![\"Chloe](\"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/DirectorProducer_Chloe-Sosa-Sims.jpg\")
<\/a>One of the films that will be playing is Sandwich Nazi<\/i>, a Vancouver-based documentary about deli owner Salam Kahil that follows his everyday comedic antics in the deli and delves deeper into his charity work and backstory (and is not related to the Seinfeld <\/i>episode the doc takes its name from).<\/p>\n
\u201cI find it really interesting because there are all these people who we come across in our everyday lives who we don\u2019t know anything about, and this is just one story of many,\u201d Ozkul says. \u201cIt\u2019s really nice to see the different sides of this average man.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sandwich Nazi<\/i> director Lewis Bennett explains that they screened a shorter version of the film at the Victoria Film Festival in 2012, and that they were happy to come back.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast time we came out, we basically took the ferry over and were only able to stay for one screening,\u201d says Bennett, \u201cso I\u2019m excited about spending a couple days in town and seeing a bunch more films.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bennett and his film are no strangers to festivals, and he says that, at the ones he\u2019s visited, the film has been met with an interesting mix of reviews.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we made a film that people were either going to love or hate,\u201d says Bennett, \u201cand we kind of got that response; some people will immediately dismiss it after the fact and some people will love it and champion it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bennett was originally drawn to Kahil as a customer at his deli, where he is constantly making people laugh. They wanted to share this humour with the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe it\u2019s teaching them about something new or giving them empathy for a different situation or different people,\u201d says Bennett, explaining why he likes to make film. \u201cBut for me and the people I work with, we are always kind of drawn to comedy; that\u2019s sort of our first love.\u201d<\/p>\n
In stark contrast to Bennett\u2019s charming piece, Dan and Margot<\/i>, another film screening at the festival, provides a window into the life of Margot, who has schizophrenia.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that one will be interesting because it\u2019s a topic that not a lot of people talk about,\u201d says Ozkul. \u201cMental health is discussed pretty regularly, but not necessarily schizophrenia. The director and Margot will be here, so I think that will open the floor for a really interesting discussion after the film.\u201d<\/p>\n
The film was made in Toronto; the two co-directors and Margot are very excited to head out to the west coast.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is actually our first time attending Victoria both as a city and a festival,\u201d says Chloe Sosa-Sims, one of the film\u2019s co-directors. \u201cWe\u2019re especially excited because it\u2019s our world premiere and our whole team will be there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sosa-Sims and her team are working hard to set up a big festival run and plan to do a grassroots screening tour at a handful of different universities in the fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve heard great things about the [Victoria] festival and, having looked at their program previously and this year, I think they do a very exceptional job at creating a Canadian and international line up,\u201d says Sosa-Sims. \u201cThey are actually quite a large festival in the scheme of Canadian festivals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sosa-Sims says she hasn\u2019t seen the film with anyone except her co-director Jake Chirico and Margot, and she is excited to share it with the world and to see how people react to it. The subject matter is very near and dear to her, and she hopes people will take something away from it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe film should bring some light to schizophrenia and what it\u2019s like to experience something like that and really humanize it for a lot of people who are unfamiliar,\u201d says Sosa-Sims. \u201cSchizophrenia is still really stigmatized. All the media coverage revolves around portraying people with schizophrenia who have committed really violent and atrocious crimes, and I really wanted to tell a story about a normal, kind-hearted individual who has to deal with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ozkul is happy that there is such a variety of exciting films at the fest.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe film festival is always about seeing films that you wouldn\u2019t be able to see otherwise,\u201d says Ozkul, \u201cand getting out of your comfort zone and trying something new.\u201d<\/p>\n