Eye2Eye Film Festival 2023 - With Open Arms

Message from Ross Pigeau, FAN Chair

On behalf of Film Access Northumberland (FAN), welcome to the third annual Eye2Eye International Film Festival. FAN’s mission is to promote community, tolerance and understanding through the film arts, and our flagship event to accomplish this mandate is Eye2Eye. Our team, lead by Festival Director Sarah Cleveland, has worked diligently to give you an experience that fulfills three specific goals. First, to showcase the creative works of emerging filmmakers and to award a promising few with opportunities to further their filmic careers. Second, to educate our festival audience with behind-the-scenes insights from film industry professionals. Filmmaking is a collective profession requiring careful planning and impromptu decisions to achieve a singular outcome: film magic. How this happens is a fascinating process. And third, to expose the larger film industry to the unique artistic talent resident in Northumberland. Northumberland is a rich artistic community that richly deserves exposure and recognition.

Planning a festival, like crafting a film, requires dedicated work by dedicated individuals. I would like to thank Sarah, our Festival Director, for her hours of tireless effort; to FAN’s Board of Directors for their dedication; to Eye2Eye’s many members for their committee work; to our young volunteers for their energy and excitement; to our sponsors and donors for their financial support; and finally, to you our patrons for giving us your precious time and interest. Thank you one and all.

Enjoy this year’s film festival and remember to reserve the first weekend in June next year for Eye2Eye 2024 where our theme will be Inspire.

Message from Sarah Cleveland, Festival Director

A very special and warm welcome to the third annual Eye2Eye International Film Festival. Being part of this festival, and part of Film Access Northumberland for the past several years has been an absolute honour. I am so very grateful to the FAN Board and Festival Committee members for their hard work over the last year to help bring this wonderful weekend of film to the beautiful Northumberland County.

When I first heard that there was going to be a film festival in my hometown a few years ago, I jumped at the opportunity to take part. Performing, Music, and Art is what fills my heart and brings a calm to my soul, but being able to share any of that with friends, family, and the community, while offering opportunities for emerging filmmakers to learn and grow, is a true joy. The community involvement is what makes this so much more important and connective. From Restaurants to the Art Gallery. From the Library to Victoria Hall. From Dance and Song Performances to Masterclasses, this is truly a community event, and without our members, sponsors, mentors, teachers, emerging filmmakers, businesses, and you, our guests, we could not even imagine having a film festival, let alone for three years in a row now.

I want to take a moment to thank a few key people; Mark Johnston for one. He has been by my side all year and has walked me through this new role and all it has entailed. Mark, thank you for always listening, checking in, and being my North Star. To my dear friends Jonas Chernick and Tyler Sansom; these two have such big hearts and a passion for all things film. They have not only traveled a distance to give of their time, their knowledge, and their talents for this festival, but they have also supported me as a friend and an industry colleague. For all of these things and so much more, I am forever grateful to you both.

This year’s theme is With Open Arms, but it is also a guide for life. Loving one another for who we are, respecting differences and lifting each other up, helping to find and achieve our dreams or passion…this is who we should all strive to be. So let’s all try to keep our arms very wide open for ourselves and for others.

Have a wonderful weekend! Thank you for being here and we can’t wait to see you again next year!