The Interlake Tourism Association (ITA) is supporting a new initiative from the Gimli International Film Festival (GIFF) to feature a film a month over the new year’s winter season to help people beat the cold-weather blues and attract more visitors to Gimli.
With funding support from the Interlake Tourism Association, the GImli International Film Festival is screening a film a month during the new year’s winter season. Icelandic film The Love That Remains will be screened on Feb. 22
GIFF’s winter film series runs from January to April. Films are screened on the last Sunday of each month.
Interlake Tourism Association manager Dee King said the festival’s winter series is part of the ITA’s Tourism Development Grant program, which supports new tourism projects across the Interlake. ITA had selected GIFF as a grant recipient last year, providing financial support to launch the winter film screening.
“A crucial part of Interlake Tourism’s role is to support local businesses and organizations that are creating new events and experiences, whether through funding, marketing support, or other opportunities,” said King. “The Winter Film Series is a great example of a project that benefited from this early investment and is now helping expand year-round cultural programming in the Interlake.”
In February, GIFF will be showcasing Icelandic director Hlynur Palmason’s 2025 family drama The Love That Remains, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
The English subtitled tragicomedy comprises a series of vignettes from a rural household grappling with the collapse of a marriage and its effects on the separating couple — a commercial fisher and an artist — and their three children as they try to make sense of the pull of lingering attachment and shared memories over the course of a year. The film showcases Iceland’s stunning rural topography and its changing seasons through ordinary scenes including hiking, ice skating, playing and commercial fishing at sea.
GIFF’s winter film series started with Sentimental Value, a 2025 Cannes Grand Prix winner.
Screening films in the winter gives locals and visitors alike access to more arts-related activities during the off-season when they tend to hunker down as temperatures drop.
“We’re especially excited to see initiatives like this activate the winter season, giving residents and visitors more reasons to get out, connect, and enjoy local arts and culture during traditionally quieter months,” said King.
The next intake for ITA’s Tourism Development Grant closes on Feb. 27, and application guidelines are available on ITA’s website. The grant is open to local community development organizations, tourism groups, small or emerging businesses, nonprofits, new event or festival organizers, and more.
“It’s a core feature of ours as organizations cannot do it alone; they need the financial support so they can focus on what they do best: the experience,” said King.
The Love That Remains is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. in Johnson Hall in the Waterfront Centre in Gimli.
