Executive Director Ravi Srinivasan. Photo courtesy of SWIFF via Facebook.Executive Director Ravi Srinivasan. Photo courtesy of SWIFF via Facebook.
Sarnia
News

SWIFF founder dies unexpectedly

By Stephanie Chaves
January 16, 2023 - 12:02pm

The founder of the South Western International Film Festival (SWIFF) has died.

Ravi Srinivasan passed away suddenly over the weekend. He was 37-years-old.

Srinivasan is credited with creating and launching SWIFF in 2015.

At that time, the Corunna native told Sarnia News Today he wanted the event to evolve into something that would attract tourism to Sarnia on an annual basis, with film, other visual arts and music.  The eighth annual SWIFF was held in the fall at the Imperial Theatre.

Srinivasan was the senior manager of festival programming at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and also served as senior programmer for National Canadian Film Day.

In 2016, he was named to the Mayor's Honour List for his contributions to the community. 

Since his passing, a GoFundMe page has raised over $65,000 to help his family with funeral and memorial expenses.

Funeral details have not been released.

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