[2] The festival was launched in 2004 by the city's Staircase Theatre,[3] following the theatre's participation the previous year in the Travelling Film Festival, an event which toured a program of Canadian films to a variety of locations across the country.
[5] Due to organizational issues at the Staircase Theatre, however, it then went on hiatus for the next two years until returning in 2008,[6] and has been presented annually since then.
In 2014, due to the festival's growing size it began adding screening venues in addition to the Staircase, including The Zoetic and the Factory Media Centre.
[7] In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the festival added some drive-in and online screenings, and imposed social distancing restrictions on theatrical screenings for audience safety, but was able to proceed with these precautions.
[2] Current venues include the Staircase, Ancaster Memorial Arts Centre, Playhouse Cinema and the Westdale,[8] as well as short film programs being broadcast on Cable 14, the city's cable television community channel.