Barrie Film Festival airs ‘real’ stories during ‘Reel Stories’ festival

The Barrie Film Festival held their annual ‘Reel Stories’ festival, hoping to inspire attendees through award-winning documentaries.

The Barrie Film Festival held their annual ‘Reel Stories’ festival this weekend at Galaxy Cinemas in Barrie’s south end, inspiring attendees by airing award-winning documentaries.

Six documentaries were aired on Saturday and Sunday, sharing stories that ranged from diving into the depths of the ocean to biking between Canada and Mexico.

“All the films focus on really inspirational people. People that are dedicated and persevere through various things, whether it’s in music, art, maybe even personal danger to physical extremes,” said Claudine Benoit, Barrie Film Festival director. “We do always highlight Canadian creators in our festivals. But these films make you think, and documentaries just bring the world a little closer.”

Two of the favourites were a sold-out documentary on Blue Rodeo – one of Canada’s greatest country rock bands – and ‘Porcelain War’, a story about the ongoing Ukraine war.

Iryna Popovych, who moved to Canada from Ukraine amid the war, attended the ‘Porcelain War’ showing on Saturday.

“It’s hard to see some destroyed buildings in places where I was walking with my son. It’s harder than I thought it would be,” said Popovych. “Every day when I call my mom [in Ukraine] I know nothing’s changed. Some of my customers in the store where I work ask me ‘is the war still [going on] in Ukraine?’ I think it’s really important to show it to other countries because it’s still [a] horrible war in Ukraine. It’s not finished yet.”

The two-day festival wrapped up Sunday with showings of ‘Black Box Diaries,’ ‘Story & Pictures By’ and ‘7 Beats Per Minute.’

The 27th edition of the Barrie Film Festival took place this past October.