and digital upgrades, OTF is helping the festival increase access and enhance the user’s experience. The festival strives to provide cultural experiences that enrich lives and promote community awareness of important issues.“This new technology will help the Belleville Downtown DocFest connect with a broader audience to share its engaging documentary films,” said Smith. “This timely support from the Ontario Trillium Foundation will help to drive economic growth and increased visitation to the Quinte region.”

DocFest will use this funding to purchase laptops for screening locations and video conferencing equipment that will enable us to offer the same inspiring experiences to online audiences and provide better integration with our online festival platform. This will create a more integrated virtual experience and will enhance our festival delivery, both in-person and online.

“We can’t wait to present our 13th Annual film festival in 2024” said Holly Dewar, festival board chair. “It’s truly a joy to bring incredible documentaries from across the world to Belleville and present them alongside the work of talented local filmmakers. We are very grateful for funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the digital enhancements that will be made possible through this grant.”

Belleville Downtown DocFest will present a hybrid experience from February 23 to February 28, 2024. The in-person weekend will run from February 23-25^th, followed by the virtual festival from February 25-28^th.

DocFest is set to announce its signature gala event and launch 2024 Festival Pass sales on December 1^st, in time for your holiday gift list. Stay tuned for full details regarding online and in-person pass sales.

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The Ontario Trillium Foundation’s (OTF) mission is to build healthy and vibrant communities across Ontario. As an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations, last year, OTF invested over $110M into 1,022 community projects and partnerships. Visit otf.ca to learn more.