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As the director of the Kingston Canadian Film Festival for the past dozen years, Marc Garniss has many memories that stand out.

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One of those is going up to the loft of the Baby Grand on the Sunday, as the festival nears its end, and sitting and watching a movie and a Q&A.

“I have my phone just in case somebody needs something. From up there you can see what’s happening, but you’re not right in the thick of it,” Garniss said Saturday morning, the final one before the start of the 25th edition of KCFF Wednesday evening.

He paused.

“It sounds ridiculous,” he smiled, “because I probably won’t get to watch a movie this year.”

The festival, which is celebrating 25 years this year, was entering its teen years when Garniss was hired as its first full-time employee. The festival had had two other directors — founder Alex Jansen and successor Alison Migneault — but they had other jobs during their tenures.

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The festival he inherited was in good shape.

“We had made it to year 12, and only a successful festival gets past 10 years,” he said.

Still, one of the top priorities for the newly-hired Garniss was to increase KCFF beyond the four-day burst of films that took place in the dead of winter.

“I always felt that it was kind of weird that we just disappeared for the rest of the year,” Garniss said.

He would set up information tents at festivals to get the KCFF name out there, and partnered in presenting events and films. Eventually, they would hold their own screenings around the city.

They also introduced additional year-round programming, such as an “18 mm” program to introduce the world of filmmaking to interested students.

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They also created a program that paired local musicians and filmmakers to make a music video for both their portfolios.

This year, its silver (screen) anniversary, KCFF created the “Doc Factory,” in which participants learned the ins and outs of documentary making. All of the screenings of those made-in-Kingston docs have sold out.

“It gives us something to work on that, ultimately, we can showcase at the festival,” Garniss said. “And this year, they’re all already sold out.”

Not only are there local short films, there are four locally-made features on this year’s slate, where there were none when he first started.

Before he took a seat in the festival director’s chair, he was working as a concert promoter through his company, KPP Concerts.

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“What they were hiring me to do was essentially what I’ve done with music for over 10 years — organizing and booking talent, except that it was film, not music,” he said.

He would soon bring his music booking background into the festival fold, too, with the hope of attracting newcomers.

In 2017, for example, he booked band Mother Mother, which had a song in one of the films on that year’s schedule, while the drummer of their opening band, We Are The City, directed one.

The concert sold out, and each of the 800 people left with a program guide in hand.

“It’s an interesting way to grow our audience, or at least get ourselves in front of new eyes,” Garniss said. “I think some of the things I added were just maybe new pathways into the festival.”

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This year, for example, they brought in Dwayne Gretzky to cover songs made famous in movies, and it sold out the Grand Theatre.

He also brought in comedy, too, with past visits from assorted members of the Kids in the Hall and more. This year, it will be Jeremy Hotz performing Friday night at the Grand, while Saturday afternoon’s Q&A with comedic actor Jay Baruchel was relocated to the Grand, too, after quickly selling out the Broom Factory.

Of course, at the heart of the festival are the films themselves. That they only show Canadian films has enabled the festival to establish a niche for themselves, and allows them to include movies of all genres.

The festival still offers around 25 feature films each year and — thanks to all of the complementary events — runs five days rather than four. Garniss said that nowadays, there are 20 or so features they regret not including. It’s easy to fill the schedule, he said.

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“I can’t speak to the way Canadian film was 25 years ago, but I think it’s like, come a long way,” Garniss said.

While Garniss can’t speak to the evolution of Canadian film, Blaine Allan can. The professor emeritus of Queen’s University’s film department has sat on the festival’s board of directors since 2007, the last 15 years as its chair.

That it’s less expensive to make a film now means a lot more are being made and by a greater range of filmmakers. Still, Canadian films aren’t usually found in multiplexes, and the festival gives filmmakers a chance to have their work seen.

“In many respects, I’d say the growth and expansion of the festival has reflected a growth and changing conditions in film in Canada,” Allen said.

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Allen has had a front-row seat to watch how the festival has evolved over the years.

“The number of people that come to see the films at the festival suggests that there’s an appetite for films in Canada,” Allen said.

When he started, Garniss said he stood back and let the festival’s programmers Jason Anderson, the director of programming since 2009, and Elan Mastai do the heavy lifting.

“When you’re new to a job, you don’t necessarily try to push what’s been done in the past,” Garniss said.

While Anderson still does the bulk of it, Garniss gives his suggestions, as does the staff.

Back in 2018, Garniss remembered that both he and Anderson were dismissive of the movie “Don’t Talk to Irene.”

Megan Sirett, the second full-time festival staffer, thought differently.

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“She told us, ‘People are going to love this movie,’ ” recalled Garniss, “and it won the People’s Choice award that year. That’s why we encourage our entire team to watch as much as they can.”

That team now consists of five full-time staff, and another 15 contract workers as the festival nears. And, of course, there’s an army of volunteers who lend a hand, too.

Most of the full-timers are hired initially because they received some type of funding, Garniss said, and then it’s up to them to make that position sustainable.

Having board members like Sheena Macdonald, who retired to Kingston after working for years in Toronto’s film and television industry, certainly helped. She has helped attract sponsors and gird the financing side in her two years here.

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It was Macdonald, for example, who helped bring the Slaight Family Foundation in to sponsor the music video competition.

“Our strongest feature is that we are a Canadian film festival,” she said, “so these philanthropists don’t have to live here, they just believe that it’s important to have a festival committed to Canadian culture.”

Garniss would like, ideally, to have a venue with a capacity somewhere between the Screening Room and the Grand Theatre. Still, there are still other areas KCFF can grow.

“In terms of the festival reaching the ceiling,” Garniss said, “I haven’t seen it yet.”

phendra@postmedia.com

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