Members of the cultural community are coping with the sudden death of Ravi Srinivasan, the founder of the South Western International Film Festival (SWIFF), and remembering the legacy he left behind.
Srinivasan died suddenly over the weekend at the age of 37.
Imperial Theatre Executive Director Brian Austin Jr. worked closely with Srinivasan over the past eight years and said his presence will be missed.
"It really is a tragic loss to our cultural community," said Austin Jr. "His vision in creating SWIFF provided an incredible opportunity for the city to be exposed to cinema and art that otherwise, a lot of people wouldn't have had access to. He will be missed very much."
Srinivasan was described as "a joy" to be around.
"His laugh was contagious and his smile was wonderful... he's gone too soon," said Austin Jr.
At this time, there are no immediate plans to host an event at Imperial Theatre in Srinivasan's honour.
"It's still too soon... we don't have any plans currently to do anything to remember him but I'm sure we will. We're still just processing the news."
The SWIFF team also issued a statement Monday afternoon about Srinivasan and his legacy.
"And yet SWIFF is only a small fraction of the legacy of a man who touched so many lives in his personal life—if you knew Ravi, you loved Ravi, simple as that—and whose impact on film culture was felt across his work with TIFF, Hot Docs, and Reel Canada and his passionate advocacy for filmmakers across the country and around the world."
A GoFundMe page, to cover memorial and funeral expenses, reached its goal of raising $75,000 Monday afternoon.
