Freeze Frame 2027: Winnipeg Kids' Film Festival, March 7 to 13

Freeze Frame, the international film festival for kids that Winnipeg has run since 1996, takes over the Centre culturel franco-manitobain from Sunday, March 7 to Saturday, March 13, 2027. Seven questions, answered.

What is Freeze Frame, exactly?

A week of films made for children and young people, screened for an audience of children and young people, in English and in French. Nicole Matiation and Pascal Boutroy started it in 1996 and it has been bilingual from the first edition; Boutroy calls it the oldest children's film festival in Canada and one of only three still going. The programme is international and heavy on short films, which suits a room full of eight-year-olds better than a feature does. Alongside the screenings there are hands-on workshops, and two video contests for young filmmakers, one judged by youth and one by professionals. The organisation does not pack up in March either: it runs stop-motion animation, video production and media literacy workshops for schools, youth groups and daycares through the year.

Where does it happen, and what is the room like?

The Centre culturel franco-manitobain, 340 Provencher Boulevard, on the east bank of the Red in St. Boniface. The building went up in 1974 and holds several rooms of very different sizes: the Salle Pauline-Boutal, the main performance space, seats 285, and the Antoine-Gaborieau hall takes roughly 120. Which film lands in which room matters more here than it would at a multiplex, because the small room fills.

What do tickets cost?

Freeze Frame keeps the pricing flat rather than scaling it by film: $7 for a single screening, $25 for an all-access pass for one person, $50 for a family pass good for unlimited screenings when you reserve in advance. The opening and closing films have been free and open to anyone. Tickets go through the festival's own site, by phone at 204-949-9355, or at the door if the screening has not sold out. The family pass pays for itself at four screenings, which is an easy number to hit across a week.

How do you get there without a car?

Two Winnipeg Transit routes run the length of Provencher Boulevard and connect it to downtown: the F7 St. Anne's to Provencher, and the FX4, an express that crosses the Red and continues along Provencher. From Crescentwood that means getting downtown first and picking up either one eastbound. On foot it is prettier: cross the Esplanade Riel from The Forks, come off the bridge at Provencher and Taché, and walk east. Under ten minutes, and you pass the Saint-Boniface Cathedral ruins on your right.

What is the weather doing that week?

Early March in Winnipeg is the thaw that keeps changing its mind. Afternoon highs sit a few degrees below freezing, nights drop closer to minus twelve, and the sidewalks melt by day and glaze over after dark, so boots with grip beat fashion boots for the walk back over the bridge. The payoff is light: by the second week of March the sun is still up past six in the evening, which it was nowhere near in January. The clocks go forward the night the festival closes.

What else is worth doing on the same trip?

You are a few minutes' walk from the oldest building in Winnipeg. Le Musée de Saint-Boniface occupies the oak-log convent the Grey Nuns raised between 1846 and 1851, and it is the largest oak log structure in North America. The cathedral ruins and Louis Riel's grave are beside it, and the Esplanade Riel takes you back to The Forks in about fifteen minutes on foot if the wind is behaving. Our St. Boniface walking guide strings those together properly. For a rainy or bitter day with children, the indoor itinerary has the backup plan.

Where should you stay for Freeze Frame?

Our three-bedroom home is in Crescentwood, a few blocks south of Corydon Avenue and on the other side of downtown from Provencher. The drive to the Centre culturel franco-manitobain is about ten minutes outside rush hour; by bus it is a downtown connection and then the F7 or the FX4 over the river. A festival aimed at families runs on nap schedules and meltdowns, so a kitchen and a second bedroom ten minutes from the venue tends to work better than a hotel room where everyone shares the dark. March break weeks book up here well before the programme is published. Our Airbnb listing shows what is still open that week.