Winterfête

As the days grow shorter, gather with us for an evening of warmth, good company, and dancing. Leading up to our upcoming 25th anniversary, Winterfête is our fundraiser party and a reminder that rest isn't only quiet; sometimes it looks like letting loose on a dance floor!

Join filmmakers, artists, friends, and supporters for drinks, bites, music from Dj Peachez, and a silent auction in support of RPFF's year-round free programming and the beautiful legacy we've built together over the last 24 years. Every ticket helps keep our programs accessible to our community.

And because we couldn’t possibly throw a party without bringing some cinema along, we’re introducing Parallel Pictures: a collection of short films playing throughout the evening on individual screens. Slip on a pair of headphones, tune in to whichever film catches your eye, and enjoy a little cinema at your own pace before returning to the festivities.

The short films featured are:

• Butter Chicken to Go (dir. Prajj)
  • Three South Asian delivery drivers brave Toronto’s winter dinner rush, zipping through slushy, frigid streets. Through intimate portraits of the drivers, Butter Chicken to Go exposes a deep contradiction: a country that eagerly consumes South Asian cuisine while increasingly excluding the people whose labour sustains it. What does it mean to belong when your presence is both essential and contested?

• Restaurant Kids (dir. Sylvia Mok)
  • Raised between dining rooms and take–out counters, the children of Halifax’s Chinese restaurateurs share stories of family, hard work and identity. Through intimate conversations and personal memories, Restaurant Kids celebrates a tight-knit community whose businesses became gathering places, livelihoods and second homes for a generation growing up between cultures.

• King's Court (dir. Serville Poblete)
  • A fast-paced look at friendship, family and the journey to manhood in modern society, King’s Court blurs the line between documentary and fiction, immersing viewers in the raw emotions and struggles of two lifelong friends in Toronto’s Bleecker Street neighbourhood—one of Canada’s most diverse and densely populated areas. Through engaging, cinematic storytelling both on and off their favourite basketball court, we root for these inspiring young men in pursuit of identity and acceptance.

As we look ahead to RPFF’s 25th anniversary, Winterfête is also an opportunity to celebrate everything we’ve built together—and help sustain what comes next. Proceeds from the evening will support our year-round free programming, helping us continue to make film and cultural experiences accessible to the communities we serve.

Delicious food will be curated and created by Alyssa Becker Event Management.

Want to see more of the season? Browse the full wintering lineup and get tickets here.