Belleville Downtown DocFest 2021

Belleville Downtown DocFest’s Gala is back for its 10th Annual Festival, safely celebrating the resilient community with a special virtual opening night planned for attendees.

Starting on March 5, the festival will begin with the not-to-be-missed Gala film Meeting the Beatles in India, directed by two-time Canadian Emmy Award-winning film and television producer-director, Paul Saltzman. After the Gala film, there will be a special music performance by Mark Rashotte & Andy Forgie with “Music From Rishikesh”, broadcasted from the historic Empire Theatre in downtown Belleville, home to DocFest’s past Galas. Attendees can stream the Gala feature documentary and the concert from home.

Viewers can also catch the art documentary Natural Strokes, directed by Loyalist College Film & TV Production student Kristen Gardner, which features County Arts member and natural pigment watercolour artist Elaine Kent. Known for her eco-friendly approach to painting, Kent focuses on creating more sustainable products to express her creativity. The documentary is available to watch on YouTube and is part of DocFest’s Virtual Student Documentary Screenings available to view from March 9-12. Tickets for this portion of the festival can be purchased here.

A variety of passes from single ticket ($12) to all access ($100) can be purchased on Belleville Downtown DocFest’s website.