About

Mission

Regent Park Film Festival (RPFF) is an award-winning, community-based, non-profit organization, and Toronto’s longest-running, free community film festival.

RPFF’s mission is two-fold: to amplify and center marginalized communities and their stories, providing a platform for the work of emerging and established artists, while opening up access to the film and television industry; and to ensure art is free and accessible to everyone, regardless of financial status.

RPFF’s foundational work is in removing barriers: to telling your story and expressing your creativity through a visual medium; to establishing a career in the media industry in front of and behind the scenes; and to experiencing art that can change the way you see yourself and your community.

We are committed to providing free programming, and steadfast in our work to remove barriers to access and participation by also providing free childcare; including closed captions in all our screening as well as ASL interpretation; offering free film submissions; and paying industry-standard artist fees to artists, filmmakers and curators in all our programming.

Our work is rooted in anti-colonialism and anti-oppression, and we take seriously our responsibility to bear witness, to amplify historically-excluded people and stories, and to bolster collective liberation. As part of our commitment to these values and goals of advancing equity and inclusion in the Canadian media industry and arts community, RPFF prioritizes and serves Regent Park residents; people with low income; people who live in public housing; and individuals who identify as Black, Indigenous, a Person of Colour, a woman or non-binary, a member of the 2SLGBTQI+, a person with a disability, or a combination of these identities.

Founded in 2003 when Regent Park was Canada’s oldest public housing neighbourhood, RPFF has remained true to its mission to make art, creativity, and storytelling accessible to everyone, while bringing attention to the complex of stories of BIPOC communities. While the neighbourhood has evolved and margins are shifting, RPFF works within this dynamism to honour its history and the communities it has collaborated with throughout the years.

Mandate

In addition to its Annual Film Festival in November, RPFF presents an annual summer film series called Under the Stars; year-round screenings, filmmaking workshops and panels; paid industry internships through our Live It To Learn It program; and our annual School Program which curates film programmes and lesson plans for local schools. 

Showcasing local and international works from and about Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) communities, RPFF presents films of all genres that resonate with and relate to the diverse lived experiences of the communities we serve: films that provide opportunity for in-depth, nuanced discussions, as well as uplifting and joyful films which have a significant impact on a community’s growth and prosperity.

Values

• Community and collaboration over competition 
• Everyone should have access to film and art regardless of financial status
• Celebrating and amplifying the experiences and storytelling of racialized or BIPOC communities
• Our work is rooted in anti-colonialism and anti-oppression, and we take seriously our responsibility to bear witness, to amplify historically-excluded people and stories, and to bolster collective liberation
• As a member of the Independent Media Arts Alliance, RPFF pays industry-standard artist fees to artists, filmmakers & curators in all its programming
• We endeavour to make our programming accessible to people with varied disabilities, but are still working to make this possible and address the needs of all who request it. Currently, we guarantee all films will have closed captions, provide ASL services at many of our programs, and operate in a fully accessible space.