VIFF Announces Fidelity Investments Canada as New Major Partner, and Important New Investments by the Federal and Provincial governments

Vancouver, BC (September 5, 2012) – The Vancouver International Film Festival announced this morning that Fidelity Investments Canada has signed on as a Major Partner in a multi-year, six-figure deal, joining longstanding sponsors Rogers Communications and Telefilm Canada.

Fidelity Investments Canada will be the presenting sponsor of VIFF’s Closing Gala on October 12, 2012, featuring the film festival’s awards celebration and closing film, HOLY MOTORS, by director Leos Carax. As part of its sponsorship, Fidelity will also host two client events during the Vancouver International Film Festival this year.

VIFF kicks off on September 27, 2012 with the Opening Gala, featuring MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN by director Deepa Mehta, with the screenplay by Salman Rushdie adapted from his Booker Prize- winning novel. The Opening Gala is sponsored by Rogers Communications, which also sponsors the Rogers People’s Choice Award where audiences vote for their favourite festival film.

Telefilm Canada continues to underline its commitment to promoting Canadian film talent by supporting VIFF’s Film & Television Forum, including the Telefilm Canada International Tête-à-Tête Meetings, the Film & Television Forum Speed Dating sessions, and for the first time, Telefilm’s popular Talent to Watch Q&A series, as well as VIFF’s Canadian Images program, one of the film festival’s flagship programs and the largest presentation of Canadian film anywhere in the world.

Trish McGrath, director of development for the Vancouver International Film Festival, also announced new financial commitments by the federal and provincial governments. Earlier this year, the Province of British Columbia - Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development’s Community Gaming Grants program provided a total of $250,000 towards festival programming, marketing, and operations, including one-time funding to modernize the film festival’s ticketing and database system. The new ticketing system is being implemented for this year’s festival and will streamline festival operations, provide efficiencies, and support a better customer experience.

For the first time, The Department of Canadian Heritage’s Building Communities through Arts and Heritage (BCAH) program has also awarded the film festival up to $119,400 in funding to support programming, citizen engagement, and volunteer programs. As one of the top five film festivals in North America, and one of the Lower Mainland’s largest, best attended cultural events, with a record-setting 152,000 admissions last year, VIFF relies on more than 750 volunteers to help run the festival each year. Volunteers work in every festival department from film screenings and programming, to marketing and program guide distribution, to box office and galas, to office and administration.

Trish McGrath said, “We are incredibly pleased at the level of investment being made in the Vancouver International Film Festival by our major partners Rogers Communications, Fidelity Investments Canada, and Telefilm Canada, as well as the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage, and the City of Vancouver. We continue to describe for our current and prospective partners a number of plans and strategic investments the film festival is undertaking in order to ensure a vibrant, successful, sustainable future. It is deeply gratifying that our sponsors and funders have responded in such a committed way to help ensure that Vancouverites will be able to enjoy the highest quality films and film-related programming for many years to come.”

VIFF 2012 Sponsors and Donors

The Vancouver International Film Festival is deeply proud to partner with the following companies, organizations and donors:

Major Partners:

• Rogers Communications is the presenting sponsor of VIFF’s Opening Gala on Thursday, September 27th, the Rogers People’s Choice Award presented at the Closing Gala & Awards on Friday, October 12th, and the Rogers Industry Centre at the Film & Television Forum;
• Fidelity Investments is the presenting sponsor of VIFF’s Closing Gala on Friday, October 12th;
• Telefilm Canada, the Government of Canada’s federal cultural agency dedicated to the cultural, commercial and industrial success of Canada’s audiovisual sector, provides stable funding for the film festival and the Film & Television Forum.

Public Supporters:

• Canadian Heritage’s Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage (BCAH) program, helps support the 2012 festival’s programming, promotions, and volunteer program;
• The Province of British Columbia through the Community Gaming Grants program; the British Columbia Arts Council; and British Columbia Film + Media;
• The City of Vancouver’s arts grants and transit advertising programs.

Premier Sponsors:

• Traction Creative Communications designs the poster and program catalogue image, and creates the hotly anticipated trailers that run prior to VIFF’s 600+ screenings;
• The Sutton Place Hotel is the festival’s host hotel for a third year and is the hub of all festival hospitality and media functions;
• Projection and technical sponsors Christie, SONY, Zoom, QSC, Dolby Digital Laboratories and MVCC help to ensure the highest quality projection and sound in the screening rooms.

Major Media Partners:

• Long-time media partner The Vancouver Sun provides advertising and editorial support, including VIFF Daily Updates in its Arts & Life section throughout the festival;
• BC’s Knowledge Network is a broadcast partner and sponsor of the film BLOOD RELATIVE;
• Radio partner CKNW AM980 is a promotional partner for the Nonfiction Features program;
• Seattle public broadcaster KCTS9 is a promotional partner and sponsor of the film WAGNER’S DREAM.

Official Sponsors:

• Desjardins Financial Security is sponsoring a private screening and Special Presentation film;
• Lochmaddy Foundation is partnering with VIFF to sponsor the festival’s Short Film program;
• WWF-Canada returns to sponsor “Garden in the Sea”, VIFF’s environmental series;
• Long-time donor Brad Birarda is sponsoring the Dragons & Tigers: The Cinemas of East Asia series and its 19th annual $10,000 juried prize, the Dragons & Tigers Award for Young Cinema;
• New this year, Vancouver landmark restaurant Cin Cin is generously sponsoring the Canadian Images Gala film and party on Friday, September 28th;
• Deluxe provides extensive post-production services for the festival’s pre-screening trailers;
• Honda celebrates its 10th year as the official vehicle of the festival, providing luxurious and fuel-efficient vehicles to transport VIFF’s 600 guests from the airport to hotel to cinema to parties;
• The Listel Hotel is an official hotel and exclusive caterer of VIFF’s Sponsor Gala;
• Lamar Transit Advertising offers extensive promotional support;
• MeetingMax supplies centralized hotel reservation services and discounts for festival guests;
• Rogue Artists ably assists Traction in the production of the festival’s trailer.

 Festival Supporters:

• The subscription channel Movie Central sponsors the handy Program Guide pull-out schedule;
• ITS Consulting Inc. expertly supplies IT services to the festival and year-round film centre;
• New this year, Lucky Brand joins VIFF for a first year as our official denim sponsor;
• Zedd Media and GGRP ably assist Traction in the production of the festival’s trailer;
• Appnovation supported the rebuild of VIFF’s new website;
• For a fifth year, Ethical Bean Coffee Company supplies our special events, galas, volunteers and staff with Fair Trade Certified coffees from around the world;
• PrintPrint.ca provides support for our printing services;
• Impark is official parking supplier.

Official Restaurants:

VIFF’s enjoys the extraordinary support of Vancouver’s leading restaurants:

• Galas – Guests attending the festival galas will sample fare provided by Pan-o-Pan Fine Foods, Daniel le Chocolate Belge, and The Listel Hotel.
• Host Restaurants – While in town to show their films at VIFF, visiting filmmakers are hosted at Blue Water Café & Raw Bar; CinCin; West; Brix; Chambar; Cibo; earls Kitchen + Bar.
• Filmmaker Hospitality Suite – Catering is generously provided by B.B.Ques, The American Cheesesteak Co., Donnelly Group, Kamei Royale, The Mexican, The Noodle Box, Nu Restaurant, Rebellious Tomatoes, The Reef, SalaThai, Subeez Cafe, Sutra Modern Indian, Sura Korean Restaurant, The Winking Judge Pub.

VIFF Trailer Production Partners:

• Companies assisting Traction Creative Communications in creating the VIFF trailers that run before our films include Rogue Artists, Deluxe, Zedd Media, GGRP, Crowd in a Box, and William F. White.
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Consulates and Cultural Funders:

VIFF appreciates and acknowledges the Consulates and cultural organizations for helping to facilitate international guest travel to VIFF and film presentation assistance:

• The Consulate General of France in Vancouver; German Films; The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office; Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Vancouver; and the Japan Foundation.

Community Media Partners, Hospitality Lounge Sponsors, Technical/Official Suppliers, and Screening Sponsors:

• VIFF acknowledges the extraordinary support of nearly 100 local Vancouver businesses, community organizations, community media and more in helping to make the Vancouver International Film Festival very successful. For more information, please see VIFF’s Program Catalogue, available on September 15th, or visit the individual pages at viff.org.

VIFF is a Registered Charity

VIFF achieves approximately 40% of its annual $3.5 million budget from ticket sales, concessions, rentals and other festival income. The balance must be raised each year through corporate sponsorships, public sector investments, and individual donations from philanthropists, foundations, and VIFF’s most dedicated and enthusiastic audience members.

Donations to VIFF help support one of the world’s great film festivals by bringing the best in world cinema to Vancouver each year, enable VIFF to organize filmmaker Question & Answer sessions with audiences, and acquire state-of-the-art equipment to keep pace with rapidly changing film technologies.

The Vancouver International Film Festival is a registered charity (BN 11894682RR0001). Audience members and individual philanthropists are invited to make donations online (viff.org) or by telephone (604-685-0260) by Visa or MasterCard. Cheques may be mailed or dropped off in person to the VIFF office at 1181 Seymour Street, Vancouver, BC, V6B 3M7. Official donation receipts for income tax purposes will be automatically provided for donations of $20 or more.

VIFF’s Economic Impact in Vancouver

One of the top five film festivals in North America and the largest in Western Canada, VIFF also contributes significantly to Vancouver’s economy. VIFF warmly welcomes filmmakers and other special guests to Vancouver, working in partnership with Vancouver’s hotels and restaurant partners to showcase our beautiful city, while contributing significant employment and economic impact benefits. Credit and debit card spending on hotels increases by approximately 21%, restaurant spending by 18%, and personal services spending by 13% during VIFF each year (Moneris Solutions, 2010). For these and other ongoing contributions to the downtown area, the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association (DVBIA) presented VIFF with a special award in 2011.

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For more information, please contact:

Trish McGrath, 604-685-0260 | trish@viff.org