Small File Media Festival | 2024
October 18 – 19, 2024
The Cinematheque – 1131 Howe St., Vancouver
SCHEDULE AND DETAILS AT 2024.SMALLFILE.CA
It’s the Small File Media Festival’s fifth anniversary! Since 2020, we’ve been raising awareness about the environmental impact of streaming media. Streaming comprises a significant chunk of the world’s digital carbon footprint, but consumers continue to stream all kinds of media in high definition—video chat, video conferencing, high-resolution online games, Tik Toks, Instagram Reels, and energy-sucking AI “utopias.”
Our festival challenges media makers to intervene in the 4K dystopia of bandwidth imperialism by creating original small file movies of any length, proving once again that small files are the sustainable cinematic avant-garde. Watching small file media together on a big screen brings the democratic potential of cinema into the digital age by showcasing artworks made with eco-friendly practices, affordable equipment, and minimal processing time. How small is a small file movie? No more than 1.44 megabytes per minute, the storage size of a floppy disk. Small file creators use ingenious techniques to make these tiny movies beautiful and effective.
Join us Thursday, October 17 at 7:00 pm for our anniversary party and opening celebration at The Lido (518 E. Broadway), featuring the premier screening of Wormhole, October 11, 2022 by Vancouver composer and media artist Stefan Smulovitz. A dance party will follow, with guest DJs Ian Prentice and Grey Paul of Dandelion Records. Tickets will be available at the door for a suggested donation of $5. Our festivities continue October 18 and 19 at The Cinematheque with sixty films by local and international filmmakers, with artists in attendance for post-screening discussions. We’ll announce the winner of the coveted Small File Golden Mini Bear during Saturday’s award ceremony. As always, the festival will stream online at 2024.smallfile.ca after the live events.
The 2024 Small File Media Festival continues our partnership with our future-forward friends at VIVO Media Arts, the Cairo Video Festival and The Hmm Amsterdam. We’re most grateful to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council, and SFU School for the Contemporary Arts.
Saving the world, one pixel at a time!