THUNDER BAY -- Nearly half the entries in this year’s North Of Superior Film Association’s 25th annual Northwest Film Festival has a woman at the helm or in a starring role.
While organizers didn’t set out to even the gender balance, Marty Mascarin says just goes to show how powerful a force women are becoming in the movie business.
“It wasn’t a conscious decision, it was more or less evolving as certain titles became available to us. Then, as more and more titles were slotted, then it emerged that it is becoming very apparent there is a rather distinctive female presence in these movies,” Mascarin said on Tuesday, unveiling the 27 films that will make up the roster of this year’s festival, unofficially titled The Year of the Woman.
“It was really the vagaries of the marketplace.”
It’s an emerging trend in Hollywood, and Mascarin said they’re only too happy to follow suit.
“It just seems that the female presence is coming to the fore and deservedly so, with the immense talent that’s out there in the arts,” he said. “Now they’re getting their due and we hope we can maintain that.”
Chile’s A Fantastic Woman, which won the Academy Award for best foreign-language film, Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story and In Between, described on Rotten Tomatoes as a defiantly feminist movie originating in the Middle East.
Other highlights of this year’s festival, which will take place on Sunday, April 15 and Sunday, April 22 at Silver City, include the Canadian-Irish animated production The Breadwinner, Loveless, Loving Vincent, In the Fade and Don’t Talk to Irene.
Mascarin said it’s a bit of a process picking the movies. Lists of possible titles is provided on a quarterly basis through the film circuit.
“We use that as a guidepost. Then it’s some scouting that’s done at both the Toronto International Film Festival, as well as Cinefest in Sudbury, which is a major regional festival that follows TIFF,” Mascarin said.
Then it’s merely studying what gets released over the course of the year. We always look at the Friday releases and there’s various reviews from television and print and online … to see if there’s something new that we’re interested in.”
To mark the milestone anniversary, NOSFA is throwing a gala party at Bight on Thursday, April 19, following a screening of Oscar-nominated Ladybird at Silver City. Tickets are $20 and the evening will feature hot and cold hors d’oeuvres and entertainment by the Damon Dowbak Trio.
The gala is open to the public.
Festival six-pack tickets are available in advance, as of Thursday, at Fireweed and Wojo’s Mojo to NOSFA members for $36 and via Pay Pal at www.nosfa.ca.
Memberships are $15 and also available online.
Single admission for individual screenings are $7 for members and $10 for non-members and are only for sale at the theatre prior to each screening.
Organizers remind patrons advanced tickets do not guarantee admission to shows and advise moviegoers to come at least a half an hour early to ensure a seat.
Thursday, April 12
- Their Finest: 6:30 p.m.
- The Disaster Artist: 8:40 p.m.
Sunday, April 15
- Novitate: 9:45 a.m.
- En Pere Du Flic 2: 9:50 a.m.
- Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story: 10:15 a.m.
- In the Fade: 12:10 p.m.
- A Fantastic Woman: 12:15 p.m.
- Tulipani: 12:20 p.m.
- Back to Burgundy: 2:25 p.m.
- Finding Your Feet: 2:30 p.m.
- The Insult: 2:35 p.m.
- The Midwife: 4:55 p.m.
- Loving Vincent: 5 p.m.
- Foxtrot: 5:05 p.m.
Thursday, April 19
- Ladybird: 6:30 p.m.
- Gala Party (Bight Restaurant): 8 p.m.
Sunday, April 22
- In Between: 9:50 a.m.
- God’s Own Country: 9:55 a.m.
- Brigsby Bear: 10 a.m.
- The Leisure Seeker: 12 p.m.
- Good Time: 12:10 p.m.
- The House by the Sea: 2:20 p.m.
- The Divine Order: 2:25 p.m.
- The Breadwinner: 2:30 p.m.
- Loveless: 4:35 p.m.
- Sami Blood: 4:40 p.m.
- Faces/Places: 4:45 p.m.
