WHO WE ARE
Twenty years of watching interesting stuff together
Celebrating 20 Years, 300 films and over 40,000 tickets. We are proud to bring Canada’s largest Film Club (TIFF’s FILM CIRCUIT) to Haliburton.
About Us
THOSE OTHER MOVIES is a not for profit, volunteer-run organization, located in beautiful Haliburton County, that provides our film fans with unique experiences through year-round movie programming offered at the Northern Lights Performing Arts Pavilion.
Through our monthly (Sept. - June) Feature Films (Thursdays with TOM); our November Film Festival (HIFF) or our April Documentary Film Festival (Doc(k) Day) - Those Other Movies is proud to share the joy of film with our supporters!
Celebrating our 20th season in 2026/27, THOSE OTHER MOVIES is proud of our association with The TIFF Film Circuit, a division of the Toronto International Film Festival Group.
THOSE OTHER MOVIES is also a proud part of the Haliburton Community Co-operative.
200+
Screenings
Films shown to Haliburton audiences since 2006
20
Years Running
Powered by amazing volunteers
3
Signature Programs
Thursdays with TOM, HIFF, and Doc(k) Day
WHAT WE BELIEVE
Our Values
Film First
We select films on a single criterion: are they worth your evening? Not box-office receipts, not star power — just the quality and courage of the work itself.
Rooted Here
We are a Haliburton organization through and through. Our programming reflects both the world beyond the Highlands and the community right here at home.
Volunteer Run
Every screening, every festival, every Doc(k) Day — made possible by a small group of people who love film and believe their community deserves to experience it.
Open to Everyone
You don't need a film degree to sit in one of our seats. Whether you've seen ten films or ten thousand, there's a place for you at a TOM screening.
THE STORY SO FAR
Our History
2007
The First Screening
A handful of film lovers gather in a Haliburton church hall to watch an internationally acclaimed film that never made it to the local multiplex. Sixteen people show up. They stay two hours after the credits to talk about it.
2008
The Film Circuit
TOM affiliates with The Film Circuit, a division of TIFF, gaining access to a curated catalogue of award-winning international films and connecting Haliburton to a national network of community cinema.
2012
Minden Hills Cultural Centre
After years of borrowed church halls and community rooms, TOM finds a permanent home at the Minden Hills Cultural Centre — a proper screen, a proper sound system, and a proper place to call ours.
2016
HIFF is Born
The Haliburton International Film Festival launches as a weekend event, bringing filmmakers, critics, and audiences together for four days of screenings, panels, and lakeside conversations.
2019
Doc(k) Day
A new one-day documentary showcase, Doc(k) Day, launches on the docks of Head Lake. True stories, open water, and conversations that spill from the screen into the evening.
2027
20 Years of TOM
Two decades of bringing the world's stories to Haliburton County. Over 200 screenings, three flagship events, and a community of film lovers that keeps growing.
THE STORY SO FAR
Our History
1989
Cam Haynes starts Cinefest - a film festival in Sudbury. He begins a relationship with TIFF and they send movies by bus from Toronto to Sudbury. Then North Bay asked to be a part of the loop.
The Beginning
1995
This bus-sharing of films gets formalized as TIFF's national film outreach program called FILM CIRCUIT. Its goal is to bring independent, international, and Canadian cinema to rural, remote, and underserved communities across Canada.
The Film Circuit
May 2006
Lisa Kerr, Carol McClennan, Roberta Coles and Tammy Rea travel to Barrie to see a Film Circuit screening of Joyeux Noel. And they think - we can do that in Haliburton.
Minden Hills Cultural Centre
July 2006
They form Those Other Movies as part of the Haliburton County Community Cooperative. They make a deal with Lou Konsky, owner of the Molou, to screen a film every second Thursday from Sept to June (as Lou only heated the theatre for weekend films).
HIFF is Born
Aug 2006
With no other films being shown within an hour’s drive - 250 season’s passes for 10 UNNAMED FILMS sell out in a few weeks.
Doc(k) Day
Sept 2006
OPENING NIGHT - in honour of Canoe FM which has just become a volunteer run radio station in Haliburton, we screened A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION. Following was a celebration at The Olde Country House with interviews with Canoe FM personnel. (In response to this, Canoe FM the following summer did a Prairie Home Companion Road trip and broadcast live from all corners of the county.)
20 Years of TOM
Nov 2006
We screened Joyeux Noel and did a special screening for the high school. We continue to try and incorporate Haliburton connections to our films.
20 Years of TOM
June 2007
At the end of our first full season we decide to do a Hollywood night Oscars - it was night full of excitement. There had been a wide power failure in the afternoon - and people were running from the radio station to the theatre to report back on air that YES we had power. Turns out that one section of film had been mounted backwards meaning it sounded like aliens and was out of sequence. Nothing could be done so we had a 15 minute break to fill. This meant we gave Lou his OSCAR in the theatre instead of at the after party. This was so much better - as 290 people gave him a standing ovation and thanked him for the 60 years of film. Lou passed away the following December so we were so thankful to have shown our appreciation.
20 Years of TOM
2007
Film Circuit continues to grow nationally. Expands year-round screening networks to over 100–150 community-driven locations, spanning coast-to-coast-to-coast. Gives regional audiences access to international distributors and also gives domestic films a much broader audience. Every month, a film in a 200 lb canister would be bussed to us from all over Ontario.
20 Years of TOM
Nov 2007
We can see there is a breadth to what the audience wants to see. Some want Canadian and international films that are inspiring (that we serve up on our Thursdays with TOM), while others also enjoy really digging into foreign sub-titled harder hitting narratives. So we create for the latter group, a weekend in November and start the Haliburton International Film Festival.
20 Years of TOM
2008
The Molou is sold and we have to find an alternative home. THOSE OTHER MOVIES put a projector into the Northern Lights Performing Arts Pavilion and start screening from the high school theatre.
20 Years of TOM
Sept 2009
The Beaver Theatre opens and we do 2 screenings (one in Minden and one in Haliburton). We open in September with the film ONE WEEK, that has a shot in the movie that was filmed on the river outside the Beaver Theatre.
20 Years of TOM
Nov 2009
HIFF is held at the Beaver Theatre incorporating a licensed bar, appetizers, and a jazz band.
20 Years of TOM
Dec 2009
The Beaver Theater closes its doors.
20 Years of TOM
April 2009
Documentaries really came on strong as films over the past decade and so we added in a Doc(k) Day.
20 Years of TOM
2010-2020
We run several special events, and community tied screenings. This includes Bryan Vogt (who plays the grand piano to silent films). Incorporating Dance into our HIFF by partnering with DH3 - Dance Happens Here, and several musicians for the Haliburton County Folk Society. We also promote Minden Pride, Harvest Haliburton and the Friends of the Library.
20 Years of TOM
March 2020
The Theatre is closed due to Covid 19. During Covid we run digital events, but we all feel the loss of not being able to gather.
20 Years of TOM
Sept 2022
We start again, cautiously feeling our way with a partial program.
20 Years of TOM
Sept 2024
We come back FULL STEAM ahead. It is nice to gather.
20 Years of TOM
Sept 2026
OUR TWENTIETH SEASON BEGINS. Over 300 screenings and 40,000 tickets later.
20 Years of TOM
THE PEOPLE BEHIND IT
Who Makes TOM Run
Board of Directors
TOM is governed by a volunteer board drawn from the Haliburton community. Board members oversee programming decisions, event planning, partnerships, and the long-term direction of the organization.
Programming Committee
A rotating group of dedicated volunteers who screen, debate, and select the films shown throughout the year. Every title on a TOM screen has been championed by someone in this room.
Festival Volunteers
Dozens of community members give their time during HIFF and Doc(k) Day each year — front of house, technical support, hospitality, and everything in between.
THE PEOPLE BEHIND IT
Who Makes TOM Run
Volunteer Committee
A dedicated and multi-talented group of volunteers screen hundreds of movies to bring the “best of” to Haliburton County. Many hands, hearts and brains take care of programming our season, selling tickets, hosting movies, supporting community screenings, technical set ups and trouble-shooting, website and ticket management, film circuit liaison, financial tracking, finding sponsors, collecting and tracking feedback, publicity and media, social media, special event planning… and more!
Thank you to the current group on the TOM Committee (pictured L-R):
Leslie Haller, Midori Nagai, Tammy Rea, Isabel Buttler, Kip Kelly, Donna McCallum, Lori Roberts, Bob Haller, Trish Hewitt, Lesley Marshall, Myra Stephen, Joleen Thomas.
Past Committee Members
Laurie Carmount, Peggy Cassils, Roberta Coles, Anje Hilkers, Lisa Kerr, Cathy Mack, Marci Mandel, Carol McClennan, Jackie Ruddy
Our Affiliations
The Film Circuit — TIFF
TOM is a proud member of The Film Circuit, a division of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Group.
Founded in 1989, the TIFF Film Circuit is TIFF’s national film outreach programme. It engages domestic grassroots networks and strong community partnerships to bring the best of Canadian and world cinema to communities nationwide.
The TIFF Film Circuit has held more than 40,000 events in over 100 local venues from Fogo Island, Newfoundland to Prince Rupert, British Columbia and connected over 6.5 million film lovers by offering an opportunity to see films that may not otherwise be available in their local region. It has helped build an audience for Canadian, independent, and non-English language films and supported the growth of the Canadian film industry and Those Other Movies is proud to be an affiliate!
For more information on The TIFF Film Circuit go to www.filmcircuit.tiff.net
The Film Circuit connects over 170 communities across Canada with a curated selection of award-winning films, giving smaller towns access to the same calibre of cinema that plays in major urban centres.
Haliburton County Community Co-operative
THOSE OTHER MOVIES is also a proud part of the Haliburton Community Co-operative.
The HCCC is a non-profit community co-operative that works for the benefit of their members and supports the social, economic, cultural and environmental well-being of Haliburton County. They provide support and infrastructure for a wide range of community-based initiatives including Those Other Movies.
For more information on HCCC go to www.haliburtoncooperative.on.ca