Oakville Festivals of Film & Art (OFFA) is opening their 11th annual Oakville Film Festival today, now running from June 19-25, 2024.
This year's program includes over 100 titles, including 20 feature length films and 84 short films. This is a slight increase in total films from the 2023 festival, and there will be more individual ticketed events (both in-person and virtually) across more venues than last year.
For 2024, the lineup of movies at the the 11th annual OFFA event include new movies featuring popular actors like John Cleese, Justice Smith, Elliot Page, Matthew Modine, Sir Derek Jacobi and more.
In-person events are returning to both Film.Ca Cinemas (now an official event partner for the festival) on Saturday and Sunday June 22 and 23, and gala events at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts for tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday June 20 and 21, 2024.
Opening the festival tonight is a free, all-ages screening event tonight, Wednesday, June 19, of Disney's Honey I Shrunk the Kids in downtown Oakville at Towne Square. A street fair begins at 6 p.m., with the film slated to begin at 9:15 p.m.
Single tickets range from $15 for a single admission to one showtime, to full-access passes with admission to unlimited movies, events, virtual shows, Q&As and parties throughout the week.
"Last year we celebrated a decade as Oakville's only independent film festival," says Donnan. "This year we have one of our most exciting lineups ever, and with all the different genres our 2024 festival really does have something for everyone
What's playing at OFFA 2024
Here is the full list of screenings, dates and events taking place at the 2024 Oakville Film Festival:
WEDNESDAY JUNE 19TH - Opening Night at Towne Square, downtown Oakville
- 9 p.m. - Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, a FREE 35th anniversary screening of Disney's 1989 family comedy classic
- Admission to this event is free, and there will be a street fair from 6-9 p.m. before the movie sponsored by Staples
THURSDAY JUNE 20TH
- 7:30 p.m. - Kipkemboi, the opening night EY gala at the Oakville Centre; a Canada/Kenya co-production of a new finance drama directed by Charles Uwagbai and starring Star Trek: Discovery's Thamela Mpumlwana
FRIDAY JUNE 21ST
- 7:30 p.m. - The Great Salish Heist, the premiere of an Indigenous heist comedy for National Indigenous Peoples Day; also a gala at the Oakville Centre
SATURDAY JUNE 22ND, all at Film.Ca Cinemas
- 11:30 a.m. - Shorts Programme #1: Everyday Wonders
- 12 p.m. - The Movie Man, arts documentary
- 2:30 p.m. - Curl Power, Canadian sports documentary about women's curling
- 3 p.m. - Dark Highway, crime documentary about sex trafficking in Ontario
- 5:30 p.m. - One Must Wash Eyes, an Iranian-Canadian coming of age drama written and directed by Sepideh Yadegar
- 6 p.m. - The Activated Man, Sci-fi horror from the U.S. directed by Nicholas Gyeney
- 8:30 p.m. - I Saw the TV Glow, the buzzy thriller from Sundance Film Festival starring Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine
- 9 p.m. - Close to You, the Canadian romance starring Elliot Page, fresh from TIFF 2023
SUNDAY JUNE 23RD, all at Film.Ca Cinemas
- 11:30 a.m. - Shorts Programme #2: The Moment of Truth
- 12 p.m. - Autumn and the Black Jaguar, a new family adventure film about a girl saving animals in the rainforest
- 2:30 p.m. - Shorts Programme #3: Beyond Boundaries
- 3 p.m. - American Cats: The Good, Bad, and Cuddly, animal documentary about the politics and business of cat declawing
- 5:30 p.m. - The Boy in the Woods, a WWII war history film starring Richard Armitage
- 6 p.m. - Richelieu, Canadian drama about migrant workers
- 8:30 p.m. - The Martini Shot, Stephen Wallis' new comedy-drama starring Matthew Modine, John Cleese, Derek Jacobi and more
- 9 p.m. - My Name is Alfred Hitchcock, the closing night film from Mark Cousins about the famous horror director
A series of virtual films will also be screening regularly from today, June 19, to next Tuesday June 25.
The full schedule can be found here on the OFFA website.
How to get tickets for the events
Single tickets for in-person shows at Film.Ca Cinemas are $15.99 CDN each, plus taxes and an order fee. Gala tickets at the Oakville Centre start at $34.99 CDN each.
There are also six special passes being sold for the festival. While single tickets are slightly more expensive this year (by $1 each), some passes have seen price reductions in a project hoping to encourage more attendance.
The traditional Pick Five and Ten passes are now gone, replaced by 2-ticket "Share" passes and 5-ticket "Movie Lover" passes. All passes for 2024 are currently on sale for 15% off until May 25. The full, regular prices are listed below:
- NEW Share Pass for $19.99 CDN plus tax, giving you access to two screenings and Q&As of your choice
- NEW Movie Lover Pass for $49.99 CDN plus tax, giving you access to five screenings and Q&As of your choice ($10 less than 2023)
- Gala Plus Pass for $79.99 CDN plus tax, giving you access one gala show and three regular in-person tickets
- Double Gala Pass for $69.99 CDN plus tax, which includes a single gala ticket to Thursday's opening night screening of The Year of the Dog and Friday's gala show of Polarized
- Red Carpet VIP Pass for $185.99 CDN plus tax, giving you access to both gala events, six regular in-person tickets or virtual tickets, an invitation to the opening night party and Friday pre-show party, and "a swag bag."
All passes can be purchased here.
Also returning in 2024 will be a limited number of tickets to events at Film.Ca Cinemas in a free "Rush tickets" program for anyone ages 21 and under. More details about this program will be announced in the coming weeks.
More information and ticket sales are both available online directly from the Oakville Film Festival and OFFA website.
Most events in-person include admission to a pre or post show Q&A with the the filmmakers. Both galas at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts and most shows at Film.Ca Cinemas will be hosted by Oakville News' reporter Tyler Collins.