The Snakebite Film Festival will return to Penticton this February, combining cinema with the Okanagan Valley’s wine country.
The festival will contain showings of nine movies, headlined by recent award-winning drama A Different Man and a sing-along showing of Mamma Mia: The Movie. The selection will also include independent movies like Living in Two Worlds, Wild Goat Surf, and I Don’t Know Who You Are. The festival will be running a Five-Day Film competition, challenging local creators to make their own short film in a limited amount of time, with the results screened at the festival. There will also be two gala events, a bus tour taking filmgoers through local wineries and a private lunch at Chulo Tapas before a matinee showing.
The festival was founded by Les and Carl Meadows to promote diversity and inclusion in local cinema culture, and has grown into a major regional event, selling over 1,200 tickets in past years. It is hosted in conjunction with the Arts Rising Festival and the Okanagan Society for Independent Filmmaking, the latter of which provides bursaries for young filmmakers. Independent festivals like this also use methods like poster printing and online video clips to help reach local movie-lovers.
The 2025 Snakebite Film Festival will take place from January 30 to February 2 in Penticton, with most showings taking place at Landmark Cinemas.
