North Bay Film Festival 2023 | November 17-19
2023 North Bay Film Festival: Award-Winning Films Revealed
Exciting news from the recently concluded North Bay Film Festival 2023! We are delighted to announce the winners who captivated audiences and showcased exceptional talent. “The Boy in the Woods” won the Audience Choice Award, leaving a lasting impression with its powerful narrative and outstanding performances. Canadian excellence was highlighted with “For Roy,” which received the Canadian Shorts Award for its touching portrayal of an imaginative girl’s emotional journey. “Adore” took home the Student Shorts Award, offering a heartfelt story of acceptance and love. The festival also celebrated quick-turn filmmaking with its inaugural 48-Hour Film Competition, where “A Fish Out of Water” emerged victorious. Join us as we celebrate these remarkable films and the talented creators behind them.
North Bay Film Festival would like to thank our 2023 Feature Film Selection Committee and dedicated Short Film Jury.
2023 Feature Film Selection Committee:
- Kirsten Kosloski
- Stéphanie Lamothe
- Ian Laplante
- Stephen Lee
- Rob Ogelston
- Tyson Stewart
- Sharon Switzer
- Vanessa Tignanelli
- Gregory Unrau
2023 Short Film Jury:
- Ra’anaa Ekundayo
- Cole Forrest
- Sara Mayhew
The Boy in the Woods
Audience Choice Award Winner
THE BOY IN THE WOODS follows the true story of Max (Jett Klyne), a Jewish boy escaping Nazi persecution in Eastern Europe. After he is separated from his family, Max finds refuge with a Christian peasant Jasko (Richard Armitage) who hides him in plain site until a tense stand-off with some Nazi police. Afraid for his own family’s life, Jasko sends Max to live in the woods where he learns to survive alone.
With echoes of a Grimm’s Fairy Tale, Max’s experience is both terrifying and magical. He inhabits a landscape crawling with Jew-hunters, partisans and haunted by ghosts. Then everything changes when he meets another boy in hiding, Yanek (David Kohlsmith). Their extraordinary adventure culminates in the heroic rescue of a baby girl, but it comes at a tragic price. Based on the best-selling memoir by Canadian Holocaust survivor Maxwell Smart and inspired by the award-winning documentary Cheating Hitler: Surviving The Holocaust.
96 mins
Canada, 2023
Dir. Rebecca Snow
Language: English
For Roy
Canadian Short Showcase Winner
Inspired by true events, an imaginative Asian-Canadian girl attempts to fold a thousand cranes as she learns to lose her father during his final days in the hospice.
10 mins
Canada, 2022
Dir. Vivian Cheung
Language: English
Adore
Student Short Showcase Winner
Luci, a queer Peruvian-Canadian woman, gives her beloved nephew the Christmas gift of his dreams: a beautiful sequined dress. But when he tries to show the rest of the family, Luci finds herself enacting the same restrictions and shaming she hoped to protect him from.
11 mins
Canada, 2022
Dir. Beth Warrian
Language: English, Spanish
A Fish out of Water
48-Hour Film Competition Winner
Congratulations to “A Fish Out of Water,” the First Place Winner of our inaugural North Bay Film Festival 48HR Film Competition. Directed by Lee Cochran, this film is a reimagining of the folktale “The Fisherman and His Wife.” Created in just 48 hours, this masterpiece showcases the impressive talents of its filmmakers.
Explore the magic of quick-turn filmmaking and witness their creativity on our website here