About the KFS
The Kamloops Film Society (KFS) is the umbrella organization that operates the Paramount Theatre and the Twin Rivers Drive-In, as well as running four main events: The Thursday Film Series, the Indigenous Film Festival (in partnership with Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc), CinéLoops: French Film Festival (in partnership with the Kamloops Francophone Association) and the annual March Kamloops Film Festival (KFF), which includes the Kamloops Independent Short Shorts (KISS) Festival.
The KFS has been operating for 50 years, officially incorporating under the British Columbia Societies Act on August 17, 1994.
NICE
The Kamloops Film Society is a proud Member of The Network of Independent Canadian Exhibitors (NICE). NICE is an alliance of Canadian independent cinemas, festivals and professional programmers offering curated film programming to public audiences. NICE film exhibitors are community oriented; they provide a meeting space for audiences and present high quality Canadian and international films.
KFS History
The forerunners of the Kamloops Film Society—the Thompson Valley Film Society, the Cariboo College Film Society and the Cariboo Film Society—screened 16mm films, first, at the Cariboo College campus cafeteria, then at the South-Central Health Unit auditorium in 1973. In the late 1980s, films were screened at the newly constructed University College of the Cariboo Clock Tower building’s Alumni Theatre. By that time, 35mm films were the new standard and the Society needed to rent a theatre with the appropriate projection equipment; it began screening 35mm films Sunday afternoons at the 404-seat North Hills Theatre.
After several years at North Hills, Society members expressed a preference for a downtown location. The Society moved its showings to the old Odeon Cineplex Theatre on Victoria at 6th Ave from 1999 to 2001 and initiated Thursday night screenings at 7:30 pm. When that theatre closed, the Paramount theatre offered the Society Thursday night screening times at 7 pm, and fully accommodated the annual March Kamloops Film Festival, and that theatre has been the home of the Society ever since.
In the spring of 2019, The Kelson Group purchased the Paramount Theatre from Landmark Cinemas and leased the venue to the KFS to continue operations. The support of The Kelson Group and Ron Fawcett has made the venture possible as The KFS continues to try to make the theatre a viable cultural venue.
Society Mission Statement
The Kamloops Film Society provides publicly screened, hand-picked, diverse, high-quality films and supports film-related activities in the community of Kamloops and Area.
The mission of the KFS is to bring the best in independent, Canadian and foreign cinema to Kamloops. The Society’s series and festival bring film lovers together to experience the best in cinema.
As well, the Society endeavours to promote and support filmmaking and related visual media in the Kamloops area by offering grants periodically throughout each year when able to do so.
Governance
See our Board of Directors here: