History

Festival History

The first festival took place at the historic Finnish Labour Temple, 314 Bay Street, Thunder Bay, the festival was then appropriately named the Bay Street Film Festival. 

Our motto ‘Films for the People’ paid homage to the history of the hall where we screened the films. Not only was the Finnish Labour Temple the location of the founding meeting of the Social Democratic Party of Canada, which was the foundation for what is now the New Democratic Party, it also served as an Industrial Workers of the World headquarters and has a long history of connection to the working-class and labour movements in Canada.

Years later we are no longer on Bay street and the Finnish Labour Temple has burned down. We’ve made a name change but stuck to our motto of ‘Films for the People’. We’ve renamed ourselves based on the phrase ‘Vox Populi or Voice of the People’ thus Vox Popular was born. 

We have screened over 946 films and hosted over 178 visiting filmmakers from across Canada and around the world. Sparking countless discussions in our Q&As, Master Classes and hands-on workshops with media creators!

We’ve come a long way since 2005, our festival could not happen without the countless number of volunteers, past board members and staff, sponsors, partner organizations, and dedicated audiences. We thank everyone who has helped us carry this festival forward throughout the years.

Kelly Saxberg Headshot

Festival Founders

Kelly Saxberg

Kelly Saxberg is an award-winning film producer, director, editor, and cinematographer who has worked on well over 100 films. She works in English, French, Spanish and Finnish. Kelly has mentored dozens of emerging filmmakers in Thunder Bay by facilitating workshops, mentorships, and collaborative film projects since 2001.

Ron Harpelle

Dr. Ron Harpelle is an award-winning producer and director; and, he is a professor at Lakehead University. He has a special interest in documentaries and making Social Science research come alive through media. His projects focus on history and contain educational components.

Festival Programs

See all of our festival programs from 2005 to present!
To view the programs click on the Dropbox button below the thumbnails.