For the first time in over two years, Toronto's Breakthroughs film festival was able to host an in-person component to celebrate its 11th anniversary, showcasing the works of female, non-binary and BIPOC filmmakers.

"One of the really beautiful things about Breakthroughs is it is a community," said Samantha Summers, chair of the festival.

For her and the board, she said the in-person screening brings back the collective experience that the city's filmgoers have missed amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"To watch a film in cinema is so very special," Summers said. "It's collectively sharing an experience, a shared humanity."

This year's theme is "Renewal" to represent both the societal and individual changes brought forth by the pandemic, as well as a new perspective on how the world is viewed, according to Summers.

"We really felt collectively as a society, we have been going through so much that can only inevitably result in a permanent change - how we relate to each other, to our selves."

For the submissions this year, Summers said the curation process assessed themes of loneliness and the "pandemic echoing through art," but reiterated that Renewal is a celebratory theme as well.

The 12 selected films are organized into the following categories: Community; Reflections; and Generations.

In different mediums, including features and animated projects, the films acknowledged new opportunities, growth and the building of a community to continue creating.

For the audiences tuning in to the digital and in-person screenings in June, Summers hoped it was a "unifying space," allowing filmgoers and filmmakers to walk away "feeling seen and feeling that they have seen others."

The Breakthroughs Film festival ran from June 16-19 online and the in-person screening and award ceremony at the Paradise Theatre on June 17.

The full list of films can be found here.

Listen to Samantha Summers' full interview: