AUGUST 2020
THE INTERNATIONAL VEGAN FILM FESTIVAL GOES VIRTUAL
The world’s first vegan film festival moves online for a global audience
Ottawa, Canada (August 21, 2020) — The International Vegan Film Festival will be doing something entirely new for its third annual event. It's going virtual.
The 2020 Festival will take place online with digital screenings, panels, filmmaker Q&As and more from October 10th - 17th. The event will take place on the Eventive platform with the full schedule of event and ticket information being released in mid-September on the Festival website.
Founded in 2018, The International Vegan Film Festival is the world’s premier vegan film festival, dedicated to celebrating the vegan ideal: a healthier, compassionate, environmentally-friendly lifestyle that can be achieved through the consumption of plants and animal-free alternatives.
“Like many other live events around the world, we've had to adapt to prioritize the safety, comfort and well-being of our community,” said Festival Executive Director, Shawn Stratton.
The full list of films playing in the festival will be available in late September. Below are a few of the films that will be included:
Regan Russell - A Short Documentary
On the morning of June 19, 2020, Regan Russell was outside Fearmans slaughterhouse in Burlington, Ontario for a special vigil to give water to thirsty, dehydrated pigs when a pig transport truck drove right into her and dragged her body for more than 15 meters. This documentary showcases Regan's young life, her involvement in animal rights, her last day of activism, and the aftermath of her death.
Butenland
The story of a former dairy farmer, an animal rights activist and the first cow retirement home.
A farm that has become a farm for life - the former dairy farmer Jan Gerdes and the animal welfare activist Karin Mück have created a place with their project Hof Butenland where there are no more livestock: a peaceful coexistence that seems almost utopian.
INVISIBLE
‘INVISIBLE’, is a short film exploring a dangerous and secret world that has never before been documented. Following undercover investigators ‘Sarah’ and ‘Emily’ (their names have been changed to protect their identities) on an investigation at a pig farm in Europe, 'INVISIBLE' grants the viewer unprecedented access to a world that is deliberately and painstakingly covert.
Stratton said that “this year has given us an opportunity to think creatively about how we can make the festival more accessible and innovative than ever before, and we are excited to deliver a memorable experience that honors all the reasons we’ve become known as the premier event for vegan-themed content creators and film enthusiasts.”
This year's fest still promises to highlight more short and feature-length films than ever. The full program and lineup will be released next month. It's also planning “virtual social opportunities" to facilitate discussions between filmmakers and audience members.
"One of the reasons I started the International Vegan Film Festival was to help people discover outstanding vegan-themed films they have not heard of before or may never had an opportunity to see. I also wanted to give vegan themed filmmakers another platform to highlight their work to more audiences. You can discover and re-discover the enormous positive impact becoming vegan can have on health, farmed animals, and the environment through the film festival. With the festival now going online, we are making it even easier for people to discover these outstanding films."
Judges
The Festival judging panel includes a who’s-who of the vegan world, including Miyoko Schinner, the founder of Miyoko’s Creamery, Dale Vince, CEO of Ecotricity—the UK’s first and largest green energy provider—and owner of the all-vegan Forest Green Rovers football club, as well as David Flynn, one of the twin brothers behind Irelands vegan ‘foodie empire’ Happy Pear.
As well, Seth Tibbott, the founder and Chairman of The Tofurky Company and author of In Search of the Wild Tofurky, has recently agreed to join this year’s IVFFF Photo Essay Contest judging panel.
Vegan Photo Essay Contest – submissions close Aug 31, 2020
Aside from the film festival, they also put on other initiatives such as a virtual screening in partnership with We Animals, and a Photo Essay to showcase creativity amongst professional and amateur photographers. Until August 31, 2020, applicants can submit a series of 3-5 images depicting vegan lifestyle, health and nutrition, animal welfare, or environmental protection. Winners will be announced during the festival in October and will also receive a $250 CAD cash prize.
The jury is seeking a sequence of images that conveys a compelling story or message – with each image strong enough to stand on its own while conveying a greater narrative when viewed in the photographer’s desired sequence.
Stratton says, “The Vegan Photo Essay Contest is a great way for anyone with a camera and a story, not just professionals, to be involved in the festival.” The contest even has a Youth category to encourage young people to become more involved in sharing vegan themed stories.
The world’s first vegan film festival moves online for a global audience
Ottawa, Canada (August 21, 2020) — The International Vegan Film Festival will be doing something entirely new for its third annual event. It's going virtual.
The 2020 Festival will take place online with digital screenings, panels, filmmaker Q&As and more from October 10th - 17th. The event will take place on the Eventive platform with the full schedule of event and ticket information being released in mid-September on the Festival website.
Founded in 2018, The International Vegan Film Festival is the world’s premier vegan film festival, dedicated to celebrating the vegan ideal: a healthier, compassionate, environmentally-friendly lifestyle that can be achieved through the consumption of plants and animal-free alternatives.
“Like many other live events around the world, we've had to adapt to prioritize the safety, comfort and well-being of our community,” said Festival Executive Director, Shawn Stratton.
The full list of films playing in the festival will be available in late September. Below are a few of the films that will be included:
Regan Russell - A Short Documentary
On the morning of June 19, 2020, Regan Russell was outside Fearmans slaughterhouse in Burlington, Ontario for a special vigil to give water to thirsty, dehydrated pigs when a pig transport truck drove right into her and dragged her body for more than 15 meters. This documentary showcases Regan's young life, her involvement in animal rights, her last day of activism, and the aftermath of her death.
Butenland
The story of a former dairy farmer, an animal rights activist and the first cow retirement home.
A farm that has become a farm for life - the former dairy farmer Jan Gerdes and the animal welfare activist Karin Mück have created a place with their project Hof Butenland where there are no more livestock: a peaceful coexistence that seems almost utopian.
INVISIBLE
‘INVISIBLE’, is a short film exploring a dangerous and secret world that has never before been documented. Following undercover investigators ‘Sarah’ and ‘Emily’ (their names have been changed to protect their identities) on an investigation at a pig farm in Europe, 'INVISIBLE' grants the viewer unprecedented access to a world that is deliberately and painstakingly covert.
Stratton said that “this year has given us an opportunity to think creatively about how we can make the festival more accessible and innovative than ever before, and we are excited to deliver a memorable experience that honors all the reasons we’ve become known as the premier event for vegan-themed content creators and film enthusiasts.”
This year's fest still promises to highlight more short and feature-length films than ever. The full program and lineup will be released next month. It's also planning “virtual social opportunities" to facilitate discussions between filmmakers and audience members.
"One of the reasons I started the International Vegan Film Festival was to help people discover outstanding vegan-themed films they have not heard of before or may never had an opportunity to see. I also wanted to give vegan themed filmmakers another platform to highlight their work to more audiences. You can discover and re-discover the enormous positive impact becoming vegan can have on health, farmed animals, and the environment through the film festival. With the festival now going online, we are making it even easier for people to discover these outstanding films."
Judges
The Festival judging panel includes a who’s-who of the vegan world, including Miyoko Schinner, the founder of Miyoko’s Creamery, Dale Vince, CEO of Ecotricity—the UK’s first and largest green energy provider—and owner of the all-vegan Forest Green Rovers football club, as well as David Flynn, one of the twin brothers behind Irelands vegan ‘foodie empire’ Happy Pear.
As well, Seth Tibbott, the founder and Chairman of The Tofurky Company and author of In Search of the Wild Tofurky, has recently agreed to join this year’s IVFFF Photo Essay Contest judging panel.
Vegan Photo Essay Contest – submissions close Aug 31, 2020
Aside from the film festival, they also put on other initiatives such as a virtual screening in partnership with We Animals, and a Photo Essay to showcase creativity amongst professional and amateur photographers. Until August 31, 2020, applicants can submit a series of 3-5 images depicting vegan lifestyle, health and nutrition, animal welfare, or environmental protection. Winners will be announced during the festival in October and will also receive a $250 CAD cash prize.
The jury is seeking a sequence of images that conveys a compelling story or message – with each image strong enough to stand on its own while conveying a greater narrative when viewed in the photographer’s desired sequence.
Stratton says, “The Vegan Photo Essay Contest is a great way for anyone with a camera and a story, not just professionals, to be involved in the festival.” The contest even has a Youth category to encourage young people to become more involved in sharing vegan themed stories.
MARCH 2020
MIYOKO SCHINNER ANNOUNCED AS NEW JUDGE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL VEGAN FILM FESTIVAL
The world famous Miyoko’s plant-based dairy brand founder and CEO joins other vegan leaders on the festival’s judging panel
Ottawa, Canada (April 6, 2020) — Each October the International Vegan Film Festival enlists the help of talented and respected leaders from all walks of the vegan movement to serve as festival judges and they are proud to announce this year’s newest addition to the panel is Miyoko Schinner, founder and CEO of Miyoko’s.
Now in its third year, the International Vegan Film Festival (IVFF) showcases vegan-themed films from around the world encompassing a wide variety of topics such as animal rights, food choices, ethics, sustainability, and climate change.
Miyoko Schinner is the fearless CEO/founder of Miyoko’s, a food brand combining culinary traditions with food technology to revolutionize dairy by making cheese and butter without cows. Schinner has successfully scaled the production of fermented cheese and cultured butter made from plants and replaced animal-dairy products on the shelves of more than 10,000 retailers in the USA. The pioneer of the plant-based cheese revolution, Schinner is a passionate culinarian, former restaurateur, best-selling cookbook author, co-host of the national PBS cooking show Vegan Mashup, and a founding board member of the Plant-Based Foods Association. Schinner also co-founded a farmed animal sanctuary in California that provides a home to over 70 farm animals.
When asked why the IVFF is such an important event, Schinner says, "Telling a story through cinema is one of the best ways to capture the emotion of the argument and communicate to viewers. Through films, we can change minds and hearts and help transition the world to a more compassionate place."
Miyoko’s is a food brand revolutionizing dairy by making cheese and butter without cows on a scale large enough to make an impact on the looming food and environmental crisis. The fastest-growing natural cheese brand in the U.S., Miyoko’s is replacing animal-dairy products on the shelves of more than 10,000 retailers nationwide including Target, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Kroger, and Safeway.
Festival Director Shawn Stratton said, “We are thrilled to have Miyoko join our small team of festival judges. Her passion and experience in the plant-based movement and strong opinions will help us decipher the best vegan-themed films submitted to the festival each year.”
The festival judging line-up also includes Dale Vince, CEO of Ecotricity and owner of the UK’s vegan and sustainability-focused Forest Green Rovers football club; Jim Amos COO of the plant-based marketing and PR agency Scout 22; David Flynn, author and co-owner of The Happy Pear; and Dan Moskaluk, animal rights activist and plant-based health advocate.
ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL VEGAN FILM FESTIVAL
The Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival is a trailblazing event, occurring every October in Ottawa, Canada, dedicated to celebrating the vegan ideal: a healthier, compassionate, environmentally friendly lifestyle that can be achieved through the consumption of plants and animal-free alternatives.
###
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
https://miyokos.com/pages/products
https://miyokos.com/pages/phenomenally-vegan
https://miyokos.com/pages/tomorrow-creamery
The world famous Miyoko’s plant-based dairy brand founder and CEO joins other vegan leaders on the festival’s judging panel
Ottawa, Canada (April 6, 2020) — Each October the International Vegan Film Festival enlists the help of talented and respected leaders from all walks of the vegan movement to serve as festival judges and they are proud to announce this year’s newest addition to the panel is Miyoko Schinner, founder and CEO of Miyoko’s.
Now in its third year, the International Vegan Film Festival (IVFF) showcases vegan-themed films from around the world encompassing a wide variety of topics such as animal rights, food choices, ethics, sustainability, and climate change.
Miyoko Schinner is the fearless CEO/founder of Miyoko’s, a food brand combining culinary traditions with food technology to revolutionize dairy by making cheese and butter without cows. Schinner has successfully scaled the production of fermented cheese and cultured butter made from plants and replaced animal-dairy products on the shelves of more than 10,000 retailers in the USA. The pioneer of the plant-based cheese revolution, Schinner is a passionate culinarian, former restaurateur, best-selling cookbook author, co-host of the national PBS cooking show Vegan Mashup, and a founding board member of the Plant-Based Foods Association. Schinner also co-founded a farmed animal sanctuary in California that provides a home to over 70 farm animals.
When asked why the IVFF is such an important event, Schinner says, "Telling a story through cinema is one of the best ways to capture the emotion of the argument and communicate to viewers. Through films, we can change minds and hearts and help transition the world to a more compassionate place."
Miyoko’s is a food brand revolutionizing dairy by making cheese and butter without cows on a scale large enough to make an impact on the looming food and environmental crisis. The fastest-growing natural cheese brand in the U.S., Miyoko’s is replacing animal-dairy products on the shelves of more than 10,000 retailers nationwide including Target, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Kroger, and Safeway.
Festival Director Shawn Stratton said, “We are thrilled to have Miyoko join our small team of festival judges. Her passion and experience in the plant-based movement and strong opinions will help us decipher the best vegan-themed films submitted to the festival each year.”
The festival judging line-up also includes Dale Vince, CEO of Ecotricity and owner of the UK’s vegan and sustainability-focused Forest Green Rovers football club; Jim Amos COO of the plant-based marketing and PR agency Scout 22; David Flynn, author and co-owner of The Happy Pear; and Dan Moskaluk, animal rights activist and plant-based health advocate.
ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL VEGAN FILM FESTIVAL
The Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival is a trailblazing event, occurring every October in Ottawa, Canada, dedicated to celebrating the vegan ideal: a healthier, compassionate, environmentally friendly lifestyle that can be achieved through the consumption of plants and animal-free alternatives.
###
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
https://miyokos.com/pages/products
https://miyokos.com/pages/phenomenally-vegan
https://miyokos.com/pages/tomorrow-creamery
OCTOBER 2019
BUCKING TRADITION TAKES HOME GRAND PRIZE AT 2019 OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL VEGAN FILM FESTIVAL
The film’s brutal and honest look at animal abuse on the rodeo circuit wins both Best Overall Film and Best Animal Welfare Film awards
Ottawa, Canada (October 6, 2019) — The second annual Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival (OIVFF) took place on October 6, 2019 at The Chamber Theatre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada this evening and the organization is proud to announce this year’s winners in the film and photo categories.
Director Sharon M. Boeckle’s Bucking Tradition won both the Best Overall Film award as well as the award for Best Animal Welfare film. Dustin Brown’s innovative Casa de Carne nabbed the Best Short Film trophy, #Powerplant won in the category of Best Environmental Protection Film, Marcia Machado’s thought-provoking Code Blue: Redefining the Practice of Medicine won Best Health & Nutrition Film award, and director Dr. Theodora Capaldo’s expose on animal testing, Gold Doesn’t Rust, took home the Best Lifestyle Film award. The full list of winners can be found below.
Discussing the impact of the Best Overall Film, Bucking Tradition, festival judge Jim Amos states, “We often cringe in horror at the animal cruelty we see inflicted in the name of “sport” around the world such as those committed in the bullfighting ring but are blind to the blatant abuse of animals right in our own backyard on the rodeo circuit. Bucking Tradition did a masterful job at depicting the often-irreparable injuries suffered by bulls and calves at hundreds of these events across the country every year, all in the name of carrying on one of the last remaining traditions of the American West.”
The OIVFF, now in its second year, was honoured to present a diverse collection of films from around the world that made lasting impressions and ignited audience's imaginations. These vegan themed films were bursting with creativity, compassion, and inspiration.
In 2019 the festival welcomed 40 film submissions, both short and full-length features, fiction and documentary from 13 countries totaling over 15 hours of vegan-themed films in five categories. All entries were viewed by a pre-selection committee chaired by the Festival Director and Programming Director. Finalists chosen by this committee were then screened by an appointed international jury.
Photo Essay Contest
In addition, OIVFF launched a Vegan Photo Essay Contest as part of the Film Festival in 2019. The photo contest is the first of its kind anywhere in the world. Festival Director Shawn Stratton stated, “Our photo essay is a collection of images that tell a story and propel a narrative over multiple images. Photo essays often create a series of emotions in the viewer and are a powerful way to tell a story without relying heavily on text.”
The competition's goal was to showcase the best in vegan themed photo essays – to recognize the best stories told through a series of 3-5 still images.
Awards for the photo essay contest were won by photographers from around the world including Aitor Garmendia (Spain), Noah Ortega (Spain), Ruth Montiel Aria (Palestine), and Jo-Anne McArthur (Canada) whose award-winning photos came from around the world.
When asked why Aitor Garmendia’s, Slaughterhouse was selected as the overall winner, festival judge Victoria Moran of the Main Street Vegan Podcast, said “This one spoke to my heart through the animals, their suffering and their dignity. Having spent a day in a slaughterhouse myself once, I was brought back there. Some things never seem to change. This one must. This photo essay will be a part of that change."
OIVFF is proud to have been sponsored by the VegOttawa, the essential resource for vegetarian and vegans in Canada’s national capital region and Copper Branch, 100% plant-powered food.
Photos from the award winning films can be viewed here.
The 2019 festival video trailer can be viewed here.
The award winning photo essays can be viewed here.
2019 OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL VEGAN FILM FESTIVAL AWARD WINNERS
Winner: 2019 Best Film ‘Overall’ & 2019 Best Film ‘Animal Welfare’
Bucking Tradition, United States
Directed by: Sharon M Boeckle
Bucking Tradition explores one of America’s most iconic competitions—the rodeo. With thousands of events held across the nation and around the world every year, this “sport” is hailed by some as one of the last traditions of the American West. By others, it’s decried as one of our nation’s last legalized forms of systematic and brutal animal cruelty masquerading as sport and family entertainment. Do some traditions deserve to die? Maybe they do.
Winner: Best Film ‘Short’
Casa de Carne, United States
Directed by: Dustin Brown
On a night out with friends, Eric tries a new restaurant that takes the dining experience full circle. Set in a not-so-distant dark future, "Casa de Carne" is a thought-provoking short film about hard choices and hidden truths.
Winner: Best Film ‘Environmental Protection’
#Powerplant, Netherlands
Directed by: Robert, van Tellingen
The Nicolaas G. Pierson Foundation presents its 5th documentary with Marianne Thieme. After ‘Meat the Truth’, ‘Sea the Truth’, ‘The Pacer in the Marathon’ and ‘One Single Planet’, this new documentary explores the prospects of a plant-based society.
#Powerplant provides added insight into the link between climate change and meat consumption, a topic that Marianne Thieme was the first politician to address in the climate documentary ‘Meat the Truth’ in 2007, an issue that has become even more pertinent since then. According to Oxford researcher Marco Springmann, a transition to a plant-based diet can prevent up to 8 million deaths per year in 2050, and on a global scale, can lead to savings that have a value to society of up to thirty trillion USD (30,000,000,000,000). Adopting a plant-based menu can reduce up to 73% of agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions and can make it possible to revert 76% of all agricultural land back to nature, says Joseph Poore, also a researcher at the University of Oxford. The study is described by The Guardian as “the most comprehensive analysis to date” in this field.
Winner: Best Film ‘Health & Nutrition
Code Blue: Redefining the Practice of Medicine, United States
Directed By: Marcia Machado
Through the lens of filmmaker Marcia Machado, code blue reveals lapses in the current state of medicine and provides a common sense solution by featuring the practice of lifestyle medicine to prevent, manage and reverse nearly 80% of chronic illnesses. It presents the hurdles to the proposed shift: outdated curricula in medical schools, confusion in the media, inadequate government policies, and the underlying influences of the pharmaceutical and food industries. With a dose of lighthearted humor, combining science and common sense, code blue follows a passionate physician, Dr. Saray Stancic, as she reflects upon her journey from a multiple sclerosis diagnosis to wellness through her own adoption of lifestyle medicine. Stancic introduces us to expert physicians/scientists who are paving the way to turn the tide on the chronic illness epidemic, empowering audiences to stand up and reclaim their health.
Winner: Best Film ‘Lifestyle’
Gold Doesn't Rust: Animal Testing and its 21st Century Alternatives, United States
Directed by, Dr. Theodora Capaldo
Animal testing has been the standard of scientific research and testing for centuries, in spite of a long history of ineffective results and unimaginable cruelty. Now, emerging technologies promise to revolutionize the field of biomedical research by rejecting the failing animal model in lieu of human-based in-vitro methods. Can these new models break their way into mainstream, or will they be blocked by a scientific community so deeply rooted in animal research?
2019 OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL VEGAN FILM FESTIVAL ‘PHOTO ESSAY’ AWARD WINNERS
Winner: Overall and Animal Welfare
Essay Script: Slaughterhouse
Photographer: Aitor Garmendia (website)
Location: Spain & Mexico
Social concern about the abuse suffered by animals in farms and slaughterhouses is on the rise, and the images of violence against them are increasingly taking more and more space in the media. Those images are usually obtained by investigators who, through the use of subterfuges that allow them to enter these places with a camera in their hands or through the placing of hidden cameras, expose to the public eye the truth of an industry that is becoming increasingly armoured to the sight of its consumers.
Shielded by claims that animals are protected under the law, euphemisms such as «humane slaughter», and the form in which the meat industry markets its final products as «free range», «cage free», etc., are ways in which the industry protects itself and creates a rose-tinted image to project to the public.
The stunning methods applied in the pre-throat slitting phase are one of the most controversial and polemic issues in the animal welfare debate. They are aimed to guarantee immediate loss of consciousness in order to prevent animals from suffering during the bleeding. The meat industry tries to make the public believe that by using these methods, animals do not suffer, but they know that in their slaughterhouses, for different reasons, the reality is quite another.
Regardless of the size, the quality of the installations and equipment or the advances made in mechanisation of the killing process, these places represent one of the largest and most systematic forms of violence against animals, even in those cases where the norms that regulate the process are followed.
For four years I have managed to get in more than 70 slaughterhouses located in Mexico and Spain in order to document the last part of the life of farm animals.
Overall – Runner up
Essay Name: Live Transport
Photographer: Jo-Anne McArthur (website)
Location: Shot in different locations around the world
A farmed animal's last days or even weeks are always spent in transport. It's an aspect of their lives that isn't given much thought by consumers. The journey is sometimes a short one, from farm to slaughter, but more often than not there are the sale yards in between, as well as days on a cramped transport truck, or weeks on a transoceanic ship. We know that industrial farming is polluting, but stop to consider the fossil fuels expended to transport animals by the billions every single day. These images, taken worldwide, give us a glimpse of this experience for animals born into our industrial food systems.
Winner: Environmental Protection
Essay Name - Flooded Farms
Photographer - Noah Ortega (website)
Location - Spain
All reports including officials point to industrial livestock as one of the main agents of climate change, which causes from prolonged droughts to torrential rains, when the latter appear they cause damage even to animals exploited by the livestock industry. The Flooded Farms series documents the direct consequences of torrential rains that flood year after year industrial farms with no escape for animals that are exploited inside.
Winner: Lifestyle
Essay Name: Palestine and Its Animals
Photographer: Ruth Montiel Aria
Location: Palestine
Palestine and its animals shows the work carried out from the Palestine Animal League (PAL) and The Daily Hugz Animal Sanctuary, two Palestinian places that rescue, protect and educate in the care of animals, especially those abandoned or exploited.
Palestinian Animal League (PAL) is the only local animal defense organization that operates in the occupied territories of Palestine. Located in the city of Ramallah, they provide veterinary care and other interventions to improve animal welfare: educational and awareness activities with local communities, the development and distribution of practical strategies to identify and effectively address the main animal welfare problems in the region.
Daily Hugz is an animal sanctuary near the city of Nablus that offers shelter to homeless and abused animals.
In the photographs we can see:
• 1 Horses are animals used as cargo. From PAL they promote their, since the restrictions of machinery and the high price of gasoline prevent from banning their use.
• 2. PAL volunteers rescue animals in the streets to take care of them and find them a new home.
• 3. PAL devotes much of its energy to educating and sensitizing children in empathy and caring for animals.
• 4. When animals arrive at the Daily Hugz Animal Sanctuary, the activists deworm and check that the animals are in good health.
• 5. Daily Hugz finds among its inhabitants donkeys that have been used for forced labor. Now they live with all their needs covered and with the love of volunteers and children who visit them every day.
The film’s brutal and honest look at animal abuse on the rodeo circuit wins both Best Overall Film and Best Animal Welfare Film awards
Ottawa, Canada (October 6, 2019) — The second annual Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival (OIVFF) took place on October 6, 2019 at The Chamber Theatre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada this evening and the organization is proud to announce this year’s winners in the film and photo categories.
Director Sharon M. Boeckle’s Bucking Tradition won both the Best Overall Film award as well as the award for Best Animal Welfare film. Dustin Brown’s innovative Casa de Carne nabbed the Best Short Film trophy, #Powerplant won in the category of Best Environmental Protection Film, Marcia Machado’s thought-provoking Code Blue: Redefining the Practice of Medicine won Best Health & Nutrition Film award, and director Dr. Theodora Capaldo’s expose on animal testing, Gold Doesn’t Rust, took home the Best Lifestyle Film award. The full list of winners can be found below.
Discussing the impact of the Best Overall Film, Bucking Tradition, festival judge Jim Amos states, “We often cringe in horror at the animal cruelty we see inflicted in the name of “sport” around the world such as those committed in the bullfighting ring but are blind to the blatant abuse of animals right in our own backyard on the rodeo circuit. Bucking Tradition did a masterful job at depicting the often-irreparable injuries suffered by bulls and calves at hundreds of these events across the country every year, all in the name of carrying on one of the last remaining traditions of the American West.”
The OIVFF, now in its second year, was honoured to present a diverse collection of films from around the world that made lasting impressions and ignited audience's imaginations. These vegan themed films were bursting with creativity, compassion, and inspiration.
In 2019 the festival welcomed 40 film submissions, both short and full-length features, fiction and documentary from 13 countries totaling over 15 hours of vegan-themed films in five categories. All entries were viewed by a pre-selection committee chaired by the Festival Director and Programming Director. Finalists chosen by this committee were then screened by an appointed international jury.
Photo Essay Contest
In addition, OIVFF launched a Vegan Photo Essay Contest as part of the Film Festival in 2019. The photo contest is the first of its kind anywhere in the world. Festival Director Shawn Stratton stated, “Our photo essay is a collection of images that tell a story and propel a narrative over multiple images. Photo essays often create a series of emotions in the viewer and are a powerful way to tell a story without relying heavily on text.”
The competition's goal was to showcase the best in vegan themed photo essays – to recognize the best stories told through a series of 3-5 still images.
Awards for the photo essay contest were won by photographers from around the world including Aitor Garmendia (Spain), Noah Ortega (Spain), Ruth Montiel Aria (Palestine), and Jo-Anne McArthur (Canada) whose award-winning photos came from around the world.
When asked why Aitor Garmendia’s, Slaughterhouse was selected as the overall winner, festival judge Victoria Moran of the Main Street Vegan Podcast, said “This one spoke to my heart through the animals, their suffering and their dignity. Having spent a day in a slaughterhouse myself once, I was brought back there. Some things never seem to change. This one must. This photo essay will be a part of that change."
OIVFF is proud to have been sponsored by the VegOttawa, the essential resource for vegetarian and vegans in Canada’s national capital region and Copper Branch, 100% plant-powered food.
Photos from the award winning films can be viewed here.
The 2019 festival video trailer can be viewed here.
The award winning photo essays can be viewed here.
2019 OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL VEGAN FILM FESTIVAL AWARD WINNERS
Winner: 2019 Best Film ‘Overall’ & 2019 Best Film ‘Animal Welfare’
Bucking Tradition, United States
Directed by: Sharon M Boeckle
Bucking Tradition explores one of America’s most iconic competitions—the rodeo. With thousands of events held across the nation and around the world every year, this “sport” is hailed by some as one of the last traditions of the American West. By others, it’s decried as one of our nation’s last legalized forms of systematic and brutal animal cruelty masquerading as sport and family entertainment. Do some traditions deserve to die? Maybe they do.
Winner: Best Film ‘Short’
Casa de Carne, United States
Directed by: Dustin Brown
On a night out with friends, Eric tries a new restaurant that takes the dining experience full circle. Set in a not-so-distant dark future, "Casa de Carne" is a thought-provoking short film about hard choices and hidden truths.
Winner: Best Film ‘Environmental Protection’
#Powerplant, Netherlands
Directed by: Robert, van Tellingen
The Nicolaas G. Pierson Foundation presents its 5th documentary with Marianne Thieme. After ‘Meat the Truth’, ‘Sea the Truth’, ‘The Pacer in the Marathon’ and ‘One Single Planet’, this new documentary explores the prospects of a plant-based society.
#Powerplant provides added insight into the link between climate change and meat consumption, a topic that Marianne Thieme was the first politician to address in the climate documentary ‘Meat the Truth’ in 2007, an issue that has become even more pertinent since then. According to Oxford researcher Marco Springmann, a transition to a plant-based diet can prevent up to 8 million deaths per year in 2050, and on a global scale, can lead to savings that have a value to society of up to thirty trillion USD (30,000,000,000,000). Adopting a plant-based menu can reduce up to 73% of agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions and can make it possible to revert 76% of all agricultural land back to nature, says Joseph Poore, also a researcher at the University of Oxford. The study is described by The Guardian as “the most comprehensive analysis to date” in this field.
Winner: Best Film ‘Health & Nutrition
Code Blue: Redefining the Practice of Medicine, United States
Directed By: Marcia Machado
Through the lens of filmmaker Marcia Machado, code blue reveals lapses in the current state of medicine and provides a common sense solution by featuring the practice of lifestyle medicine to prevent, manage and reverse nearly 80% of chronic illnesses. It presents the hurdles to the proposed shift: outdated curricula in medical schools, confusion in the media, inadequate government policies, and the underlying influences of the pharmaceutical and food industries. With a dose of lighthearted humor, combining science and common sense, code blue follows a passionate physician, Dr. Saray Stancic, as she reflects upon her journey from a multiple sclerosis diagnosis to wellness through her own adoption of lifestyle medicine. Stancic introduces us to expert physicians/scientists who are paving the way to turn the tide on the chronic illness epidemic, empowering audiences to stand up and reclaim their health.
Winner: Best Film ‘Lifestyle’
Gold Doesn't Rust: Animal Testing and its 21st Century Alternatives, United States
Directed by, Dr. Theodora Capaldo
Animal testing has been the standard of scientific research and testing for centuries, in spite of a long history of ineffective results and unimaginable cruelty. Now, emerging technologies promise to revolutionize the field of biomedical research by rejecting the failing animal model in lieu of human-based in-vitro methods. Can these new models break their way into mainstream, or will they be blocked by a scientific community so deeply rooted in animal research?
2019 OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL VEGAN FILM FESTIVAL ‘PHOTO ESSAY’ AWARD WINNERS
Winner: Overall and Animal Welfare
Essay Script: Slaughterhouse
Photographer: Aitor Garmendia (website)
Location: Spain & Mexico
Social concern about the abuse suffered by animals in farms and slaughterhouses is on the rise, and the images of violence against them are increasingly taking more and more space in the media. Those images are usually obtained by investigators who, through the use of subterfuges that allow them to enter these places with a camera in their hands or through the placing of hidden cameras, expose to the public eye the truth of an industry that is becoming increasingly armoured to the sight of its consumers.
Shielded by claims that animals are protected under the law, euphemisms such as «humane slaughter», and the form in which the meat industry markets its final products as «free range», «cage free», etc., are ways in which the industry protects itself and creates a rose-tinted image to project to the public.
The stunning methods applied in the pre-throat slitting phase are one of the most controversial and polemic issues in the animal welfare debate. They are aimed to guarantee immediate loss of consciousness in order to prevent animals from suffering during the bleeding. The meat industry tries to make the public believe that by using these methods, animals do not suffer, but they know that in their slaughterhouses, for different reasons, the reality is quite another.
Regardless of the size, the quality of the installations and equipment or the advances made in mechanisation of the killing process, these places represent one of the largest and most systematic forms of violence against animals, even in those cases where the norms that regulate the process are followed.
For four years I have managed to get in more than 70 slaughterhouses located in Mexico and Spain in order to document the last part of the life of farm animals.
Overall – Runner up
Essay Name: Live Transport
Photographer: Jo-Anne McArthur (website)
Location: Shot in different locations around the world
A farmed animal's last days or even weeks are always spent in transport. It's an aspect of their lives that isn't given much thought by consumers. The journey is sometimes a short one, from farm to slaughter, but more often than not there are the sale yards in between, as well as days on a cramped transport truck, or weeks on a transoceanic ship. We know that industrial farming is polluting, but stop to consider the fossil fuels expended to transport animals by the billions every single day. These images, taken worldwide, give us a glimpse of this experience for animals born into our industrial food systems.
Winner: Environmental Protection
Essay Name - Flooded Farms
Photographer - Noah Ortega (website)
Location - Spain
All reports including officials point to industrial livestock as one of the main agents of climate change, which causes from prolonged droughts to torrential rains, when the latter appear they cause damage even to animals exploited by the livestock industry. The Flooded Farms series documents the direct consequences of torrential rains that flood year after year industrial farms with no escape for animals that are exploited inside.
Winner: Lifestyle
Essay Name: Palestine and Its Animals
Photographer: Ruth Montiel Aria
Location: Palestine
Palestine and its animals shows the work carried out from the Palestine Animal League (PAL) and The Daily Hugz Animal Sanctuary, two Palestinian places that rescue, protect and educate in the care of animals, especially those abandoned or exploited.
Palestinian Animal League (PAL) is the only local animal defense organization that operates in the occupied territories of Palestine. Located in the city of Ramallah, they provide veterinary care and other interventions to improve animal welfare: educational and awareness activities with local communities, the development and distribution of practical strategies to identify and effectively address the main animal welfare problems in the region.
Daily Hugz is an animal sanctuary near the city of Nablus that offers shelter to homeless and abused animals.
In the photographs we can see:
• 1 Horses are animals used as cargo. From PAL they promote their, since the restrictions of machinery and the high price of gasoline prevent from banning their use.
• 2. PAL volunteers rescue animals in the streets to take care of them and find them a new home.
• 3. PAL devotes much of its energy to educating and sensitizing children in empathy and caring for animals.
• 4. When animals arrive at the Daily Hugz Animal Sanctuary, the activists deworm and check that the animals are in good health.
• 5. Daily Hugz finds among its inhabitants donkeys that have been used for forced labor. Now they live with all their needs covered and with the love of volunteers and children who visit them every day.
SEPTEMBER 2019
2019 Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival Announces Lineup
The one-day event showcases a collection of the finest vegan-themed films of the year
The world's premier vegan film festival, the second annual Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival, will take place on October 6, 2019 in the Canadian capital, and the full list of 14 films to be screened at the event was unveiled today. During the festival, the films that won their respective categories, as well as the overall festival winning film, will be announced along with the event’s inaugural Vegan Photo Essay Contest winners. The complete list of films to be screened can be found at the end of this release.
For this year’s event, the festival welcomed 40 film submissions of both short- and full-length features from around the world. Categories covered fiction, documentary, animation, and music videos. They were submitted from 14 countries, totalling over 15 hours of vegan-themed films. This year, over 60% of the submitted films are female-directed.
To view a sample of the ground-breaking films that will be featured at this year’s festival, watch the festival trailer here and check out the festival’s website for more information.
FESTIVAL SPECIFICS
DATE: Sunday, October 6, 2019. Doors open at 6:00 pm. Films begin at 7:00 pm
LOCATION: The Chamber at Ben Franklin Place (Centrepointe Theatre), Ottawa
COST: $20 ($15 for students).
Buy tickets online: www.oivff.com
PRE-SHOW DINNER OPTIONS
Festival attendees can purchase food from any of these four local plant-based restaurants: Copper Branch (Barrhaven location), The Table Vegetarian Restaurant, Strawberry Blonde Bakery and Fauxmagerie Zengarry.
SPECIAL BONUS SCREENING: CODE BLUE: REDEFINING THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE
Join us for a bonus screening of the feature-length film Code Blue: Redefining the Practice Of Medicine (watch trailer here).
DATE: Friday October 4 2019. Arrive at 6:30 to enjoy dinner. Screening starts at 7:00 pm
LOCATION: Copper Branch (Barrhaven) 3161 Strandherd Drive, #301, Ottawa
COST: $10. Seating is limited to 40 people. Buy tickets online at www.oivff.com
Director Shawn Stratton says his aim was to “show a unique variety of quality vegan-themed films from around the world with the purpose to educate, inspire and entertain vegans and non-vegans alike”. Stratton supports vegan-themed filmmakers by providing an avenue to show their films to new audiences, providing recognition for their passion projects. He is an ultra-marathoner who noticed an improvement in his running since eating only plant-based foods. Stratton says, “Everyone who adopts a vegan lifestyle comes to it on their own terms. For many, vegan-themed films have been the catalyst. You never know which film is going to have the most impact on someone and that's why it's important for the festival to highlight this diverse collection of films.”
All entries are submitted into one of four categories and were viewed by a pre-selection Committee chaired by the Festival Director and Programming Director. Finalists chosen by this Committee were then screened by an appointed International Jury.
NEW FOR 2019: Photo Essay Contest
In 2019, Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival launched the world’s first Vegan Photo Essay Contest as part of the festival. A photo essay is a collection of images that tell a story and propel a narrative over multiple images. The photo essay contest winners will be announced during the October 6th event.
ABOUT THE OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL VEGAN FILM FESTIVAL
The trailblazing event, which launches each October in Ottawa, Canada, is dedicated to celebrating the vegan ideal: a healthier, compassionate, environmentally friendly lifestyle, achieved through the consumption of plants and animal-free alternatives.
WORLD TOUR 2019/20
Starting November 1, 2019, a collection of the ‘Best of the Best” films from the festival will be available for hosts around the world to organize screenings in their communities. For more information on hosting a screening, visit www.oivff.com. Images from films are found here.
Tickets Available For Media and Prize Giveaways
THE 14 FILMS TO BE SCREENED
A Strange Trial, Switzerland
00:09:58
Directed by: Marcel Barelli
“I have always wanted to make a film ABOUT hunting...I mean... AGAINST hunting! But that's not so easy when you come from a family of hunters... my thoughts are intermingled with my memories. I discuss it with my father: a hunter, of course. But my mother also has a thing or two to say...” (Marcel Barelli)
Apollo: Rise of the Poly-Vegan Soldier, New Zealand
00:06:48
Directed by: Amy Taylor
Apollo Taito is a vegan, and a trained killer – a sergeant in the New Zealand Army to be exact.
Bucking Tradition, United States
00:08:49
Directed by: Sharon M Boeckle
Bucking Tradition explores one of America’s most iconic competitions—the rodeo. With thousands of events held across the nation and around the world every year, this “sport” is hailed by some as one of the last traditions of the American West. By others, it’s decried as one of our nation’s last legalized forms of systematic and brutal animal cruelty masquerading as sport and family entertainment. Do some traditions deserve to die? Maybe they do.
Casa de Carne, United States
00:02:21
Directed by: Dustin Brown
On a night out with friends, Eric tries a new restaurant that takes the dining experience full circle. Set in a not-so-distant dark future, "Casa de Carne" is a thought-provoking short film about hard choices and hidden truths.
Code Blue: Redefining the Practice of Medicine, United States
01:42:00
Directed by: Marcia Machado
Through the lens of filmmaker Marcia Machado, code blue reveals lapses in the current state of medicine and provides a common sense solution by featuring the practice of lifestyle medicine to prevent, manage and reverse nearly 80% of chronic illnesses. It presents the hurdles to the proposed shift: outdated curricula in medical schools, confusion in the media, inadequate government policies, and the underlying influences of the pharmaceutical and food industries.
With a dose of lighthearted humor, combining science and common sense, code blue follows a passionate physician, Dr. Saray Stancic, as she reflects upon her journey from a multiple sclerosis diagnosis to wellness through her own adoption of lifestyle medicine. Stancic introduces us to expert physicians/scientists who are paving the way to turn the tide on the chronic illness epidemic, empowering audiences to stand up and reclaim their health.
Coming Closer, United States
00:05:17
Directed by: Meghan McClymonds
Farmed animals' individuality, lives, and deaths go unseen and unrecognized by much of society. But the activists of Portland Animal Save, led by a collective call for compassion and justice, choose to bear witness to and shed light upon cows who are brought to a local slaughterhouse. This film invites viewers to explore their own perceptions of the personhood of the nonhuman animals who are exploited and killed for and by humans.
Cow's Milk?, Germany
00:01:11
Directed by: Roxy Velez
Ever wondered what’s actually in a glass of cow’s milk, or what is the truth about the dairy industry?
Diet Change Not Climate Change, Germany
00:01:30
Directed by: Roxy Velez
Can our diet really impact climate change? Find out why one of the most effective solutions is on our plates. PROVEG INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN to support their "Diet Change Not Climate Change Campaign".
Gold Doesn't Rust: Animal Testing and its 21st Century Alternatives, United States
00:23:16
Directed by: Dr. Theodora Capaldo
Animal testing has been the standard of scientific research and testing for centuries, in spite of a long history of ineffective results and unimaginable cruelty. Now, emerging technologies promise to revolutionize the field of biomedical research by rejecting the failing animal model in lieu of human-based in-vitro methods. Can these new models break their way into mainstream, or will they be blocked by a scientific community so deeply rooted in animal research?
Pig Man, New Zealand
00:07:45
Directed by: Amy Taylor, James Muir
Stu is a gentle soul who lives with dozens of pigs he calls his mates. He wants a simple life on his family’s old Coromandel farm, but it’s not easy – the farm is in the middle of pig hunting territory.
Reclaim, Canada
00:01:44
Directed by: Jo-Anne McArthur, Kelly Guerin
Walk with photographer Jo-Anne McArthur through an abandoned pig farm. Witness as the suffering fades from the bars and metal and life reclaims a small part of the industrial farming machine.
THE DOOR, Denmark
00:03:55
Directed by: Rasit U. Tas, Simon Sonne
Animal welfare is crucial for many people, when it comes to choosing what kind of meat you prefer to eat. As long as the animal has lived a good life, the meat can be consumed in good conscience. However, many philosophical questions arise, that need to be answered with this kind of argument to continue eating meat. The arguments that the majority of meat eaters use to justify their meat eating, look on the surface immediately as good and solid arguments. But if you look a little deeper into the surface, there is a particular question that should be asked. Who has the answer? "THE DOOR" is a statement.
The Farm in My Backyard, Canada
00:16:27
Directed by: Jo-Anne McArthur
In many countries around the world, markets for fur are closing down as demand wanes. But in the tiny Canadian province of Nova Scotia, the government is putting its own citizens' wellbeing second to this controversial industry, doubling down on its support for the fur industry despite its devastating impacts on the environment, animals, and the local residents pleading for change.
Planet Vegan: Episode One - The Future Of Meat, United States
00:39:13
Directed by: James Hoot
Planet Vegan is a multi-part documentary series exploring the global rise of the vegan movement. Episode one focuses on the many ways that meat will be much different in the future and how some companies are already changing the game.
The one-day event showcases a collection of the finest vegan-themed films of the year
The world's premier vegan film festival, the second annual Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival, will take place on October 6, 2019 in the Canadian capital, and the full list of 14 films to be screened at the event was unveiled today. During the festival, the films that won their respective categories, as well as the overall festival winning film, will be announced along with the event’s inaugural Vegan Photo Essay Contest winners. The complete list of films to be screened can be found at the end of this release.
For this year’s event, the festival welcomed 40 film submissions of both short- and full-length features from around the world. Categories covered fiction, documentary, animation, and music videos. They were submitted from 14 countries, totalling over 15 hours of vegan-themed films. This year, over 60% of the submitted films are female-directed.
To view a sample of the ground-breaking films that will be featured at this year’s festival, watch the festival trailer here and check out the festival’s website for more information.
FESTIVAL SPECIFICS
DATE: Sunday, October 6, 2019. Doors open at 6:00 pm. Films begin at 7:00 pm
LOCATION: The Chamber at Ben Franklin Place (Centrepointe Theatre), Ottawa
COST: $20 ($15 for students).
Buy tickets online: www.oivff.com
PRE-SHOW DINNER OPTIONS
Festival attendees can purchase food from any of these four local plant-based restaurants: Copper Branch (Barrhaven location), The Table Vegetarian Restaurant, Strawberry Blonde Bakery and Fauxmagerie Zengarry.
SPECIAL BONUS SCREENING: CODE BLUE: REDEFINING THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE
Join us for a bonus screening of the feature-length film Code Blue: Redefining the Practice Of Medicine (watch trailer here).
DATE: Friday October 4 2019. Arrive at 6:30 to enjoy dinner. Screening starts at 7:00 pm
LOCATION: Copper Branch (Barrhaven) 3161 Strandherd Drive, #301, Ottawa
COST: $10. Seating is limited to 40 people. Buy tickets online at www.oivff.com
Director Shawn Stratton says his aim was to “show a unique variety of quality vegan-themed films from around the world with the purpose to educate, inspire and entertain vegans and non-vegans alike”. Stratton supports vegan-themed filmmakers by providing an avenue to show their films to new audiences, providing recognition for their passion projects. He is an ultra-marathoner who noticed an improvement in his running since eating only plant-based foods. Stratton says, “Everyone who adopts a vegan lifestyle comes to it on their own terms. For many, vegan-themed films have been the catalyst. You never know which film is going to have the most impact on someone and that's why it's important for the festival to highlight this diverse collection of films.”
All entries are submitted into one of four categories and were viewed by a pre-selection Committee chaired by the Festival Director and Programming Director. Finalists chosen by this Committee were then screened by an appointed International Jury.
NEW FOR 2019: Photo Essay Contest
In 2019, Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival launched the world’s first Vegan Photo Essay Contest as part of the festival. A photo essay is a collection of images that tell a story and propel a narrative over multiple images. The photo essay contest winners will be announced during the October 6th event.
ABOUT THE OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL VEGAN FILM FESTIVAL
The trailblazing event, which launches each October in Ottawa, Canada, is dedicated to celebrating the vegan ideal: a healthier, compassionate, environmentally friendly lifestyle, achieved through the consumption of plants and animal-free alternatives.
WORLD TOUR 2019/20
Starting November 1, 2019, a collection of the ‘Best of the Best” films from the festival will be available for hosts around the world to organize screenings in their communities. For more information on hosting a screening, visit www.oivff.com. Images from films are found here.
Tickets Available For Media and Prize Giveaways
THE 14 FILMS TO BE SCREENED
A Strange Trial, Switzerland
00:09:58
Directed by: Marcel Barelli
“I have always wanted to make a film ABOUT hunting...I mean... AGAINST hunting! But that's not so easy when you come from a family of hunters... my thoughts are intermingled with my memories. I discuss it with my father: a hunter, of course. But my mother also has a thing or two to say...” (Marcel Barelli)
Apollo: Rise of the Poly-Vegan Soldier, New Zealand
00:06:48
Directed by: Amy Taylor
Apollo Taito is a vegan, and a trained killer – a sergeant in the New Zealand Army to be exact.
Bucking Tradition, United States
00:08:49
Directed by: Sharon M Boeckle
Bucking Tradition explores one of America’s most iconic competitions—the rodeo. With thousands of events held across the nation and around the world every year, this “sport” is hailed by some as one of the last traditions of the American West. By others, it’s decried as one of our nation’s last legalized forms of systematic and brutal animal cruelty masquerading as sport and family entertainment. Do some traditions deserve to die? Maybe they do.
Casa de Carne, United States
00:02:21
Directed by: Dustin Brown
On a night out with friends, Eric tries a new restaurant that takes the dining experience full circle. Set in a not-so-distant dark future, "Casa de Carne" is a thought-provoking short film about hard choices and hidden truths.
Code Blue: Redefining the Practice of Medicine, United States
01:42:00
Directed by: Marcia Machado
Through the lens of filmmaker Marcia Machado, code blue reveals lapses in the current state of medicine and provides a common sense solution by featuring the practice of lifestyle medicine to prevent, manage and reverse nearly 80% of chronic illnesses. It presents the hurdles to the proposed shift: outdated curricula in medical schools, confusion in the media, inadequate government policies, and the underlying influences of the pharmaceutical and food industries.
With a dose of lighthearted humor, combining science and common sense, code blue follows a passionate physician, Dr. Saray Stancic, as she reflects upon her journey from a multiple sclerosis diagnosis to wellness through her own adoption of lifestyle medicine. Stancic introduces us to expert physicians/scientists who are paving the way to turn the tide on the chronic illness epidemic, empowering audiences to stand up and reclaim their health.
Coming Closer, United States
00:05:17
Directed by: Meghan McClymonds
Farmed animals' individuality, lives, and deaths go unseen and unrecognized by much of society. But the activists of Portland Animal Save, led by a collective call for compassion and justice, choose to bear witness to and shed light upon cows who are brought to a local slaughterhouse. This film invites viewers to explore their own perceptions of the personhood of the nonhuman animals who are exploited and killed for and by humans.
Cow's Milk?, Germany
00:01:11
Directed by: Roxy Velez
Ever wondered what’s actually in a glass of cow’s milk, or what is the truth about the dairy industry?
Diet Change Not Climate Change, Germany
00:01:30
Directed by: Roxy Velez
Can our diet really impact climate change? Find out why one of the most effective solutions is on our plates. PROVEG INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN to support their "Diet Change Not Climate Change Campaign".
Gold Doesn't Rust: Animal Testing and its 21st Century Alternatives, United States
00:23:16
Directed by: Dr. Theodora Capaldo
Animal testing has been the standard of scientific research and testing for centuries, in spite of a long history of ineffective results and unimaginable cruelty. Now, emerging technologies promise to revolutionize the field of biomedical research by rejecting the failing animal model in lieu of human-based in-vitro methods. Can these new models break their way into mainstream, or will they be blocked by a scientific community so deeply rooted in animal research?
Pig Man, New Zealand
00:07:45
Directed by: Amy Taylor, James Muir
Stu is a gentle soul who lives with dozens of pigs he calls his mates. He wants a simple life on his family’s old Coromandel farm, but it’s not easy – the farm is in the middle of pig hunting territory.
Reclaim, Canada
00:01:44
Directed by: Jo-Anne McArthur, Kelly Guerin
Walk with photographer Jo-Anne McArthur through an abandoned pig farm. Witness as the suffering fades from the bars and metal and life reclaims a small part of the industrial farming machine.
THE DOOR, Denmark
00:03:55
Directed by: Rasit U. Tas, Simon Sonne
Animal welfare is crucial for many people, when it comes to choosing what kind of meat you prefer to eat. As long as the animal has lived a good life, the meat can be consumed in good conscience. However, many philosophical questions arise, that need to be answered with this kind of argument to continue eating meat. The arguments that the majority of meat eaters use to justify their meat eating, look on the surface immediately as good and solid arguments. But if you look a little deeper into the surface, there is a particular question that should be asked. Who has the answer? "THE DOOR" is a statement.
The Farm in My Backyard, Canada
00:16:27
Directed by: Jo-Anne McArthur
In many countries around the world, markets for fur are closing down as demand wanes. But in the tiny Canadian province of Nova Scotia, the government is putting its own citizens' wellbeing second to this controversial industry, doubling down on its support for the fur industry despite its devastating impacts on the environment, animals, and the local residents pleading for change.
Planet Vegan: Episode One - The Future Of Meat, United States
00:39:13
Directed by: James Hoot
Planet Vegan is a multi-part documentary series exploring the global rise of the vegan movement. Episode one focuses on the many ways that meat will be much different in the future and how some companies are already changing the game.
2019 Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival Adds Ecotricity Founder Dale Vince to Its Judging Panel and Releases the Festival Trailer
The event will showcase a collection of the finest vegan-themed short and long format films of the year
The Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival is thrilled to announce that Dale Vince has joined its panel of film festival judges. Dale is the founder of the world’s first green electricity company, Ecotricity, and chairman of Forest Green Rovers football club – described recently by governing body FIFA as the “world’s greenest club.” Dale is also a climate champion for the United Nations.
Festival Director, Shawn Stratton said that “It’s an honor to have Dale join the Festival’s panel of Judges. With Dale having over 20 years’ experience as a champion of the vegan movement in the UK he will be a very capable judge for our vegan themed-films. Stratton also mentioned that “Being an international festival it was important to have a judge from outside North America”.
A one-time New Age traveler, Vince set up the UK’s first renewable energy company in 1995 from a single wind turbine on the back of a truck. Ecotricity is now the greenest energy company in Britain and supplies 100% green electricity and frack-free gas to over 200,000 customers. Vince has also spent the last decade turning the Forest Green Rovers into the world’s only UN-recognized carbon-neutral sports club. FGR is the only vegan football club in the world and spreads the message of sustainability to the world of sport.
When asked why it was important to be a part of the vegan film festival Vince said “As someone that believes in the power of plant-based living and the power of film to carry a message, taking part in the judging and watching these films was a great experience - I was inspired by them, moved (to tears at times), informed and greatly encouraged by what I saw.
There’s a clear picture that between them they convey, of the brutality of animal farming, the terrible cost in human health and environment devastation - not least climate change, all supported by overwhelming scientific evidence.
Some of these films could have great impact in communicating these issues and what we need to do about them - I hope so.”
2019 TRAILER LAUNCHED
The OIVFF has launched its 2019 Festival trailer. The trailer is comprised of the 11 films that will be screened at the Oct 6th event in Ottawa, Canada. The films that make up the trailer include:
The Farm in My Backyard
Bucking Tradition
Gold Doesn't Rust: Animal Testing and its 21st Century Alternatives
Casa de Carne
The Door
Cow's Milk?
Reclaim
Coming Closer
Diet Change Not Climate Change
Pig Man
Apollo: Rise of the Poly-Vegan Soldier
A Strange Trial
The trailer can be viewed on the Festival website here: http://www.oivff.com/oivff---trailer.html
ABOUT THE OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL VEGAN FILM FESTIVAL
The Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival is a trailblazing event, occurring each October in Ottawa, Canada, dedicated to celebrating the vegan ideal: a healthier, compassionate, environmentally friendly lifestyle that can be achieved through the consumption of plants and animal-free alternatives.
In 2019 the Festival received 40 film submissions, up from 28 last year. The films that have been selected have been submitted from 14 countries around the world. 60% of the films are from female directors.
The awards will be announced at the Festival’s Premier event October 6, 2019 at The Chamber Theatre in Ben Franklin Place in Ottawa.
Tickets can be purchased on the event website.
The event will showcase a collection of the finest vegan-themed short and long format films of the year
The Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival is thrilled to announce that Dale Vince has joined its panel of film festival judges. Dale is the founder of the world’s first green electricity company, Ecotricity, and chairman of Forest Green Rovers football club – described recently by governing body FIFA as the “world’s greenest club.” Dale is also a climate champion for the United Nations.
Festival Director, Shawn Stratton said that “It’s an honor to have Dale join the Festival’s panel of Judges. With Dale having over 20 years’ experience as a champion of the vegan movement in the UK he will be a very capable judge for our vegan themed-films. Stratton also mentioned that “Being an international festival it was important to have a judge from outside North America”.
A one-time New Age traveler, Vince set up the UK’s first renewable energy company in 1995 from a single wind turbine on the back of a truck. Ecotricity is now the greenest energy company in Britain and supplies 100% green electricity and frack-free gas to over 200,000 customers. Vince has also spent the last decade turning the Forest Green Rovers into the world’s only UN-recognized carbon-neutral sports club. FGR is the only vegan football club in the world and spreads the message of sustainability to the world of sport.
When asked why it was important to be a part of the vegan film festival Vince said “As someone that believes in the power of plant-based living and the power of film to carry a message, taking part in the judging and watching these films was a great experience - I was inspired by them, moved (to tears at times), informed and greatly encouraged by what I saw.
There’s a clear picture that between them they convey, of the brutality of animal farming, the terrible cost in human health and environment devastation - not least climate change, all supported by overwhelming scientific evidence.
Some of these films could have great impact in communicating these issues and what we need to do about them - I hope so.”
2019 TRAILER LAUNCHED
The OIVFF has launched its 2019 Festival trailer. The trailer is comprised of the 11 films that will be screened at the Oct 6th event in Ottawa, Canada. The films that make up the trailer include:
The Farm in My Backyard
Bucking Tradition
Gold Doesn't Rust: Animal Testing and its 21st Century Alternatives
Casa de Carne
The Door
Cow's Milk?
Reclaim
Coming Closer
Diet Change Not Climate Change
Pig Man
Apollo: Rise of the Poly-Vegan Soldier
A Strange Trial
The trailer can be viewed on the Festival website here: http://www.oivff.com/oivff---trailer.html
ABOUT THE OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL VEGAN FILM FESTIVAL
The Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival is a trailblazing event, occurring each October in Ottawa, Canada, dedicated to celebrating the vegan ideal: a healthier, compassionate, environmentally friendly lifestyle that can be achieved through the consumption of plants and animal-free alternatives.
In 2019 the Festival received 40 film submissions, up from 28 last year. The films that have been selected have been submitted from 14 countries around the world. 60% of the films are from female directors.
The awards will be announced at the Festival’s Premier event October 6, 2019 at The Chamber Theatre in Ben Franklin Place in Ottawa.
Tickets can be purchased on the event website.
2019 Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival 2019 Announces List of 20 Nominated Films
The event will showcase a collection of the finest vegan-themed short and long format films of the year
Today the 2ND annual Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival announced the list of the 26 films that have been selected for nomination for the 2019 awards. The awards will be announced at the Festival’s Premier event October 6, 2019 at The Chamber Theatre in Ben Franklin Place in Ottawa.
In 2019 the Festival received 40 film submissions, up from 28 last year. The films that have been selected have been submitted from 14 countries around the world. 60% of the films are from female directors.
Category and Films:
Lifestyle Category:
Health and Nutrition Category:
Animal Welfare Category:
Environmental Protection Category:
ABOUT THE OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL VEGAN FILM FESTIVAL
The Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival is a trailblazing event, occurring each October in Ottawa, Canada, dedicated to celebrating the vegan ideal: a healthier, compassionate, environmentally friendly lifestyle that can be achieved through the consumption of plants and animal-free alternatives.
Tickets can be purchased at the event website.
The event will showcase a collection of the finest vegan-themed short and long format films of the year
Today the 2ND annual Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival announced the list of the 26 films that have been selected for nomination for the 2019 awards. The awards will be announced at the Festival’s Premier event October 6, 2019 at The Chamber Theatre in Ben Franklin Place in Ottawa.
In 2019 the Festival received 40 film submissions, up from 28 last year. The films that have been selected have been submitted from 14 countries around the world. 60% of the films are from female directors.
Category and Films:
Lifestyle Category:
- Apollo: Rise of the Poly-Vegan Soldier (New Zealand)
- A Strange Trial (Switzerland)
- Gold Doesn't Rust: Animal Testing and its 21st Century Alternatives (USA)
- Let us be Heroes - The True Cost of our Food Choices (Singapore)
- Pig Man (New Zealand)
- The Hunter and the Girl with Pokemon (Belgium)
- Bad Vegan: The Original Recipe (Canada)
- Double Decade Vegan (Australia)
Health and Nutrition Category:
- H.O.P.E. What You Eat Matters (Austria)
- Code Blue: Redefining the Practice of Medicine (USA)
- Multiple Seasons (USA)
Animal Welfare Category:
- Casa de Carne (USA)
- Reclaim (Canada)
- Cow’s Milk? (Germany)
- Cows Come Home (USA)
- Bucking Tradition (USA)
- Coming Closer (USA)
- The Cube of Truth (New Zealand)
- Why Not Me (USA)
- The Door (Denmark)
- Hami Shelter (Iran)
Environmental Protection Category:
- Diet Change Not Climate Change (Germany)
- The Farm in My Backyard (Canada)
- The Man of the Trees (Italy)
- #Powerplant (Netherlands)
- Planet Vegan: Episode One (USA)
ABOUT THE OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL VEGAN FILM FESTIVAL
The Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival is a trailblazing event, occurring each October in Ottawa, Canada, dedicated to celebrating the vegan ideal: a healthier, compassionate, environmentally friendly lifestyle that can be achieved through the consumption of plants and animal-free alternatives.
Tickets can be purchased at the event website.
JUNE 2019
‘WORLD’S FIRST’ VEGAN PHOTO ESSAY CONTEST
The event will showcase the best vegan themed photographic storytelling from around the world
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: The Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival is launching a Vegan Photo Essay Contest as part of the Film Festival held each October in Ottawa, Canada. The Vegan Photo Essay- described by its director as the first of its kind anywhere in the world - is now accepting entries.
Festival Director Shawn Stratton said that “A photo essay is a collection of images that tell a story and propel a narrative over multiple images. Photo essays often create a series of emotions in the viewer and are a powerful way to tell a story without relying heavily on text.”
The competition's goal is to showcase the best in vegan themed photo essays – to recognize the best stories told through a series of 3-5 still images.
We invite photographers to submit photos to illustrate their vegan related stories under the following categories: lifestyle, health and nutrition, animal welfare, or environmental protection.
Entry
The contest is looking for photographers to submit their work. A vegan enthusiast with any level of photographic experience is welcome to submit!
The entry deadline is July 31,2019 and the festival welcomes all vegan themed photographs from photographers around the world.
Stratton adds, "All entries will be viewed prior to the Festival by a pre-selection Committee chaired by the Festival Director and Programming Director. Finalists chosen by this Committee will be screened by an appointed international jury."
To enter the Vegan Photo Essay Contest click here or visit: http://www.oivff.com/photo-essay-contest.html
Showcase
Stratton wants to support photographers who capture vegan themed photo stories by providing an avenue to show their images to new audiences and provide awards to recognize them for their projects. The Photo Contest will be a complement to the original Film Festival and will highlight the diversity and talent within the vegan community worldwide!
Film Festival
The second annual Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival, which will take place October 6, 2019, in Ottawa, Canada aims to showcase short and feature-length films with a vegan subject matter from filmmakers around the world. In 2018 the Festival received 28 films from 8 countries totalling over 17 hours of films and the 2019 Festival is on track to break that record.
Submission Deadline
Planning is already underway for the 2019 edition of the Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival. The festival is currently accepting both short and full-length features, fiction and non-fiction vegan themed films in four categories–. To submit a film click here or visit: http://www.oivff.com/submit.html.
The deadline for film submissions is August 31, 2019
The Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival is a trailblazing event, happening each October in Ottawa, Canada, dedicated to celebrating the vegan ideal: a healthier, compassionate, environmentally friendly lifestyle that can be achieved through the consumption of plants and animal-free alternatives.
The event will showcase the best vegan themed photographic storytelling from around the world
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: The Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival is launching a Vegan Photo Essay Contest as part of the Film Festival held each October in Ottawa, Canada. The Vegan Photo Essay- described by its director as the first of its kind anywhere in the world - is now accepting entries.
Festival Director Shawn Stratton said that “A photo essay is a collection of images that tell a story and propel a narrative over multiple images. Photo essays often create a series of emotions in the viewer and are a powerful way to tell a story without relying heavily on text.”
The competition's goal is to showcase the best in vegan themed photo essays – to recognize the best stories told through a series of 3-5 still images.
We invite photographers to submit photos to illustrate their vegan related stories under the following categories: lifestyle, health and nutrition, animal welfare, or environmental protection.
Entry
The contest is looking for photographers to submit their work. A vegan enthusiast with any level of photographic experience is welcome to submit!
The entry deadline is July 31,2019 and the festival welcomes all vegan themed photographs from photographers around the world.
Stratton adds, "All entries will be viewed prior to the Festival by a pre-selection Committee chaired by the Festival Director and Programming Director. Finalists chosen by this Committee will be screened by an appointed international jury."
To enter the Vegan Photo Essay Contest click here or visit: http://www.oivff.com/photo-essay-contest.html
Showcase
Stratton wants to support photographers who capture vegan themed photo stories by providing an avenue to show their images to new audiences and provide awards to recognize them for their projects. The Photo Contest will be a complement to the original Film Festival and will highlight the diversity and talent within the vegan community worldwide!
Film Festival
The second annual Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival, which will take place October 6, 2019, in Ottawa, Canada aims to showcase short and feature-length films with a vegan subject matter from filmmakers around the world. In 2018 the Festival received 28 films from 8 countries totalling over 17 hours of films and the 2019 Festival is on track to break that record.
Submission Deadline
Planning is already underway for the 2019 edition of the Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival. The festival is currently accepting both short and full-length features, fiction and non-fiction vegan themed films in four categories–. To submit a film click here or visit: http://www.oivff.com/submit.html.
The deadline for film submissions is August 31, 2019
The Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival is a trailblazing event, happening each October in Ottawa, Canada, dedicated to celebrating the vegan ideal: a healthier, compassionate, environmentally friendly lifestyle that can be achieved through the consumption of plants and animal-free alternatives.
OCTOBER 2018
73 COWS LEADS LIST OF WINNERS AT INAUGURAL 2018 OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL VEGAN FILM FESTIVAL
OTTAWA, ON – Oct 15, 2018 -- The 2018 Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival (OIVFF) is proud to announce this year's jury award winners, led by Alex Lockwood’s Best Overall Film winner, 73 Cows.
73 Cows follows English country farmer Jay Wilde on his personal journey from viewing his herd as objects for slaughter to seeing them as living, caring creatures with personalities and feelings. Watching Jay and his partner Katja struggle with their ever-increasing ethical dilemma gives the film a captivating poignancy.
The first ever OIVFF took place on October 14, 2018 at the Mayfair Theatre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The OIVFF was honoured to present a collection of short and feature length films that made lasting impressions and ignited audiences’ imaginations. These vegan themed films were bursting with creativity, compassion, and inspiration.
In addition to winning the Best Overall Film award, 73 Cows also won the Best Lifestyle Film at the Festival. Other winners included Promises, which won the Best Animal Welfare Film award, Eating You Alive, which was awarded the Best Health and Nutrition Film prize, and Where Do We Go?, which took home the Best Environmental Film award.
The Festival welcomed 29 film submissions, both short and full-length features, fiction and documentary from eight countries totaling over 17 hours of vegan-themed films. All entries were viewed by a pre-selection committee chaired by the Festival Director and Programming Director. Finalists chosen by this committee were then screened by an appointed international jury.
OIVFF is sponsored by the National Capital Vegetarian Association, the essential resource for vegetarian and vegan in Canada’s national capital region.
The 2018 festival video trailer can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/VyI_GuW-dXM.
2018 OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL VEGAN FILM FESTIVAL AWARD WINNERS
Overall Best Film & Best Lifestyle Film
73 Cows / UK - Directed and produced by Alex Lockwood
Beef farmer Jay Wilde struggles with his conscience every time he takes his cows to be slaughtered. Feeling trapped within an industry he no longer believes in, Jay decides to do what no beef farmer in the UK has ever done before - save all of his cows from slaughter.
Jury Statement: “73 Cows is a beautiful and moving film that traces Jay’s journey through the changes he never expected. It is an exquisite meditation about the bond between man and beast, and a profound portrait of a man awakening to the call of conscience, compassion and courage."
Director’s Statement: For the team and I, even getting into OIVFF and to be featured alongside such great films was a real privilege and a big deal for us. So, to have been chosen as Best Overall Film feels amazing. Having set out to make the film with no budget and a team of four, we’re absolutely delighted that 73 Cows is being received in the way that it is. A huge personal thanks to Jay and Katja (and the cows) is in order, as without them being as accommodating as they were, we wouldn’t have been able to make this film. So, from me (Alex), Ollie, John and Nishat we just want to say a big thank you to OIVFF and a huge congratulations to all films who were involved.
Best Animal Welfare
Promises / Denmark - Directed by Jan Sorgenfrei
Behind the closed doors, in the dark and out of human sight, Jan Sorgenfrei and award-winning Toronto based photographer Jo-Anne McArthur, investigate the industrial farming of chickens.
Jury Statement:
“Though less than six minutes long, Promises is the rare film that doesn’t have to rely on gruesome scenes of animal cruelty to convey the bond that exists between animals and humans. Jo-Anne McArthur’s photography of and connection with the chickens, stunning in its simplicity, tugs on the heartstrings of the viewer while never having to resort to heavy-handedness to make its point.”
Best Health and Nutrition
Eating You Alive / USA - Directed by Paul David Kennamer, Jr.
Featuring leading medical experts and researchers, Eating You Alive takes a scientific look at the reasons we’re so sick, who’s responsible for feeding us the wrong information and how we can use whole food, plant-based nutrition to take control of our health—one bite at a time.
Jury Statement:
“Eating You Alive might just change your life. This film explores the powerful impact that a plant-based diet can have on your health. The powerful stories that individuals whose lives have been transformed by eating plants share are both touching and inspiring. Health professionals add to the impact by explaining the health benefits of eating a whole food, plant-based diet.”
Best Environmentalism
Where Do We Go? / Iran – Directed by Reza Majlesi
In this documentary short film, Reza Majlesi travels to Seven County in Northern Iran. These counties are the biggest waste depot of the northern portion of the country. He depicts the dangers that the overwhelming build up of waste poses to the beautiful nature of Rasht, the capital city of Gilan province. Majlesi interviews experts about the waste dump and delivers their warning as to the hazardous effects it can have on public health.
Jury Statement: From Iran, Where Do We Go? serves as a potent wake-up call to the effects of human waste and how every attempt to develop a recycling solution seems to bring a new set of problems. The film’s powerful visuals are augmented by a haunting score and elicit an urgent call to action to the world.
FILM IMAGES
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gwm99hwmcexa6ol/AAC_6bBWscc9yJM6glpsNL-Ta?dl=0
73 COWS TRAILER
https://vimeo.com/266870594
ABOUT THE OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL VEGAN FILM FESTIVAL
Led by festival organizer Shawn Stratton, the Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival (OIVFF) is a trailblazing event that celebrates vegan ideals and strives to be the leading film festival for vegan films that inspire people to choose a healthier, environmentally friendly and more compassionate lifestyle through the consumption of plants and animal-free alternatives.
OTTAWA, ON – Oct 15, 2018 -- The 2018 Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival (OIVFF) is proud to announce this year's jury award winners, led by Alex Lockwood’s Best Overall Film winner, 73 Cows.
73 Cows follows English country farmer Jay Wilde on his personal journey from viewing his herd as objects for slaughter to seeing them as living, caring creatures with personalities and feelings. Watching Jay and his partner Katja struggle with their ever-increasing ethical dilemma gives the film a captivating poignancy.
The first ever OIVFF took place on October 14, 2018 at the Mayfair Theatre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The OIVFF was honoured to present a collection of short and feature length films that made lasting impressions and ignited audiences’ imaginations. These vegan themed films were bursting with creativity, compassion, and inspiration.
In addition to winning the Best Overall Film award, 73 Cows also won the Best Lifestyle Film at the Festival. Other winners included Promises, which won the Best Animal Welfare Film award, Eating You Alive, which was awarded the Best Health and Nutrition Film prize, and Where Do We Go?, which took home the Best Environmental Film award.
The Festival welcomed 29 film submissions, both short and full-length features, fiction and documentary from eight countries totaling over 17 hours of vegan-themed films. All entries were viewed by a pre-selection committee chaired by the Festival Director and Programming Director. Finalists chosen by this committee were then screened by an appointed international jury.
OIVFF is sponsored by the National Capital Vegetarian Association, the essential resource for vegetarian and vegan in Canada’s national capital region.
The 2018 festival video trailer can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/VyI_GuW-dXM.
2018 OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL VEGAN FILM FESTIVAL AWARD WINNERS
Overall Best Film & Best Lifestyle Film
73 Cows / UK - Directed and produced by Alex Lockwood
Beef farmer Jay Wilde struggles with his conscience every time he takes his cows to be slaughtered. Feeling trapped within an industry he no longer believes in, Jay decides to do what no beef farmer in the UK has ever done before - save all of his cows from slaughter.
Jury Statement: “73 Cows is a beautiful and moving film that traces Jay’s journey through the changes he never expected. It is an exquisite meditation about the bond between man and beast, and a profound portrait of a man awakening to the call of conscience, compassion and courage."
Director’s Statement: For the team and I, even getting into OIVFF and to be featured alongside such great films was a real privilege and a big deal for us. So, to have been chosen as Best Overall Film feels amazing. Having set out to make the film with no budget and a team of four, we’re absolutely delighted that 73 Cows is being received in the way that it is. A huge personal thanks to Jay and Katja (and the cows) is in order, as without them being as accommodating as they were, we wouldn’t have been able to make this film. So, from me (Alex), Ollie, John and Nishat we just want to say a big thank you to OIVFF and a huge congratulations to all films who were involved.
Best Animal Welfare
Promises / Denmark - Directed by Jan Sorgenfrei
Behind the closed doors, in the dark and out of human sight, Jan Sorgenfrei and award-winning Toronto based photographer Jo-Anne McArthur, investigate the industrial farming of chickens.
Jury Statement:
“Though less than six minutes long, Promises is the rare film that doesn’t have to rely on gruesome scenes of animal cruelty to convey the bond that exists between animals and humans. Jo-Anne McArthur’s photography of and connection with the chickens, stunning in its simplicity, tugs on the heartstrings of the viewer while never having to resort to heavy-handedness to make its point.”
Best Health and Nutrition
Eating You Alive / USA - Directed by Paul David Kennamer, Jr.
Featuring leading medical experts and researchers, Eating You Alive takes a scientific look at the reasons we’re so sick, who’s responsible for feeding us the wrong information and how we can use whole food, plant-based nutrition to take control of our health—one bite at a time.
Jury Statement:
“Eating You Alive might just change your life. This film explores the powerful impact that a plant-based diet can have on your health. The powerful stories that individuals whose lives have been transformed by eating plants share are both touching and inspiring. Health professionals add to the impact by explaining the health benefits of eating a whole food, plant-based diet.”
Best Environmentalism
Where Do We Go? / Iran – Directed by Reza Majlesi
In this documentary short film, Reza Majlesi travels to Seven County in Northern Iran. These counties are the biggest waste depot of the northern portion of the country. He depicts the dangers that the overwhelming build up of waste poses to the beautiful nature of Rasht, the capital city of Gilan province. Majlesi interviews experts about the waste dump and delivers their warning as to the hazardous effects it can have on public health.
Jury Statement: From Iran, Where Do We Go? serves as a potent wake-up call to the effects of human waste and how every attempt to develop a recycling solution seems to bring a new set of problems. The film’s powerful visuals are augmented by a haunting score and elicit an urgent call to action to the world.
FILM IMAGES
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gwm99hwmcexa6ol/AAC_6bBWscc9yJM6glpsNL-Ta?dl=0
73 COWS TRAILER
https://vimeo.com/266870594
ABOUT THE OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL VEGAN FILM FESTIVAL
Led by festival organizer Shawn Stratton, the Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival (OIVFF) is a trailblazing event that celebrates vegan ideals and strives to be the leading film festival for vegan films that inspire people to choose a healthier, environmentally friendly and more compassionate lifestyle through the consumption of plants and animal-free alternatives.
SEPTEMBER 2018
‘WORLD’S FIRST’ VEGAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL TO DEBUT IN OTTAWA
The event will showcase the best of the vegan film world
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada:
An international vegan film festival - described by its director as the world's first of its kind - is set to launch next month in Canada.
The Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival, which will take place on October 14 2018, at the Mayfair Theatre from 3-6pm aims to showcase short and feature-length films with a vegan subject matter from filmmakers around the world.
Tickets are $25 and are available from the festival website www.oivff.com.
The 2018 festival video trailer can be view here: https://youtu.be/VyI_GuW-dXM
Filmmakers
Speaking about what makes the festival unique - and the first of its kind - Festival Director Shawn Stratton said: "I have seen other vegan film events, but have not found one that is annual or with an international focus.
"The others seem to be one-off local screenings that show one or two feature length films. Our festival aims to show many quality vegan-themed, short and long form films, from around the world.”
"Our goal in the coming years is to take the best of the festival on tour around the world."
'Motivating'
According to Stratton, he is 'excited' about inspiring people to adopt a vegan lifestyle.
He said: "Vegan-based documentaries have had a profound impact on mine and my wife's decision to switch to a plant-based diet.
"For me it was Forks Over Knives for my wife, Get Vegucated. I know many of these documentaries have had a tremendous effect in getting people around the world to move to a vegan lifestyle."
Submissions
Stratton has been surprised by the number of films entered into the events first year, saying: "The festival ended up getting 29 films from eight countries totalling over 17 hours of vegan-themed films."
The festival welcomed 'vegan-themed films from film-makers around the world – both short and full-length features, fiction and documentary'.
According to event organizers: "All entries were viewed by a pre-selection Committee chaired by the Festival Director and Programming Director. Finalists chosen by this Committee were then screened by an appointed international jury."
Showcase
Stratton wants to support vegan filmmakers by providing an avenue to show their films to new audiences and provide awards to recognize them for their projects.
He said: "The long-term vision for the festival is to gather a 'best of the best' compilation of the videos submitted and take it on tour around the world.
"We are also interested in adding a vegan book festival in the coming years.
"Right now, the festival is a one-day event, but as it grows we would like to see it expand to a weekend and then a week with multiple screening rooms, seminars, and expert speakers from the plant-based community."
The festival’s mission is to: "Be the leading film festival for vegan films that inspire people to choose a healthier, more environmentally friendly and compassionate lifestyle through the consumption of plants and animal-free alternatives."
The event will showcase the best of the vegan film world
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada:
An international vegan film festival - described by its director as the world's first of its kind - is set to launch next month in Canada.
The Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival, which will take place on October 14 2018, at the Mayfair Theatre from 3-6pm aims to showcase short and feature-length films with a vegan subject matter from filmmakers around the world.
Tickets are $25 and are available from the festival website www.oivff.com.
The 2018 festival video trailer can be view here: https://youtu.be/VyI_GuW-dXM
Filmmakers
Speaking about what makes the festival unique - and the first of its kind - Festival Director Shawn Stratton said: "I have seen other vegan film events, but have not found one that is annual or with an international focus.
"The others seem to be one-off local screenings that show one or two feature length films. Our festival aims to show many quality vegan-themed, short and long form films, from around the world.”
"Our goal in the coming years is to take the best of the festival on tour around the world."
'Motivating'
According to Stratton, he is 'excited' about inspiring people to adopt a vegan lifestyle.
He said: "Vegan-based documentaries have had a profound impact on mine and my wife's decision to switch to a plant-based diet.
"For me it was Forks Over Knives for my wife, Get Vegucated. I know many of these documentaries have had a tremendous effect in getting people around the world to move to a vegan lifestyle."
Submissions
Stratton has been surprised by the number of films entered into the events first year, saying: "The festival ended up getting 29 films from eight countries totalling over 17 hours of vegan-themed films."
The festival welcomed 'vegan-themed films from film-makers around the world – both short and full-length features, fiction and documentary'.
According to event organizers: "All entries were viewed by a pre-selection Committee chaired by the Festival Director and Programming Director. Finalists chosen by this Committee were then screened by an appointed international jury."
Showcase
Stratton wants to support vegan filmmakers by providing an avenue to show their films to new audiences and provide awards to recognize them for their projects.
He said: "The long-term vision for the festival is to gather a 'best of the best' compilation of the videos submitted and take it on tour around the world.
"We are also interested in adding a vegan book festival in the coming years.
"Right now, the festival is a one-day event, but as it grows we would like to see it expand to a weekend and then a week with multiple screening rooms, seminars, and expert speakers from the plant-based community."
The festival’s mission is to: "Be the leading film festival for vegan films that inspire people to choose a healthier, more environmentally friendly and compassionate lifestyle through the consumption of plants and animal-free alternatives."