Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Curtis Goodrum

FILM FEST

Fifth annual Sun Peaks Film Festival showcases local talent

Jan 16, 2025 | 6:00 PM

SUN PEAKS B.C.—The fifth annual Sun Peaks Film Festival kicks off Thursday (Jan.16). The festival showcases the talent of local and international filmmakers.

President Marj Knive is in charge of organizing the Sun Peaks Film Festival. She has ambitious plans for the future of the event.

“Being an eternal optimist, this is exactly where I want to be — and, in fact, I want it to be bigger,” said Knive.

It is the biggest year on record for the festival with 175 seats to fill every night.

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Sometimes, we get it right

21h ago

Two and Out

PETERS: It's a single-issue election, just like those during wartime

Mar 28, 2025

Looped In

LOOPED IN WITH NIKKI OMEN: March 27, 2025

Mar 27, 2025

While it might not be as big as the Banff Film Festival, this is the fifth year of growth for the Sun Peaks team, letting them showcase local talent and moviemakers.

“That’s the goal — to have it be like Banff. We keep growing and making it bigger and better and the real goal is to get the filmmakers active and showing their stuff. It takes guts to put that out there and to put yourself out there with your product,” said Knive.

Much of the content of the festival is provided by a shared local community of Sun Peaks and Kamloops.

While Sun Peaks is a smaller municipality, many members of the local community are proud to show their art and what they’re capable of.

“It’s fun to be involved in these projects and then to share it with the world and then to get inspiration from others and we don’t have to be on the high professional level. We’re all used to different mediums now and it can be professional or less professional,” said Harold Richins, maker of ‘Only at Sun Peaks.’

The festival also helps to inspire people to create films about experiences they’ve had while living at Sun Peaks.

“This group of women that we ski with and our group found out that we wanted to make a movie and they were so excited and told us how thankful they were for the group,” said Dawn Matte who made ‘Girls in Gil’s.’

The talents of these local artists are shown off at the festival where their films will debut.

“It brings the community together and it provides funding for Artzone which we really enjoy having so we can make more art and entertainment throughout the village and throughout the park,” added Knive.

The festival has been mostly sold out, however organizers are looking to next year for another event that they hope will be even bigger.