Nanaimo will play host to the Bicycle Film Festival this October. The festival will show a series of short films as an opening ceremonies of sorts for Nanaimo’s Go By Bike event.
Go By Bike tracks teams of bicyclists through two weeks to see how many kilograms of greenhouse gasses their travel saves. In 2021, over 50,000 BCers participated, saving over 400,000 kilograms of emissions.
The film festival runs on the evening of October 1st at the Malaspina Theatre on Vancouver Island University’s campus. It’ll run from 6:30-9:00 pm.
It’s a travelling festival that makes its way across the world on virtual and physical platforms. In the last few months, it’s made its way from Halifax to Copenhagen and made stops in Tokyo, Ireland, Buenos Aires, Charlotte, and Amsterdam.
It was created by Brendt Barbur in 2001 after he was hit by a bus while cycling in New York City. He started the Bicycle Film Festival as a platform to celebrate the bicycle through various forms of art. They sift through video submissions from across the globe to screen. They say in 2019 they reviewed 1,000 short and feature-length films and whittled it down to 60 works from over 25 countries.
In Nanaimo’s edition of the festival, outside the theatre will have activities open for free to the public. That includes things like food trucks, E-Bike trials, and some information on sustainable initiatives in the city.
Watching the shows will cost you $15 and tickets are available now. There is parking on-site, but the city recommends biking to the event, in the spirit of the event.
Mayor Leonard Krog says the film festival is a good way to mark the event.
“We are excited to welcome the 22nd annual Bicycle Film Festival to Nanaimo for the first time,” says Krog. “What a wonderful way to celebrate and inspire all types of cyclists and kick-off what is gearing up to be another successful GoByBike event.”
