Belleville Downtown DocFest

DocFest’s 13th Annual Film Festival features standout music docs, including the opening night Gala film, Carlos. In the film, musical legend Carlos Santana recounts the events and influences that shaped his remarkable career, a journey from street performer to 10-time Grammy Award winner and member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The film will be showing Friday, February 23rd at 7 PM at The Empire Theatre. Following the Gala film, there will be a special live concert featuring Mexican-born Javier Vazquez (named the “Canadian Carlos Santana” by the Toronto Sun). Javier will showcase a unique mix of Canadian and Latino musicians to create an exciting musical fusion.

DocFest is set to screen the doc, July Talk: Love Lives Here, about the Toronto rock band known for high-energy live shows, plans and presents a concert at a drive-in theatre during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Don’t miss Squaring The Circle, an absorbing documentary about Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell, the creative geniuses behind Hipgnosis, the design studio that turned the LP album cover into an artform in late sixties London.

Rolling Stones fans won’t want to miss the Sunday finale film, The Stones and Brian Jones. It tells the story of one of the original Rolling Stones who had an important impact during the band’s early days. The film will be showing Sunday, February 25th at The Empire Theatre.

As always, there will be a number of films by local films, including Strings of Inspiration, a short music film by local filmmakers Aaron and Angela Bell. It embarks on a soul-stirring journey into the artistic universe of Kris Tischbein, a virtuoso bassist based in Belleville.

The in-person festival runs from February 23rd-25th, 2024 in downtown Belleville and includes over 50 in-theatre film screenings, the Gala Music Doc and Live Concert, and filmmaker Q&A’s. To see the great music docs featured here and many more award-winning films, make sure to get an Early Bird Pass!

The Virtual Festival runs from February 25th-28th, 2024 and allows anyone, anywhere in Ontario, to enjoy this unique film festival experience. In-person pass holders can catch more films on-line at a special discount rate of $3 off the regular $13 single film price. To learn more about the festival and purchase passes, visit downtowndocfest.ca.