Canadian Gift Guide

NYE is in one short day, and you may be scrambling for something to do, or something to bring, if you’re heading to someone’s house for the occasion. Although this post may err a bit on the last-minute side, there’s no stopping you from purchasing this for a future gathering, or calling up your local gift shop (where *I* spotted it) to see if they carry it.

IndieFlix.com is a film site for independent filmmakers (no, really?). As somewhat of a fundraising mechanism, the company has created what they call ‘Film Festivals In A Box’. Whether you’re into comedies, chillers, love stories, dark comedies, zombies, pottymouth comedies, fantastical films, or girl-power panoramas, each box retails for between $15-$20 and includes an interactive DVD game. You basically gather a big group of people, watch four short films, and decide as a group, Academy Awards-style, which film was the best.

Each ‘game’ is relatively short – the films on each disc clock in at about 45 minutes in total, although the discussion after each movie, and at the conclusion of the entire disc, could prompt hours of chatter, especially over a glass of wine or two. Whether the person you’re buying this for is a genuine movie buff, an indie film supporter, or simply an Oscar-watcher, everyone will delight in having the chance to rate and berate some up-and-comers work in an interactive party format. Best of all, the profits from the boxes actually go back to the filmmakers.

If you’re really feeling it, IndieFlix also offers two additional products – the deluxe starter kit featuring all eight games to help you kick off a movie club ($100), or go for one of two movie club starter kits (adult or regular) featuring four games ($50). This is a great gift if say, you’re living in a new city and want to inspire a big gathering with built-in activities, or if you’ve got pals into the movie scene, or maybe you’re attending film school and want to gather your classmates for some extracurricular amusement. Alternatively, consider hunting down a set and using it as a stocking stuffer next year – at $15 a pop you can’t go wrong. Although the IndieFlix website currently only has a store search feature for Canada, I *did* see it at Canadian gift store, and I believe you may be able to ship online through their site directly. Happy viewing!