When We Became Folk Fest

Directed by Kevin Nikkel

When we became Folk Fest is a feature documentary about the founding and explosive growth of the Winnipeg Folk Festival. The driving force of the Festival's start is the audacious and unflinching founder, Mitch Podolak. Using a cache of unseen Super 8 footage shot in 1975 by the Winnipeg Film Group, we see the Festival’s beginnings through incredible archival images and pristine sound recordings from the Folk Festival collection. Voices of interviews with celebrated fest luminaries and live musical performances carry the story of how an underdog music festival grew out of the meadows of Birds Hill Park to become one of the most important folk festivals in North America.