Film festival brings Iceland to Manitoba
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/06/2019 (2636 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
For Lisa Martin, volunteering at the Gimli Film Festival is a great way to meet interesting people, even when she’s 4,000 kilometres away from home.
Lisa was wearing a festival T-shirt while vacationing in the Dominican Republic with her husband Glen this past winter when she heard a woman yell, “Hey, Gimli!”
Lisa approached the woman, who turned out to be a filmmaker from Toronto.
“She had never been to the festival, but she had heard about it, and we had this long conversation,” Lisa recalls. “In travelling through the United States and Europe, we’ve found that people from all over the world know about this town.”
Glen and Lisa moved to Gimli from Winnipeg when they retired six years ago. They wanted to get involved in the community, and volunteering with the film festival was a natural choice.
Glen delivers equipment and shuttles guests back and forth from Winnipeg’s Richardson International Airport to the festival.
Lisa decorates the festival’s opening and closing events.
One of their best experiences with the festival happened last year.
Glen got to know two filmmakers from Iceland when he picked them up at the airport and drove them to the festival.
He and Lisa continued to speak with the filmmakers at the festival’s opening event, and Lisa invited them over for breakfast the next day.
“I made pönnukökur — these little (Icelandic) pancakes — and Icelandic yogurt, so they instantly felt at home,” she says.
The Martins’ Icelandic roots run deep. Lisa’s grandparents were born in Iceland, and Glen’s great-great-grandparents were among the first Icelandic immigrants to arrive in Gimli.
Glen’s maternal great-grandfather, Jon Johannson, was the first child of Icelandic descent born in Western Canada.
The film festival began as a series of film screenings attached to the local Icelandic festival, Islendingadagurinn, in 2001.
It has become Manitoba’s only internationally styled festival and the largest rural film festival in Canada. As many as 150 films are screened each year at four indoor venues and one outdoor venue.
It’s the perfect event for a film buff such as Lisa, who watches as many movies as she can during the festival.
“I sit in the theatres from morning to night,” she says.
About 100 volunteers are involved with every aspect of the festival, including pre-event setup, site management, ticket sales, venue operations and transportation.
For a minimum of 12 hours of service, volunteers receive a number of perks, including passes to film screenings.
Anyone interested in volunteering can visit gimlifilm.com/volunteer or email volunteer@gimlifilm.com.
For Glen and Lisa, who have volunteered throughout their lives, it’s important to give back.
“It gives you a sense of community to do things for others,” Lisa says. “It helps the community grow stronger when everyone helps everybody.”
The couple is looking forward to this year’s festival, which will be held July 24-28. They encourage people to check it out.
“Gimli is just grand,” Lisa says.
If you know a special volunteer, please contact aaron.epp@gmail.com.
Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. Read more about Aaron.
Every piece of reporting Aaron produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Volunteer opportunities
Selkirk Canada Day Committee would like to take this opportunity to invite you to come and volunteer with them to celebrate Canada’s birthday on July 1 at the Selkirk Waterfront. Canada Day at the waterfront attracts more attendees each year and, to make this event a success, we depend on the additional support from people like you to come and volunteer in various roles that contribute to the outcome of this Canada Day celebration! Please contact culture co-ordinator Ellie Longbottom at elongbottom@cityofselkirk.com to get involved today!
The Movement Centre of Manitoba is manning parking for Canada Day at the Sunova Centre in West St. Paul. They are looking for volunteers to assist. As a parking volunteer, you will be responsible for the direction and placement of vehicles. This position requires stamina and an outgoing and friendly attitude. Parking volunteers must be 17 years of age and over. Shifts available between 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. Contact Chelsea Walker for more information: chelsea@movementcentre.ca.
The Costume Museum of Canada houses over 35,000 items of historical clothing and accessories. They need your help! They are currently in need of volunteers to help with computer data entry, costume collection maintenance, and evaluation and use of donations. If you are interested, please call 204-989-7200.
If you love the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and want to volunteer as a cook or cashier at Inclusion Winnipeg’s concession stand this year, please send a message to admin@inclusionwinnipeg.org or call 204-953-5879. Preference will be given to those who have their food handling certificates or smart choices certificates. Letters of recommendation will be offered to those who complete the volunteer role. Go Bombers!
Winnipeg Regional Health Authority is looking for volunteers to join the Palliative, Primary and Home Health Services Advisory Council. If you are interested in helping make improvements to the Palliative, Primary or Home Health Services and the quality of life for those receiving these services, then this role may be for you! This council meets four to six times per year (between September and May) from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Please contact Elizabeth Premecz at 204-940-2579 or at epremecz@wrha.mb.ca for information and application. Deadline for applications is July 25.
Daniel McIntyre St. Matthews Community Association (DMSMCA) is looking for board members who want to take an active part in the community. Our mission is to empower the community of Daniel McIntyre / St. Matthews to achieve social, cultural, economic and environmental well-being. Board members must live, work or volunteer in the DMSMCA boundaries of Portage Avenue (South), Notre Dame Avenue (North), Victor Street (East) and Ingersoll Street (West). More information at dmsmca.ca or by contacting nomination.dmsmca@gmail.com.
Royal City Soccer Club is looking for Summer Soccer Camp Volunteers! Volunteering with us is a great way to earn volunteer hours for school. Soccer skills are an asset in order to assist staff and volunteers must be comfortable assisting with supervising in the swimming pool. Time commitment required is minimum one week according to pre-determined shifts (morning 8:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.; afternoon 12:30-4:30 p.m.; full day 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.). To apply, visit royalsoccer.com/manitoba/staff. For more information, contact Nastazja at npalonka@royalsoccer.com or 1-800-427-0536 x223
Do you want to make a real difference in your community by enhancing the lives of older Manitobans? If so, A & O: Support Services for Older Adults Inc. is looking for volunteer board members to join its dynamic team. If serving on the A & O Board sounds like a good fit for you and you would like more information about this unique opportunity, please forward your resumé along with a letter of intent to amacrae@aosupportservices.ca.
Prairie Places Inc. (PPI) has an opening for a board member commencing September. PPI is a not-for-profit agency which supports 26 adults with intellectual disabilities within our community. PPI Board meets once a month from September through June. Accounting or legal experience would be an asset. To apply, please email ppi@mymts.net or call 204-783-8682.
STARS Air Ambulance is looking for a few volunteers to help us make a difference in the lives of Manitobans by providing volunteer support at a variety of internal and external events across the province. Events could range from booths to golf tournaments, but they all help to raise critical funds that support us in providing care to patients across the prairies. For more information, please contact cbigelow@stars.ca!
When disaster strikes, you CAN help, and we can show you how. Volunteer with the Red Cross TODAY! Phone 1-844-818-2155, email volunteer@redcross.ca or visit our website at redcross.ca/volunteer.
Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. Read more about Aaron.
Every piece of reporting Aaron produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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