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August 19, 2020 Arts + Culture » Film + TV

FIN Atlantic International Film Festival announces its 2020 lineup

The 40th anniversary of the fest can be screened from home this September 17-24.

By Seyitan Moritiwon

click to enlarge

Viggo Mortensen's directorial debut, Falling kicks off the fest's 40th year. - FILM STILL

Viggo Mortensen's directorial debut, Falling kicks off the fest's 40th year.
Film still

Thank god for that bulk box of popcorn you impulse-bought in early quarantine: Today, FIN Atlantic International Film Festival announced the lineup for its virtual festival, slated for September 17-24. The 40th anniversary of the fest will be able to be watched directly from the fest's own streaming platform, with tickets sold through an online box office.

While it won't be the same as piling into Park Lane's Cineplex for a late-night show like in years past, the online-only format does have potential to be more inclusive: “Although we won't be sharing stories and cheer in person your supportive FIN stream will ensure that FIN will continue onto our 50th anniversary in 2030,” the fest's executive director, Wayne Carter, said during today's press conference.

As always, the festival will kick off with gala presentations—and five of the eight gala flicks this year are from Atlantic Canada. “We’re happy, honoured and very much grateful to say that the majority of this year’s gala program originates from the place most special and most important to the festival and that’s right here in Atlantic Canada,” Jason Beaudry, FIN's program director, says.

The fest's opening film with be Viggo Mortensen’s directorial debut feature Falling. Mortensen plays John Peterson, a gay man living in the city with his partner. He and his traditional father confront events that have torn them apart when he moves to live with his son in the city. Catch it from September 17, 7 PM – September 18, 6:59 PM.

Other gala presentations include Ruth Lawrence’s Little Orphans, in which three sisters reunite at a wedding in Saint John's and it’s chaotic from then on; Nova Scotia filmmaker William D. MacGillivray’s Under the Weather, where a family help an uncle, brother and brother-in-law as he faces cancer diagnosis; Bannon Braga’s Nova Scotian-shot Books of Blood; and Ariel Nasr’s The Forbidden Reel, a documentary on Afghanistan's movie makers and the film movement they almost lost. Each gala will stream once from September 18-23 between 7 PM the day before to 6:59 PM the following day.

Also included in the gala presentations is Reel East Coast Shorts Gala which features eight short films by Atlantic Canadian filmmakers: Shane Colin Mountain’s The Seventh Man, Gwydion Morris’s Deadstick John, Latonia Hartery’s The Death of Winter, Zyanya Barbara Juarez Arellano’s I Met Death, Asked Her If She Was Mexican, Shane Pendergast’s Song of The Stevedore, Arianna Martinez’s Maya Eterna, Gia Milani’s At the Back and Jordan Canning and Howie Shia’s 4 North A. Streaming of the shorts starts on September 23 by 7 PM.

But this is only a snippet of what will be happening at this year’s fest. You can find more information on their website.

Tags: Film + TV

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