FIN: Atlantic International Film Festival (formerly known as The Atlantic Film Festival) has announced its eight-day lineup for this year’s fest, featuring homegrown and international talent.
“If you’ve never been to the Atlantic International Film Festival, this is the year to take the plunge,” says program director Jason Beaudry.
Things kick off at opening night with Long Time Running, a screening in conjunction with Movie Nights Across Canada. The film is a documentary telling the story of The Tragically Hip’s final tour as the band made its way across the country last year.
Locally-made films include Corey Bowles’ Black Cop, Jackie Torrens’ Free Reins, Seth A. Smith's horror movie The Crescent and Andrew MacCormack’s Sickboy: a documentary following Brian Stever, Taylor MacGillivary and Jeremie Saunders, the creators of the popular, Halifax-based podcast of the same name. This is the first time Sickboy will be screened publicly, two months before it is slated to air on CBC.
“They kind of captivated the hearts of the city when they first began,” MacCormack says of the podcast hosts. The movie focuses on “getting behind the scenes and getting to the essence of why Jeremie’s doing what he’s doing, and how he goes about his life knowing that it’s gonna be a lot shorter than everyone else’s.”
FIN is screening of two films with accessibility specifically in mind. The Halifax Explosion: The Deaf Experience is told through Maritime Sign Language and English subtitles. A different documentary on the Halifax Explosion by Jennifer Adcock was created in consideration for audience members who are blind or have low vision. With the help of Autism Nova Scotia, there will also be a series of “relaxed screenings” providing adjusted sound, lighting and a designated quiet area.“The Sickboy movie really fits well for this festival because it’s all been shot and made in Halifax, and you know, we’ll see Halifax in a really different light.”
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Much-anticipated movies such as Breathe (starring Andrew Garfield), Angelina Jolie’s The Breadwinner and the first fully painted feature film, Loving Vincent, are also on the schedule. Call Me By Your Name, a romantic story set on on the Italian Riviera in 1983, will bring the festival to a close.
