YORTON - Cast your mind a few decades. The year is 1947.
Yorkton has been a city only a couple of decades.
The community is emerging from the dark days of the Second World War that has left no family untouched.
But, perhaps because peace has returned, it is also a time of great optimism for a community that was no doubt more agrarian in nature than today.
Still, one has to wonder at the audacity of a group of people in a small Saskatchewan city nearly seven decades ago even suggesting the idea of hosting a film festival – international in scope back then – in Yorkton.
The idea, bold as it might have been, caught on and the Yorkton Film Festival was born.
As incredible as the idea and timing if its birth was, perhaps even more incredible is that the festival – the oldest film festival in North America – continues today.
It hasn’t been easy.
There were suggestions it should move – Winnipeg or Toronto maybe – but organizers kept it here.
It has evolved – attracting international entries for years, switching focus to Canadian short film, and then dropping ‘short’ from its name.
Through it all there have been memorable moments aplenty for the city, Bruno Gerussi – famous for his lead role on the Canadian classic The Beachcombers coming to the festival, Brett Hart creating huge line-ups for his autograph the year he hosted the awards gala, gunfights on Second Avenue with bad hombres falling off rooftops thanks to a stunt crew, or a wizard shooting fire from their fingertips another year.
As wonderful as the varied memories might be, the festival is important too for the city’s image. It is well-loved among Saskatchewan filmmakers, respected across Canada, and certainly still recognized beyond the country too.
Ultimately though the festival is important because it is an example of a ‘we can’ attitude that is so important to a community.
Sure ideas might seem too big, too grandiose, for Yorkton, but they really are not. The biggest of ideas just promise the biggest returns for the community.
It’s unlikely those who first gathered to discuss holding the Parkland Outdoor Show thought about the people who had the idea of a film festival, but they share a common bond – big ideas and the willingness to work to bring them to fruition.
The Yorkton Lions are part of that thread now too as work is ongoing to bring a festival of lights to the city this December.
What’s next for Yorkton?
Who knows what ‘big’ ideas are percolating – but we must remember none are too big for Yorkton.
